Entering the restaurant from 11th Street, guests pass through a sloping corridor of black walls and cream-colored candles, leading to a pleasant, enclosed patio decorated with pink hydrangeas and other plants. The restaurant’s interior is decorated with dark paneled walls whose sober tones are offset by colorful artworks, white tablecloths, and elegant chandeliers. The open kitchen allows diners to enjoy the performance of the chef’s team as their beautifully plated food is prepared.
Chef-owner Val Cantú grew up in the heart of Texas, in a small town called Brownwood, where his father ran a Mexican restaurant and tortilleria. The restaurant became a second home to Cantú, but it was not until after he had graduated in Business and English from the University of Texas in Austin and then spent several years travelling around Europe and Mexico that he decided he wanted to be a chef. This realization led to a job in an Austin sushi restaurant, Uchi, followed by stages at Benu and Saison in San Francisco. He then found a permanent job at Sons & Daughters in the city, which received its first Michelin star while he was there, an experience that sharpened his focus on the higher end of the hospitality spectrum. This led to a realization that there were no fine-dining restaurants in San Francisco showcasing Mexican cuisine, a gap that Cantú intended to fill. To this end, he transferred to Mexico City to learn from renowned chef Enrique Olvera at Pujol, considered one of the best restaurants in the world. At the same time, he researched Mexican culinary traditions and history, all with a view to opening his own Mexico-oriented fine-dining restaurant. When Cantú returned to San Francisco in 2013, he started scouting for a suitable venue, creating pop-ups in several locations along the way. In 2015, he found the place he had been looking for, in the Mission District, and his Californios dream became a reality.
The year after the restaurant opened, Cantú was named a Rising Star Chef by both StarChefs and the San Francisco Chronicle, and in 2018 he featured in Food & Wine magazine’s list of America’s Best New Chefs. Californios earned its first Michelin star in 2015, an honor which was doubled in 2017, making it the first ever US restaurant serving Mexican cuisine to earn two Michelin stars. The same year, Californios received four-stars—the highest possible rating—from Michael Bauer in his review in the San Francisco Chronicle.
