Florida Just Gained 4 Michelin-Starred Restaurants in the State’s Latest Guide

Tori Latham
·2 min read

Just in time for everyone’s summer vacations down south, the Michelin Guide has revealed this year’s stars in Florida.

The list isn’t all that different from the selection last year, when Michelin released its inaugural guide in the Sunshine State. All 15 restaurants honored in 2022 retained their status, while just four new restaurants were given accolades: three in Tampa and one in Miami Beach.

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“Florida has three distinct culinary hotspots that make the state a premier destination for gourmet-travelers, who can experience a wealth of flavors and creative cooking styles,” Gwendal Poullennec, the international director of the Michelin Guide, said in a statement.

A dish from Lilac
A dish from Lilac

Last year, Tampa was shut out of the Michelin stars altogether, so that city is likely pleased to see three spots sitting in the 2023 guide. Those restaurants—Koya, Lilac, and Rocca—were all awarded one star. The only Michelin two-star restaurant in the entire state remains Miami’s L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon.

Of the four new entries, Tampa’s restaurants span Japanese, Italian, and contemporary cuisine. The tiny, eight-seat Koya, from Adriana and Eric Fralick, was commended for its dishes like a beet-and-vodka-smoked salmon macaroon and a chutoro hand roll with wasabi guacamole. Inspectors lauded John Fraser’s Lilac for its diver scallop infused with rosemary smoke and Colorado lamb chop with leeks and house-made sausage. And Bryce Bonsack’s Rocca was given props for its hand-pulled mozzarella and in-house pastas, such as spaghetti al limone tossed with blue crab, lemon, shaved garlic, and zucchini.

A dish from the Tambourine Room
A dish from the Tambourine Room

Over in Miami, the only additional restaurant to make the list was the Tambourine Room by Tristan Brandt. There, Brandt cooks up French cuisine with Asian influences, reflected in ginger-tinged dishes of tomatoes, scallops, and Wagyu, and sauces and foams that make use of Parmesan, lobster, and saffron.

Only in its second year, the Florida Michelin Guide has yet to bestow its highest honor of three stars on any restaurant in the state. (There are only 13 such restaurants in the United States at large.) Yet that gives chefs there something to strive toward, as they tighten their menus and hope that the Michelin inspectors see greatness within.

Here’s the full list of Michelin-starred Florida restaurants:

Two stars:

  • L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon Miami, Miami

One star:

  • Ariete, Miami

  • Boia De, Miami

  • Capa, Orlando

  • Cote Miami, Miami

  • The Den at Sushi Azabu Miami, Miami

  • Elcielo Miami, Miami

  • Hiden, Miami

  • Kadence, Orlando

  • Knife & Spoon, Orlando

  • Koya, Tampa

  • Le Jardinier Miami, Miami

  • Lilac, Tampa

  • Los Félix, Miami

  • Rocca, Tampa

  • Soseki, Orlando

  • Stubborn Seed, Miami

  • The Surf Club Restaurant, Miami

  • Tambourine Room by Tristan Brandt, Miami

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