NAPA VALLEY, CA — Napa Valley as a whole does not lack for destination restaurants, Michelin-starred or not. Now, it is also home to the best restaurant not only in the United States but on the North American continent.
French Laundry, a destination restaurant marking its 30th year in Yountville, has been honored by The World Culinary Awards as the 2025 United States’ Best Restaurant as well as North America’s Best Restaurant.
After three decades of accolades, imitation, and adoration — and, let’s be honest, a share of criticis — this appears to be the first time The French Laundry has won a World Culinary Award. Nominations come from people in the culinary industry who can enter a restaurant with “world-class services and an all-conquering customer experience” in one of the Culinary Awards categories. The culinary community, industry experts, and consumers are invited to vote online. This is year 6 of the award.
The French Laundry, known for a California-style French cuisine built around precise use of fresh produce, earned its first Michelin star in 2007. Today, the French Laundry is one of only 14 restaurants in the United States with three Michelin stars. The restaurant was also awarded a Michelin Green Star. This makes it one of the few restaurants in the United States to hold both distinctions, according to the organization.
As the story goes, Chef Thomas Keller visited Yountville in the early 1990s in search of a location for fine French cuisine in Napa Valley. He found the rustic two-story stone cottage of river rock and timbers on 6640 Washington St. When Keller walked into the restaurant’s quaint courtyard, he found not just a location but a destination for his ambitions.
Keller has said the restaurant and its offshoots source much of their produce from a three-acre culinary garden across from the restaurant on Washington Street. The daily tasting menus follow classic French cuisine and its serving style, but with California freshness and North American twists, such as “Mac and Cheese” with handmade pasta and shaved truffles.
New York City was honored by the Culinary Awards as the continent’s best culinary city destination and the United States as the best culinary destination.
Dining and Cooking