The dining room of Fresno's Saizon restaurant. Photo by Ben Hensley

There are some familiar names on a list of the 101 best restaurants in California released June 12 by the Los Angeles Times.

A Times journalist visited each spot recommended in the guide, which is an offshoot of the 101 Best Restaurants in Los Angeles project published each year since 2013.

The list is divided into regions, with three restaurants representing the Central Valley. In addition to Mi Ranchito Café in Stockton and the Wool Growers Restaurant serving Basque in Bakersfield, the list included Fresno’s Saizon, reviewed by Los Angeles Times food critic Bill Addison.

Addison said the dim, 5,300 square-foot dining room at Saizon was nearly full during his reservation for two on a hot Saturday at 5:15 p.m. — the only reservation they could get a few days out.

“Decibels ricocheted like golf balls off concrete walls. The crowd looked to favor cocktails: margaritas, lychee martinis, frozen blood orange negronis. My eyes and ears adjusted, and I locked into the restaurant’s rhythm,” Addison wrote.

Saizon opened in 2022, led by partners Brandon Smittcamp and Kevin Koligian. They are also behind the popular Fresno restaurants Lime Lite, Heirloom, Mayd Modern Mediterranean and Butterfish. They described its culinary interpretation as “Napa Valley meeting Mexico City.”

“Chef Justin Shannon oversees a modern American menu that flirts with several genres: seafood bar, small plates, steakhouse,” Addison wrote. “The fun came from hopping between them.”

Saizon dishes highlighted in Addison’s review include Dungeness crab legs with Dijonnaise and tomatillo vinaigrette and flat-iron steak with guajillo-coriander rub and chipotle butter

“Impressive cooking in such a massive restaurant isn’t easy, and neither is personable service, but Saizon pulled off both,” Addison wrote.

On the recommendation of a server, Addison also tried the Otherside café, which is also owned by the same group as Saizon.

“An espresso tonic and avocado toast from there was the road-food breakfast I needed the next morning,” Addison wrote.

Other California restaurants on the list that may be familiar to Central Valley foodies include Jocko’s Steakhouse in San Luis Obispo and The Hidden Kitchen in Cambria representing the Central Coast region.