One of North America's highest culinary honors, celebrating exceptional talent, innovation, and achievement in the food and beverage industry.
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Washington D.C., United States
Oyster Oyster sits at the sharper end of Washington D.C.'s tasting menu scene, where Chef Rob Rubba's vegetable-focused progression earned a Michelin star in 2024, a 2023 James Beard Award for Outstanding Chef, and a place in the Opinionated About Dining North America top 250. The format is a multi-course plant-led menu in Shaw, with a 165-label wine list weighted toward France and Maryland.
Philadelphia, United States
A James Beard Award winner for Outstanding Restaurant (2023) and ranked #260 on Opinionated About Dining's North America list for 2025, Friday Saturday Sunday occupies a Rittenhouse townhouse where Chad Williams applies classical French technique to ingredients rooted in the African diaspora. The eight-course tasting menu and a 14-seat cocktail bar run by one of Philadelphia's most inventive bartenders make this a two-floor destination worth planning around.
Honolulu, United States
Bar Leather Apron holds a rare position in American cocktail culture: a James Beard Award-winning bar operating out of downtown Honolulu, ranked among North America's 50 Best Bars in three consecutive years. The programme favours technical precision over theatrics, drawing a crowd that knows what it's looking for and books accordingly.
Philadelphia, United States
On Market Street in Old City Philadelphia, Fork has held a steady position in the city's New American conversation since the 1990s. Ellen Yin's 2023 James Beard Award for Outstanding Restaurateur confirms what regulars have known for years: this is a room where serious cooking and a coherent dining arc share equal weight with neighborhood accessibility. Chef Jeremy Hansen leads the kitchen under a format that rewards the full table progression.
Madison, United States
Fairchild on Monroe Street earned the 2023 James Beard Award for Best Chef: Midwest, placing it among a small tier of Midwestern restaurants where sourcing discipline and cooking craft are genuinely inseparable. Chefs Itaru Nagano and Andrew Kroeger work within a Wisconsin-rooted American idiom that rewards repeat visits as the season shifts. At the upper end of Madison's price range, it represents the city's clearest argument for regional fine dining on a national stage.
Los Angeles, United States
OTOTO is a neo-izakaya on Allison Avenue in Silver Lake, run by the team behind Tsubaki and recognized with the 2023 James Beard Award for Outstanding Wine and Other Beverages Program. The sake list is among the most considered in Los Angeles, anchoring a casual-to-mid-range menu of Japanese small plates pitched at the neighborhood bar register rather than the formal dining room. Walk-ins are possible, but the program draws a devoted following that rewards advance planning.
Los Angeles, United States
A 44-year-old Sherman Oaks institution that became one of Los Angeles's most-discussed restaurants after James Beard Award-winning chef Justin Pichetrungsi reimagined its menu from 2019 onward. The à la carte menu runs from wok-fired classics and deep curries to dry-aged fish, with a wine program that draws serious attention. Ranked #11 on the LA Times 101 Best Restaurants list for 2024 and a consistent presence on Opinionated About Dining's North America rankings.
Chicago, United States
Kasama occupies a rare position in American dining: a Filipino restaurant holding a Michelin star and a James Beard Award, operating as a daytime bakery and café before transforming into a 13-course tasting menu destination by night. Located in Chicago's East Ukrainian Village, it draws on the culinary pedigrees of Genie Kwon and Timothy Flores to reframe Filipino cuisine within the language of contemporary fine dining.
Chicago, United States
Virtue brings Southern cooking to Hyde Park with the kind of institutional weight that comes from two James Beard Awards and a Michelin Bib Gourmand. Chef Erick Williams runs a welcoming room on E 53rd St where skillet corn bread, dirty rice with gizzards, and stone-ground grits anchor a menu rooted in heritage technique. The crowd skews University of Chicago smart; the hospitality skews South Side warm.
Portland, United States
Chef Vince Nguyen's James Beard Award-winning restaurant on SE Belmont brings a fermentation-rooted Vietnamese sensibility to Portland's most competitive dining tier. Ranked #129 on Opinionated About Dining's North America list in 2023, Berlu operates in a small cohort of American restaurants treating Vietnamese cuisine with the same technical depth applied to French or Japanese cooking. It earns that positioning.
Houston, United States
Street to Kitchen on Harrisburg Boulevard brings James Beard Award-winning Thai cooking to one of Houston's most working-class, immigrant-shaped corridors. Chef Benchawan Jabthong Painter's double Michelin Bib Gourmand recognition signals serious precision at an accessible price point, placing this East End restaurant in a tier occupied by very few Thai kitchens across the United States.
