Miami restaurant and Little Havana bar were just named among the best in the U.S.

Connie Ogle
·3 min read

In its annual Global Tastemakers Awards, Food & Wine has named Miami one of the best U.S. cities for food and drinks — and highlighted a Miami restaurant and a Little Havana bar as among the best in the country, too.

Led by Chef Valerie Chang, who is also a 2024 semifinalist for a James Beard Award, Maty’s in Midtown was ranked No. 15 in the top 20 restaurants in the United States. Food & Wine praised Chang’s unique ability to pay tribute to her Peruvian culture (the restaurant is named for her grandmother).

“What she is doing with Peruvian cuisine in Midtown is truly one-of-a-kind, largely because the food here is inspired by her grandmother’s cooking,” Food & Wine writes, going on to highlight the grouper tail with beurre blanc, the lomo saltado with oxtail, and tuna tiradito with cranberry beans, cilantro and aji limo.

Last year, Maty’s, which opened in March 2023, was named one of the best new restaurants in the country by Bon Appétit and Esquire magazines.

Anajack Thai in Los Angeles was named the best restaurant in the U.S., followed by Aragosta at Goose Cove, Deer Isle, Maine; Semma in New York City; Birdie’s in Austin; Kasama in Chicago; Damian in Los Angeles; Chubby Fish in Charleston; Daru in Washington, D.C.; Bell’s in Los Alamos, California; and Kann, in Portland, Oregon.

Chef Valerie Chang, here with her brother Nando and father Fernando, is the force behind Maty’s, which was named one of the best restaurants in the U.S. by Food & Wine. The Changs also ran the former Peruvian-Japanese fusion spot Itamae in Miami’s Design District.
Chef Valerie Chang, here with her brother Nando and father Fernando, is the force behind Maty’s, which was named one of the best restaurants in the U.S. by Food & Wine. The Changs also ran the former Peruvian-Japanese fusion spot Itamae in Miami’s Design District.

On the cocktail side of things, Little Havana’s beloved Café La Trova, which in 2023 was named the best restaurant bar in the country at the 17th annual Spirited Awards, was ranked No. 5 on Food & Wine’s best U.S. bars list. The Cuban-inspired hot spot on Calle Ocho is “nothing short of electric,” Food & Wine reports, applauding the work of master cantinero Julio Cabrera and his team of Cuban-style bartenders, famous for their daiquiris and mojitos.

Café La Trova, which also features a menu by Chef Michelle Bernstein, was also named one of the World’s 50 Best Bars in 2023.

According to Food & Wine, the best bar in the country is Superbueno in New York City. The rest of the top 10 list is heavily New York-centric: Katana Kitten, New York City; Double Chicken Please, New York City; Allegory, Washington, D.C.; Jewel of the South, New Orleans; Chez Zou, New York City; Martiny’s, New York City; Kumiko, Chicago; and La Factoria, San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Miami comes in at No. 7 on the Tastemakers list for the best food and drinks city. Food & Wine also briefly mentions two other local favorites to try: the Vietnamese-Colombian spot Phuc Yea in Miami’s MiMo neighborhood, and Little Havana’s Sanguich, which was named a Michelin Bib Gourmand. New York was named the best city in the U.S. for food and drink.

Food & Wine created its list by polling more than 180 food and travel journalists on their favorite global experiences, then sent the results to a panel of 12 judges to determine the winners of each category. The article also includes judge’s picks to spotlight up-and-coming restaurants.

A daquiri clasico at Café La Trova in Little Havana.
A daquiri clasico at Café La Trova in Little Havana.

If you go

Café La Trova: 971 SW Eighth St., Miami; www.cafelatrova.com; 786-615-4379

Maty’s: 3255 NE First Ave., Miami; www.matysmiami.com or 786-338-3525