Kiln
John Wesley, who cooks Kiln, dropped out of school at fifteen, watched cooking shows on PBS for two years, and signed up for culinary school at seventeen. He took the MICHELIN Guide California Young Chef Award in 2024. Kiln now holds Two MICHELIN Stars in the 2026 California selection, in a warehouse on Fell Street.
Why go
Wesley cooked at Sons & Daughters and at Commis in Oakland, then at Aska and Eleven Madison Park in New York. General manager Julianna Yang came with him from Sons & Daughters. Twenty courses is the top of the count. A beet cornetto turns up with bone marrow, and lamb shank with hay custard.
Wesley's favorite ingredient is squab from the Central Valley around Modesto, which he calls the best on earth. He is also the rare chef who talks about the trash. His used fry oil comes back as candles guests take home.
Order this / avoid
- Order: the squab breast, lacquered with burnt honey and served in a truffled jus. This is the classical end of the menu.1
- Order: the opening snacks, and look for the crispy curlicue of puffed beef tendon.1
What locals & experts say
- The MICHELIN inspector, 2026 California selection:
The tasting menu leans Nordic, highlighting preservation techniques like curing, drying and fermentation in dishes whose simplicity is belied by intricate techniques and compelling flavor combinations.
1 - John Wesley, to the MICHELIN Guide, August 2024:
We really try to use every part of what we get in. If you look up composting laws in California, you realize that you hardly need a trash can in a restaurant anymore.
2 - Dianne de Guzman, Eater SF, on its splurge map: Wesley blends Japanese, French and Scandinavian technique and
takes refreshingly broad creative license
.3 - The Infatuation's Ricky Rodriguez got here in February 2024, before the second star, and scored it 8.7. He warned people about the door before he praised the food: gray slab walls, no decoration, and
a disorienting mix of loud punk rock and rap playing through the speakers.
4 He counts about ten tables under white cloths, and he describes the beef tendon as dehydrated, fried and rebuilt into something that crunches like a chicharron.
Good to know
- Booking: through Tock.3
- Price: $225 for eighteen to twenty courses when Rodriguez counted them in February 2024, over about two hours, and it is the only option.4 The guide prices the room $$$$.
- The building: the warehouse held Cala before this.4
- Where: 149 Fell Street, in Hayes Valley.
Verdict
must-visit — The guide tags this one for a date night, and the kitchen decides everything you eat, so turn up without a plan.