Owner Alice Waters, middle, stopped by the bar for a drink at Bar Panisse in Berkeley, Calif., on Sunday, Feb. 1, 2026.

Two Bay Area restaurants, and four in Southern California, are among the best in the country, according to the New York Times’ The Restaurant List 2026. San Francisco’s Restaurant Naides, which recently earned its first Michelin star, and Berkeley’s cozy Chez Panisse spinoff Bar Panisse made the list released earlier this week.

This is the second year in a row that the outlet has declared a Bay Area wine bar among the best places to eat in America. Last year, it was Verjus, Michael and Lindsay Tusk’s popular Jackson Square spot. This year, the New York Times shined a spotlight on culinary doyenne Alice Waters’ young wine bar. In a statement shared with SFGATE, general manager Maud........

© SFGate