Contemporary French restaurant Chez TJ lost its Michelin Star after the 2025 California Michelin Guide ceremony on Wednesday night. Photo by Michelle Le.
After 19 years of receiving a Michelin star, Chez TJ in Mountain View was not awarded a star at the 2025 California Michelin Guide ceremony in Sacramento on Wednesday night.
“We’re very sad, and we’re wondering where we have done something wrong,” said George Aviet, owner of the contemporary French restaurant. “We were just hoping, actually, this time to get the second (star).”
For Aviet, receiving a Michelin star strikes a personal chord. He and the late Tom McCombie founded Chez TJ in 1982. Aviet recalls going on a trip with McCombie to Europe in 1988 and dreaming of the Michelin Guide ranking their restaurant.
“Unfortunately, he passed away before we got the Michelin star,” Aviet said. “I kept that promise to Tom that when you’re gone, I will do anything, as I have done, to earn a Michelin star. And I did for him.”
Executive chef Stanley Michalski prepares a quail at Chez TJ in Mountain View. Photo by Adrienne Mitchel.
Aviet is proud to have launched a slew of Michelin-starred chefs from Chez TJ, including Christopher Kostow, who received a three Michelin star ranking for nine years at The Restaurant at Meadowwood and created The Charter Oak; Joshua Skenes, who earned three Michelin stars at Saison; Bruno Chemel, whose former Palo Alto restaurant Baumé held two Michelin stars for 10 years; and Scott Nishiyama, whose Palo Alto restaurant Ethel’s Fancy had its Michelin Guide debut this year.
Aviet added that he respects the Michelin Guide and aims to do what it takes to earn a star next year.
Chez TJ remains in the Michelin Guide as Michelin recommended, along with 27 other Peninsula restaurants. Formerly Michelin recommended restaurants Doppio Zero Pizzeria Napoletana in Mountain View, Tamarine in Palo Alto, Shalizaar in Belmont and Beijing Duck House in Cupertino were all removed from the guide entirely.
Scott Nishiyama’s restaurant Ethel’s Fancy was added to the 2025 Michelin Guide Wednesday night. Courtesy Ethel’s Fancy.
Crispy pork belly, burrata, grilled peas and miso caramel at Ethel’s Fancy in Palo Alto. Courtesy Ethel’s Fancy.
The two Peninsula wins this year were Ethel’s Fancy in Palo Alto, which was added to the guide as Michelin recommended, and Eylan in Menlo Park, which was awarded a Bib Gourmand and a Special Award for exceptional cocktails.
Nishiyama, a former chef at the Michelin-starred French Laundry and Chez TJ, opened Ethel’s Fancy in 2022. The restaurant, named after his mother and grandmother, offers California cuisine with Japanese and French influences. The Michelin Guide highlights Ethel’s Fancy’s fried “katsu-style” culet of swordfish with spiced kumquats and tangy Dijonnaise, as well as its hojicha tapioca pudding with rice cracker bark.
The team behind Palo Alto’s Ettan, which is listed in the Michelin Guide, opened Cal-Indian restaurant Eylan in January. It was one of four restaurants statewide to win a Special Award and the only Silicon Valley newcomer to the Bib Gourmand category, joining Orchard City Kitchen in Campbell, Pausa in San Mateo and The Bywater in Los Gatos.
Whole sea bream with a spiced scallion crust, coconut and fish bone broth and a nine grain kitchadi. Photo by Chad Santo Tomas.
Srijith Gopinathan, formerly of Michelin-starred Campton Place Restaurant, and Ayesha Thapar are the creators of Eylan. The Michelin Guide draws attention to Eylan’s Dungeness crab mutabar, lemongrass scented Gulf shrimp, whole sea bream and chili-glazed celeriac and pineapple kebabs.
Eylan’s cocktail program, led by Christopher Longoria, received a special Michelin distinction. House cocktails include its Bazaar Paloma with tamarind and spices; Techies, Guns & Money, a rum old fashioned with pandan and spices; and Companion, a Manhattan with Earl Grey tea.
“Indian cooking is complex, and our cocktail team became students of the ingredients and techniques that we use in the kitchen to then be able to complement the food in the most harmonious and interesting way through the bar offerings,” wrote Gopinathan in an email. “It is rewarding to see Michelin take notice of Eylan’s cocktail program, and also honor us with a Bib Gourmand. These awards reflect the hard work and creativity of everyone at the restaurant.”
Cocktails at Eylan in Menlo Park. From left, Dirty Spritz, Not a Trace and Flavor Flav. Photo by Chad Santo Tomas.
No two- or three-Michelin-starred restaurants currently exist along the Peninsula. Protégé in Palo Alto, Selby’s in Atherton, The Village Pub in Woodside, Wakuriya in San Mateo and Plumed Horse in Saratoga all retained their one Michelin star ranking at Wednesday’s ceremony.
According to the Michelin Guide, one-, two- and three-Michelin-starred restaurants serve “exceptional cuisine that’s rich in flavor, remarkably executed and infused with the personality of a talented chef.” Winning a Bib Gourmand means that a restaurant offers “good quality food for a good value – often known as personal favorites among the Inspectors when dining on their own time.”
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