Fine dining is booming in Florida. These cities lead the way.
There was a time when travelers came to Florida for a few great culinary hits: Key lime pie, stone crabs, Cuban sandwiches or juicy, handpicked oranges from a roadside stand. Fine dining, for the most part, was not a priority. Not anymore.
The Sunshine State has undergone a culinary boom. Migration to Florida has swelled in recent years, bringing young professionals, including chefs and restaurant owners, with it. Miami, Orlando and Tampa, in particular, have raised the bar, boasting Michelin-starred restaurants encompassing everything from sushi omakase to Scandinavian fine dining.
Mmmmiami
Miami hosts an impressive 14 Michelin-starred restaurants, and chef Shingo Akikuni says the boom can be attributed to restaurateurs offering 'fresh ideas and innovative experiences.' His Michelin-starred Coral Gables restaurant, Shingo, offers a 14-seat sushi omakase experience. Each night, an 18-course meal is artfully presented by chef Akikuni, who has some fish flown in from Japan. Also imported is the restaurant's interior, which was designed and constructed in Kyoto before being shipped to South Florida.
The city's two-Michelin-starred restaurant, L'Atelier de Joel Robuchon Miami, is tucked into the Design District and has perfected French dining with gorgeously plated crispy duck, Icelandic halibut and lamb saddle. You can watch the chefs work from a counter facing the open kitchen.
Stubborn Seed was one of the first Miami restaurants to earn a star in 2022 and has held the rating for the last two years. The tiny spot, helmed by season 13 Top Chef winner Jeremy Ford, has a rotating menu that draws from Florida's native bounty. Its eight- and 11-course tasting-only menus are guided by the seasons, but Wagyu beef tartare, homemade ricotta gnudi and striped sea bass are signature dishes.
Magic Foodie Kingdom
Orlando has started to shed its image as a theme park-only destination, and the city has several Michelin-starred and Michelin-recommended restaurants to build your trip around.
Four Flamingos, a Richard Blais Florida Kitchen, is a color-blasted, tropical-themed offering from the Top Chef All-Stars winner. There's a smorgasbord of seafood options: smoked salmon croquettes, Florida shrimp, stuffed lobster. For dessert, save room for the Baked Florida: A Key Lime pie topped with flambéed meringue.
BACÀN, helmed by chef Guillaume Robin, is a gorgeous homage to South and Central American flavors in a sleek dining room adorned with vivid art. Start with the El Cantarito a punchy mix of tequila, grapefruit, lime and orange juice that serves as a tasty prelude for the charred octopus, pork belly asada and lobster tostada starters. The mains are an amalgamation of Caribbean and Latin flavors, and the standout is the crispy Florida snapper seasoned with Guyanese curry and accompanied by mofongo.
The Michelin-starred Knife & Spoon at the Ritz-Carlton Orlando Grande Lakes is farm-to-table excellence. Chef Tyler Kineman draws his ingredients from a handful of local farms and has a tightly curated menu of seafood, pasta and chicken dishes. But the specialty is steaks, dry-aged for up to four months.
Bay of Bounty
Tampa continues to serve up culinary ingenuity. The Tampa EDITION, the city's first five-star rated hotel, opened in 2022. With it came Lilac, a Michelin-starred restaurant led by chef John Frase serving caviar and Maine lobster as starters. Everything here feels well thought out: diver scallops on risotto and spice-braised rabbit are part of the four-course tasting menu and served in a glossy, emerald green dining room.
Ebbe, a Scandinavian restaurant, earned its Michelin recognition last year. Inside, meals are served on a marble countertop in a minimalist, stark space. The menu changes with the seasons, but chef Ebbe Vollmer's signature dish is beets cooked in brown butter.
Another 2024 Michelin winner is Rocca, where chef and owner Bryce Bonsack serves Italian fare in a relaxed atmosphere inspired by his pilgrimage to Italy. Beyond the handmade gnocchi and tagliolini, one of the draws here is the mozzarella cart — fresh mozzarella kneaded tableside.
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