California takes over Yelp’s best new US restaurants — with LA landing #2

Bring your appetite.

A new list from Yelp reveals the 25 best new restaurants in the country for 2026 — and California is serving up more winners than any other state, with five spots on the list.

Three California newcomers cracked the top five, including LA’s Firstborn, which snagged the No. 2 spot.

Located in Chinatown, the buzzy Chinese restaurant is ran by Michelin-recognized Anthony Wang, and offers a “remarkably complex” menu, according to one Yelp review.

“Many of the ideas are rooted in nostalgia from my upbringing,”...