All the San Francisco Bay Area semifinalists for the 2026 James Beard Award. James Beard San Francisco Bay Area restaurants, bars, wine programs and more.
Really strong coverage of the Bay Area semifinalists! The exclussion from Outstanding Bakery feels odd given how many world-class bakeries operate in the region. I visited Tartine a few years back and the quality was unreal, so its interesting to see other areas getting recognized instead. Curious if the voting body has shifted its focus more toward innovative concepts over traditional excellence.
Hard to tell, last year Quail and Condor, Healdsburg, CA was nominated. Several of these are repeats from last year. Also, places have to submit an application and have to be recognized by committees/judges so some networking/PR is needed by the business to get the word out.
Really strong coverage of the Bay Area semifinalists! The exclussion from Outstanding Bakery feels odd given how many world-class bakeries operate in the region. I visited Tartine a few years back and the quality was unreal, so its interesting to see other areas getting recognized instead. Curious if the voting body has shifted its focus more toward innovative concepts over traditional excellence.
Hard to tell, last year Quail and Condor, Healdsburg, CA was nominated. Several of these are repeats from last year. Also, places have to submit an application and have to be recognized by committees/judges so some networking/PR is needed by the business to get the word out.
Monique Feybesse from Tarts de Feybesse in Oakland was nominated for Pastry Chef.
Missed that, thanks!