Nine Florida restaurants in Miami, Orlando and Tampa win Michelin stars. Here’s a list
Nine Florida restaurants have just earned Michelin stars for 2024.
On Thursday night at the Tampa Edition hotel, the internationally famous guide added three restaurants in Miami, four restaurants in Orlando and two in Tampa to lofty starred status, bringing the total in the state to 26 starred restaurants. All of the newly starred restaurants earned one star: Florida’s only two-star restaurant remains the luxurious French spot L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon in Miami.
Gwendal Poullennec, international director of the Michelin guides, said that for the past three years, Florida’s dining scene has exploded.
“Since the arrival of the Michelin Guide to Florida in 2022, there has been significant growth in the state’s local culinary scene, proving Florida is a leading gastronomic destination for travelers near and far,” he said in a statement.
Two Florida restaurants, however, did not retain their stars this year: The Den at Azabu in Miami Beach and Knife & Fork in Orlando. The restaurants will remain in the guide as recommended restaurants.
There are 149 Florida restaurants in the guide, covering 38 types of cuisine. Once again, Michelin shows its affection for omakase-style dining: Each Florida city had at least one restaurant with an omakase menu that earned a star.
Miami
EntreNos: This dinner-only restaurant with a tiny menu sources almost 80 percent of its menu from Florida, a harder task than you might think. “High-quality ingredients meet serious skill here,” the guide writes, recommending the dry-aged cobia as an example.
Ogawa: At this elegant omakase spot in Miami’s Little River neighborhood, Michelin praises baby sea eels with a soy-cured quail egg and lotus root, wild yam and langoustine tempura.
Shingo: Chef Shingo Akikuni, who presided over Miami’s starred sushi den Hiden, opened his own restaurant last year in Coral Gables, serving an omakase menu on a stunning bar made from rare Hinoki wood. The 14-seat restaurant is located in the historic La Palma building.
Orlando
Camille: Formerly a pop-up, this Vietnamese spot just off Lake Baldwin offers a 10-course French-Vietnamese tasting menu. Michelin applauds the Dungeness crab curry and salmon over king trumpet noodles in a tamarind and pineapple sauce.
Natsu: There are only two seatings a night at this 10-seat omakase counter, which serves chawanmushi (Japanese egg custard) and truffle kampachi served with potato straws and a yuzu truffle vinaigrette as well as “impressive” sushi.
Papa Llama: This Peruvian spot run by a husband-and-wife team offers a nod to Japanese fusion but also serves up a chicken thigh roulade with aji amarillo aioli that is “spectacular,” according to the guide.
Victoria & Albert’s: Getting a reservation at this famous spot at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort may be tough, but the wait is worth it, with Chef Matthew Sowers using influences “from Asia to the Nordics.”
Tampa
Ebbe: In Swedish chef Ebbe Vollmer’s cuisine, you’ll find Scandinavian elements — and fine food, according to Michelin, which praised the beet roulade with a brown butter and black cheer sauce and braised oxtail with seared foie gras.
Kosen: This omakase restaurant, part of a two-concept spot that includes Ko, a space for kaiseki dining, offers dishes like sea bream wrapped around sprouts with shaved black truffle as well as unfussy nigiri.
Other awards
The guide also awarded Green Stars — which indicate a restaurant upholds outstanding sustainable and eco-friendly practices — for the first time in Florida, honoring the Filipino restaurant Kaya in Orlando and Los Felix/Krus Kitchen in Miami.
Four special industry awards were also given for exceptional work in the industry. Justin Levaughn of Otto’s High Dive in Orlando won the Michelin Exceptional Cocktails Award, while Miami’s Gabriela Ospina of Boia De won the Michelin Sommelier Award. The Outstanding Service Award went to Israel Perez of Victoria & Albert’s in Orlando, and Tam Pham of Tam Tam in Miami earned the Young Chef Award.
Bib Gourmands
Florida also has 33 restaurants dubbed Bib Gourmands, a designation that pays tribute to restaurants with good quality cuisine at a good value. Here are Florida’s:
Miami: Bachour, Chug’s Diner, Doya, El Turco, Ghee Indian Kitchen, Hometown Barbecue, Jaguar Sun, La Natural, Lucali, Mandolin Aegean Bistro, Michael’s Genuine, Phuc Yea, Rosie’s, Sanguich de Miami, Tam Tam, Tinta y Cafe, Zak the Baker and Zitz Sum.
Orlando: Bombay Street Kitchen, Domu, Isan Zaap, Norigami, Otto’s High Dive, Strand, Sushi Saint, Taste of Chengdu, The Ravenous Pig, Z Asian and Zaru.
Tampa: Gorkhali Kitchen, Psomi, Rooster and the Till, Streetlight Taco
This is the third year Michelin has evaluated Florida restaurants. State tourism and marketing agency Visit Florida and tourism agencies in Miami, Orlando and Tampa paid the guide an estimated $1.5 million for Michelin to highlight restaurants in the cities from 2022-2024.
In a statement, Michelin said the partnership could continue.
“Michelin cannot discuss the terms of its relationships for competitive reasons, although Michelin respects that partners might have disclosure agreements,” the statement said. “It’s worth mentioning that once the Guide arrives in a destination the intent is for it to remain there. Supported by partnerships, the inspectors will continue to evaluate restaurants in the current coverage areas while keeping an eye on other locales as possible culinary hot spots for inclusion.”
