Fire Cooking Is Having Its Michelin Moment, and LA Has a Seat by the Hearth

The most influential palates in the restaurant world have spoken, and what they want is smoke. The Michelin Guide's inspectors ranked "char, smoke and flame" among the top food trends of 2026, and this spring they doubled down with a global editorial spotlighting 14 showstopping fire cooking experiences around the world, from electricity-free kitchens in Sweden to Michelin starred Texas barbecue.

Why Fire, and Why Now

Chefs everywhere are moving back to embers, wood, hot stones, and binchotan charcoal, chasing what the Guide describes as the clearest expression of flavor, with a bit of a show built in. The reference points are global: Knystaforsen slow-cooking over open flame in the Swedish countryside, Buenos Aires parrillas like Don Julio elevating live fire grilling to destination dining, and charcoal-kissed seafood defining menus from China to Tokyo. Fire is the rare trend that is simultaneously the oldest technique in cooking and the most theatrical thing a modern dining room can offer.

LA Has a Seat by the Hearth

Los Angeles is not watching this trend from the sidelines, and neither is the Valley. Alto in Studio City, one of the Guide's newest LA additions, is built entirely around a blazing two tier hearth, cooking the flavors of the South American Pampas over open flame on Ventura Boulevard, right down to a dulce de leche souffle the Guide's inspectors call out by name. It is the Valley's clearest proof that the fire moment has a 818 zip code.

Cross the hill and the flames keep going. At San Damian in Venice, Enrique Olvera's new marisqueria sends kanpachi al pastor straight off the fire with pineapple butter, and across the city, wood hearths, binchotan grills, and live fire menus keep multiplying. When the 2027 selections roll around, expect the smoke to have spread further.

For the full picture of where LA dining is headed, our monthly new restaurants in Los Angeles roundup tracks every notable opening, and the best food in Los Angeles page collects every spot FJM has featured, fire cooked and otherwise.

I hope you're hungry. - Matthew Tropp | FJM.