Oakland, the Bay Area foodie metropolis that’s home to a top restaurant in America, Burdell, and was dubbed the “the new ‘it’ food city” by the New York Times, surprisingly only had one Michelin-starred restaurant in its confines … until now.
At the Michelin Guide California awards on Wednesday night, West Oakland’s Sun Moon Studio was awarded its first Michelin star. The tiny restaurant known for its California-centric cuisine now joins James Syhabout’s Commis as only the second Oakland restaurant ever to earn the coveted designation. Commis earned its first star in 2010. The second star came in 2015.
Sun Moon Studio, at 1940 Union St., Suite 140, was founded last summer by chefs Alan Hsu and Sarah Cooper, who met during their time at Dan Barber’s Blue Hill at Stone Barns in New York. Inside a nondescript building that could double as an art studio, a dinner at Sun Moon Studio is an incredibly intimate experience. The restaurant has only 12 seats, and Cooper and Hsu are the only chefs in the kitchen…