The Michelin Guide Makes Its Way To Miami This Week

The time has finally come — the Michelin Guide is making its way to Miami. On June 9th in Orlando the famed fine dining guide book will announce its first-ever picks in Florida within three of the state’s largest cities: Miami, Orlando, and Tampa. What initially began as a free promotional catalog written by Michelin (you know, the French tire company with the big marshmallow looking man) to get drivers behind the wheel to travel for great food is now a world renown rating system that’s used in several countries to let fine dining lovers know a restaurant is worth traveling for.

Awards include the much talked about stars — one, two, and three — Bib Gourmand, and The Michelin Plate. While known all over the world, The Guide is only in a handful of cities in the United States including New York, Chicago, Washington DC, and throughout California.

Now let’s talk about Miami’s addition to the guide. There’s no doubt that Miami is a mecca for great food, but the Michelin Guide is all about fine dining and Miami’s just not a fine dining city. This young city offers croquetas at every corner, empanadas as far as the eye can see, and tons of trendy hot spots with flavors from every culture imaginable. There’s parties, nightlife, and cocktails galore but when it comes to Michelin guide worthy spots Miami is a tough sell, so it’s no wonder why it’s taken this long for The Guide to make its way to the Magic City.

To be considered for the Michelin Guide, your restaurant must be top-notch as far as food (again, think worth traveling miles for), but separately the atmosphere and most importantly service are rated and awarded with a logo that depicts a fork and spoon — unfortunately, something that’s more often than not lacking in Miami.

I’ve been writing about Miami’s hospitality industry for the last six years and throughout this time I’ve found my passion, a career I love, and a whole new world within a culinary lens. During this time I’ve learned a new appreciation for the hard work that goes into every aspect of the restaurant world from simple street food to elaborately plated meals where the food is placed ever so delicately with tweezers and I’m delighted that our restaurant scene is being considered for such high honors.

Some may say the Michelin Guide is designed for rich bougie people who just like to throw money around, however I think those who are interested in what The Guide has to say are people who choose to spend their hard-earned money on delicious experiences that can be enjoyed with their friends and loved ones. The Michelin Guide has very strict standards and if a restaurant is awarded its stars that means you know you’re bound for an epic evening (or even afternoon) from the moment you make the reservation until the second you walk out of the door.

I sat down with two of Miami’s most well known fine dining aficionados to chat about the Michelin Guide’s debut in Miami and who they think could be worthy of such an honor. What’s the best part about these two? They each have blogs that focus largely on the finer parts of Miami’s culinary scene, but it’s not their full time job, and they just find joy in spending their money on not only great experiences, but in supporting our beloved hospitality community.

Brenda Popritkin of The Whet Palette has been writing about the potential of Miami to receive a published guide since 2014. “Those articles are, by far, the most visited on my site. I’ve worked hard to keep interest in a potential guide for South Florida during those eight years, way before there was talk about one locally,” shares Popritkin. An avid fine dining lover, she’s visited 57 Michelin-rated restaurants — that’s about 163 stars. It’s safe to say, she’s very passionate about The Guide making its way here.

“It’s important to appreciate the big picture. Unlike the other four locations already rated and published by the Michelin Guide, Miami is still a young food city with complex culinary influences. The Guide’s arrival and international reach mean the world now gets a loud and enthusiastic nudge to follow the starred culinary path to our feisty Miami,” says Popritkin.

As we chatted, we shared our excitement about how this will hopefully attract dining enthusiasts who travel for food, encourage our existing restaurant teams to continue improving every step of the way, and elevate our dining scene. Those visitors, while here, will also explore the city beyond Michelin’s recommendations. A win, win.

When asked about her personal predictions, Popritkin says she won’t be surprised to find some of our New York and DC imports on this inaugural list like Fiola, Cote, Caviar Russe, and L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon. