Which Restaurants Serve Lab-Grown Meat? The 2026 Guide

Updated October 19, 2026

In July 2023, two restaurants made history as the first in the United States to sell meat grown from animal cells rather than raised on a farm. Three years later, both of those menus have moved on, the first cultivated seafood has arrived, a growing list of states has banned the category outright, and one of the best places to taste it is a José Andrés cocktail lounge in Washington, D.C. Here is where lab-grown meat stands now, and where you can actually order it.

The Short Answer

As of October 2026, lab-grown meat, also called cultivated or cell-based meat, appears on only a handful of U.S. restaurant menus, almost all of them chef-driven independents. The most widely served product is Wildtype’s cultivated salmon. No fast food chain in the United States serves lab-grown meat.

Which Restaurants Serve Lab-Grown Meat in 2026?

Cultivated meat is produced in small batches, so availability shifts with menus and supply. Call ahead before booking. These are the restaurants that have put it on the menu since U.S. approvals widened in 2025:

• barmini by José Andrés, Washington, D.C. Wildtype’s cultivated salmon arrived at Andrés’s cocktail lounge next to Minibar on June 3, 2026, making it the most visible address for cultivated meat in the country.
• Kann, Portland, Oregon. Chef Gregory Gourdet’s Haitian restaurant was the first in the U.S. to serve Wildtype’s salmon, beginning in late May 2025.
• Robin, San Francisco. Chef Adam Tortosa’s omakase counter added Wildtype salmon in August 2025.
• The Walrus and the Carpenter, Seattle. Renee Erickson’s oyster bar followed later that month.
• Kingfisher, Tucson, Arizona. Serving Wildtype salmon since late 2025.
• Fiorella, San Francisco. The first restaurant to serve meatballs and bacon made with Mission Barns’ cultivated pork fat, in 2025.

Wildtype has also appeared at Hai Sí in Colorado, which has since closed, and at a one-night event at Fulgurances Laundromat in New York. Otoko in Austin served it until Texas banned the sale of cultivated meat in 2025.

Does Any Fast Food Restaurant Use Lab-Grown Meat?

No. McDonald’s, KFC, Taco Bell, Wendy’s and every other U.S. fast food chain serve conventional meat, and viral social media claims to the contrary have been rated false by PolitiFact. The closest any chain has come was a 2020 cell-cultured meat project by KFC Russia, which KFC has called a one-time experiment. Cost and scale explain the gap: cultivated meat is still made in quantities suited to a tasting menu, not a drive-through.

Is Lab-Grown Meat Sold in Grocery Stores?

Barely. Mission Barns sold packs of meatballs made with cultivated pork fat in a one-day sale at Berkeley Bowl West in Berkeley, California, in November 2025. In Australia, Vow sells its Forged cultured-quail products directly to consumers in limited online drops. For now, restaurants remain the main way to try it.

The First Two Restaurants: Bar Crenn and China Chilcano

The story began in June 2023, when federal regulators cleared Upside Foods and Good Meat to sell cultivated chicken. Upside debuted its chicken at Dominique Crenn’s Bar Crenn in San Francisco, and Good Meat at China Chilcano, José Andrés’s restaurant in Washington, D.C.

Neither run lasted long. China Chilcano paused its Good Meat tasting menu in September 2023, and Upside wrapped its Bar Crenn dinner series in early 2024 after seven services. Both companies shifted their focus to lowering production costs, a reminder that regulatory approval was never the only obstacle.

Upside Foods’ cultivated chicken breast

What Is Lab-Grown Meat?

Cultivated meat, also known as cell-based or lab-grown meat, is produced by taking a small sample of animal cells and growing them in a bioreactor into animal tissue. No animal is slaughtered, and the result is real meat at the cellular level, produced without traditional farming. Its supporters point to lower environmental impact and fewer ethical concerns. Its challenge has always been cost: bioreactors, specialized facilities, scientific teams and years of research make every pound expensive. Santé tasted cultivated caviar from California startup Optimized Foods in December 2022.

Which Lab-Grown Meats Are Approved in the U.S.?

• Upside Foods cultivated chicken (2023)
• Good Meat cultivated chicken (2023)
• Wildtype cultivated salmon (2025), the first cultivated seafood cleared by the FDA
• Mission Barns cultivated pork fat (2025)
• Believer Meats cultivated chicken (2025); the company closed later that year before producing anything for sale

Where Is Lab-Grown Meat Banned?

As federal approvals expanded, several states moved the other way. Florida and Alabama banned cultivated meat in 2024. Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska and Texas have since barred its sale, Indiana has a temporary ban running to 2027, and South Dakota’s five-year moratorium took effect on July 1, 2026. Wildtype and Upside Foods have sued over the Texas ban. More than 20 states also regulate how alternative proteins may be labeled.

Beyond the U.S.

Singapore was the first country to allow sales, approving Good Meat’s chicken in 2020. Australian company Vow has sold its cultured quail to Singapore restaurants since April 2024, and after approval from Food Standards Australia New Zealand in 2025 it appeared on menus at 12 restaurants across Sydney and Melbourne. Israel has also approved cultivated beef, while the European Union has yet to approve any cultivated meat for sale.

The Santé Take

Cultivated meat has not arrived the way its backers promised in 2023, when it seemed headed from tasting menus to supermarket shelves. Investment has fallen sharply, several companies have closed, and state legislatures are working against it. What it has found instead is a place in serious kitchens: salmon at a José Andrés cocktail bar, quail parfait in Sydney. For now, lab-grown meat is a chef’s ingredient rather than a fast food one, and the way to taste it is to book a table.

Frequently Asked Questions

What restaurants are using lab-grown meat?

In 2026, barmini in Washington, D.C., Kann in Portland, Robin in San Francisco, The Walrus and the Carpenter in Seattle and Kingfisher in Tucson have served Wildtype’s cultivated salmon, and Fiorella in San Francisco has served Mission Barns’ cultivated pork. Menus change, so confirm with the restaurant before you go.

Does any fast food use lab-grown meat?

No. No U.S. fast food chain uses lab-grown meat. Claims that McDonald’s, KFC, Taco Bell or Wendy’s serve it are false.

Is lab-grown meat safe to eat?

Every cultivated product sold in the U.S. has completed a pre-market safety review with the FDA. Cultivated meat and poultry also require USDA inspection and label approval.

Is lab-grown meat legal in every state?

No. Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska and Texas bar its sale, Indiana has a temporary ban and South Dakota has a moratorium.