Los Angeles, United States
Located in a 1928 building on La Brea Avenue, République operates as a French-inspired bakery, café, and formal dining room under chefs Walter and Margarita Manzke. The restaurant holds a 2023 James Beard Award for Outstanding Pastry Chef or Baker, a Michelin Plate, and ranked #4 on the LA Times 101 Best Restaurants list in 2024. The wine program runs to nearly 1,845 selections and 9,280 bottles of inventory.
Orlando, United States
Filipino cuisine occupies a narrow band of Orlando's fine dining tier, and Kaya on N Thornton Avenue holds two consecutive Michelin Plate recognitions (2024 and 2025) as evidence that the city's inspectors are paying attention. At the $$$$ price point, it sits alongside Michelin-starred neighbours in a dining scene that has shifted considerably in the past few years. The Google score of 4.6 across 375 reviews suggests the room is connecting with both regulars and first-timers.
Decatur, United States
The Deer and the Dove holds a 2023 James Beard Award for Best Chef: Southeast and a 2025 Michelin Plate, placing it at the top of Decatur's contemporary dining scene. Chef Terry Koval's menu moves through house-made pastas, whole-animal preparations, and cocktails built on house-produced spirits and liqueurs, all inside a space with a distinctly rustic, unhurried character.
Boise, United States
Kin, located in downtown Boise at 999 W Main St, earned the 2023 James Beard Award for Best Chef: Mountain under chef Kris Komori, placing it among a small group of James Beard-recognized restaurants in the Mountain West. The recognition signals Boise's emergence as a serious dining destination beyond its regional reputation, with Komori's kitchen drawing national critical attention to a city long underestimated on the American fine-dining map.
Find out on Pearl and keep score across every place in 2023 James Beard Awards.
Overview
The 2023 James Beard Awards honored 15 restaurants spanning 11 cities across the United States. Philadelphia claimed two spots with Fork and Friday Saturday Sunday, while Chicago also landed two honorees. The list saw almost complete turnover from 2022, with just one venue retained and 14 new entrants. Geographic diversity expanded beyond previous years, reaching markets like Boise, Orlando, and Honolulu.
This edition of the James Beard Awards recognized restaurants in 11 American cities, marking significant geographic expansion compared to prior years. Philadelphia doubled its presence with Fork and Friday Saturday Sunday both earning recognition. Chicago maintained representation through Virtue and Kasama, while previously unrepresented markets entered the mix—Boise's Kin, Orlando's Kaya, and Honolulu's Bar Leather Apron all made their debuts. Washington D.C., Houston, and Los Angeles rounded out the roster. The 2023 list differed sharply from 2022, with 14 new restaurants replacing 18 that dropped out. Only one venue from the previous year's list retained its position, signaling a deliberate shift in the awards' geographic and culinary focus.
The 2023 James Beard Awards brought near-total upheaval to the restaurant landscape, with 14 new entries replacing the previous year's honorees. Fork, Friday Saturday Sunday, and Oyster Oyster headed a 15-restaurant list that spread across 11 U.S. cities. Philadelphia claimed two spots, as did Chicago, while markets like Boise, Orlando, and Honolulu appeared for the first time. The previous year's top restaurant, The Grey from Savannah, didn't return—part of an 18-venue exodus that left just one carryover from 2022. The 2023 roster reflects a conscious geographic broadening and a fresh curatorial direction.
The 2023 James Beard Awards marked a dramatic reset from the previous year. Only one restaurant from 2022 held its place, while 18 dropped out entirely—including The Grey, which had topped the 2022 list. Fork led the 2023 honorees, joined by Friday Saturday Sunday and Oyster Oyster in the top positions. Philadelphia's double representation signaled the city's growing culinary recognition, while Chicago maintained its foothold with Virtue and Kasama.
Geographic diversity defined this edition. The 11 cities represented included several first-time markets: Boise entered through Kin, Orlando through Kaya, and Honolulu through Bar Leather Apron. Houston's Street to Kitchen and Los Angeles' Republique filled out a roster that prioritized nationwide reach over coastal concentration.
The wholesale turnover from 2022 suggests either a rotating recognition model or a significant shift in evaluation criteria. With 93% of the list comprising new entrants, the 2023 awards presented an almost entirely different dining map than the year prior. This isn't a cumulative honor roll—it's an annual snapshot that can change drastically between editions.
