Providence
Three Michelin stars and a green star, and the coriander on the caviar course is cut on the roof. Dinner starts at $375.
Why go
Michael Cimarusti opened here in 2005 and has cooked the same way since. The guide's inspectors call purity and precision the underpinnings of his California cooking and say it has grown more impressive over the years, which is rarer than it sounds for a room this old.1 The tasting menu leans on wild-caught seafood from American waters.
The green star has a garden under it. We have a rooftop garden where we produce our own honey, the bees hives that we maintain pollinate our garden and the surrounding environment,
the restaurant tells the guide.1 Coriander from that roof goes on the caviar.2
The kitchen serves two tasting menus and you choose when you book. The eight-course Classic runs $375 and the ten-course Chef's runs $495, and neither is where the bill stops.2
Order this / avoid
- Order: the Uni Egg, a $35 supplement. Sea urchin, chopped tomatoes, champagne beurre blanc and mini brioche croutons, served in the shell.2
- Order: the salt-roasted spot prawns if they are on. One Santa Barbara prawn, cooked at the table in hot salt and rosemary, then carved out of the shell. Market price, $38 on Brant Cox's visit.2
- Avoid: treating the menu price as the bill. The supplements and the cart do real damage.2
What locals & experts say
- The Infatuation LA, Brant Cox, 20 August 2026:
For us, the answer is clear: Providence sits right at the top. At this legendary Melrose spot, dinner isn't just a showy way to drain your bank account. It's a thrilling three-hour-long saga where next-level seafood is accompanied by ornate tableside presentations, rooftop garden lore, and seamless service.
2 The Infatuation is owned by JPMorgan Chase. - MICHELIN Guide California:
As has been the case since opening in 2005, purity and precision are the underpinnings of Chef Michael Cimarusti's California cooking, and his cuisine has grown even more impressive over the years.
1
Good to know
- Booking: reservations open two months out. Book online, then call if you want to move it sooner. Day-of seats turn up at the bar occasionally.2
- Standing: Three MICHELIN Stars and a MICHELIN Green Star, printed on the guide's venue page for this address.1
- Getting there: Melrose Avenue, east of Highland.
Verdict
must-visit — Three stars and a Green Star on the same room, and the guide moved Providence up rather than resting it. Cimarusti opened in 2005 and the inspectors say the cooking has grown more impressive since, which is not what usually happens to a twenty-year-old tasting menu. The Green Star has a mechanism behind it: a rooftop garden with bee hives that pollinate it, and coriander off that roof lands on the caviar course. Brant Cox went in August 2026 and put the room at the top of the city. The one caution is money, not craft.