Restaurant in Palm Springs, United States
The clearest $$ call on Palm Canyon.
Cheeky's has earned back-to-back Michelin Plates (2024 and 2025) while holding a 4.2 Google rating across nearly 2,000 reviews — an unusually strong credibility stack for a $$ American spot on Palm Canyon Drive. It's the clearest value-for-money call in Palm Springs' mid-range tier: easy to book, consistent, and grounded enough to anchor a multi-night itinerary.
If you're eating on Palm Canyon Drive and want something that earns its place without demanding a splurge, Cheeky's is the clearest answer on the strip. Two consecutive Michelin Plates (2024 and 2025) at a $$ price point is a genuine signal: this is well-executed American cooking that punches above its bracket. Book it with confidence, especially if you've been once and are wondering whether to return — the answer is yes.
Palm Canyon Drive is Palm Springs' main artery , high foot traffic, tourist pressure, and the constant temptation for restaurants to coast on location. Cheeky's doesn't. It holds a 4.2 on Google across nearly 1,921 reviews, which at that volume is a meaningful floor, not a lucky average. In a corridor where many spots rely on ambience and desert novelty to carry the room, Cheeky's earns repeat visits on food alone.
The Michelin Plate recognition , awarded in both 2024 and 2025 , confirms what the review count suggests: this is a kitchen that takes cooking seriously, even at accessible prices. A Michelin Plate doesn't carry the weight of a star, but it does mean Michelin's inspectors ate here and found the food worth flagging. For a casual American spot in a mid-size California desert city, that's a meaningful credential. Compare that to Le Bernardin in New York City or The French Laundry in Napa , both operate in a different universe of formality and price , but the Michelin imprimatur, at any level, filters out mediocrity.
For Palm Springs specifically, Cheeky's fills a gap that matters: quality-driven, everyday-accessible dining that locals and returning visitors can rely on. It's the kind of anchor restaurant a neighbourhood needs , not the occasion spot you save for a birthday, but the place you build a Palm Springs trip around and come back to on the last morning before checkout. If you want to understand how the restaurant fits into the wider Palm Springs dining picture, see our full Palm Springs restaurants guide.
If this is a return visit, the practical frame shifts. Cheeky's is American cuisine at a $$ price point , broadly approachable, not a high-wire act of technical ambition. The cooking is consistent enough that you're not gambling on a night off from the kitchen. The 4.2 rating held across nearly two thousand reviews tells you the variance is low. That's useful information: you're booking a known quantity, not a high-ceiling high-variance bet.
On a return visit, the priority is going deeper into whatever format you skipped last time. If you came for brunch, try the dinner service. The American category at this price tier typically rewards revisiting when the kitchen has a defined point of view , and the Michelin recognition suggests there's one here. Compared to Hilda and Jesse in San Francisco or Selby's in Atherton , both American, both accessible , Cheeky's holds its own on value but benefits from the Palm Springs setting, where the pace is slower and the dining experience less pressured.
The booking difficulty here is low. This is not a room you need to plan weeks in advance to secure. That makes it a practical anchor for Palm Springs trips: book it a few days out, use it to structure the rest of your itinerary around. For the broader scene, our Palm Springs bars guide and Bar Cecil are worth pairing with a Cheeky's dinner if you want a full evening on the north end of Palm Canyon.
Cheeky's sits comfortably in the $$ tier of Palm Springs' dining options, which is actually its competitive advantage. Colony Club operates at $$$ with an American menu that's more ambitious in scope and price , worth the step up if you're celebrating or want a more structured dining experience, but Cheeky's Michelin recognition makes it the smarter everyday call. If you're watching spend, Cheeky's delivers more credentialed cooking per dollar than Colony Club for a casual night out.
Tac/Quila is the closest price peer at $$, but it's a different cuisine category , Mexican versus American , so the comparison depends on what you're after. If the choice is between them for a fun, low-cost dinner, Tac/Quila wins on atmosphere and cuisine specificity; Cheeky's wins on Michelin-validated consistency. The Barn Kitchen at Sparrows Lodge is also $$ and Californian in orientation , a strong alternative if you want a more resort-integrated setting, but it lacks the same independent credentialing that Cheeky's has accumulated.
For the full splurge in Palm Springs, Le Vallauris is the reference point , French, formal, and operating in a different register entirely. The Steakhouse at Agua Caliente covers a different need: a dedicated protein-forward occasion dinner in a resort setting. Neither competes directly with Cheeky's. If you're putting together a multi-night Palm Springs itinerary, a useful sequence is Cheeky's for a casual dinner or weekend brunch, Birba for a relaxed pizza night, and Le Vallauris when the occasion warrants it.
| Venue | Cuisine | Price | Booking Difficulty |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cheeky's | American | $$ | Easy |
| Le Vallauris | French | Unknown | |
| Colony Club | American | $$$ | Unknown |
| Tac/Quila | Mexican | $$ | Unknown |
| The Steakhouse at Agua Caliente Resort Casino Spa Rancho Mirage | American Steakhouse | Unknown | |
| The Barn Kitchen at Sparrows Lodge | Californian | $$ | Unknown |
What to weigh when choosing between Cheeky's and alternatives.
Yes. At a $$ price point with American cuisine on a busy stretch of Palm Canyon Drive, Cheeky's is low-pressure for a solo meal. You won't feel the need to fill a table or justify the spend. It holds a Michelin Plate for 2024 and 2025, so the kitchen is consistent enough that a single visit delivers a clear read on the food.
At $$, Cheeky's is one of the easier calls in Palm Springs dining. Two Michelin Plate recognitions (2024 and 2025) confirm the kitchen operates above the tourist-strip baseline you'd expect at this price tier. If you're comparing it against $$$+ options on the same street, Cheeky's wins on value — the quality gap doesn't justify the price jump at those alternatives.
For a step up in formality and price, Le Vallauris operates at a higher tier with European-influenced cuisine. The Barn Kitchen at Sparrows Lodge is the closest peer in terms of casual American food and atmosphere. Tac/Quila is the go-to if you want Mexican rather than American at a similar spend. Colony Club runs $$$ and suits a different occasion entirely.
No specific dietary accommodation details are in the available venue record. Given the Michelin Plate standing and $$ American cuisine format, it's reasonable to call ahead — the phone number isn't publicly listed, so check via their website or stop in if you're already on Palm Canyon Drive.
Specific menu items aren't documented in the available venue data, so recommending particular dishes would be guesswork. What is documented: Cheeky's earned Michelin Plate recognition in both 2024 and 2025, which means the kitchen has demonstrated consistent execution. Ask staff what's current when you arrive — at $$ you have room to explore without the risk of a costly misfire.
No tasting menu is documented for Cheeky's in the available venue data. As a $$ American restaurant on Palm Canyon Drive, the format skews toward accessible à la carte rather than multi-course set menus. If a tasting-menu experience is your goal, Le Vallauris is the more suitable option in Palm Springs.
Keep this venue in your Pearl passport, rate it after you visit, and track it alongside every other place you collect.
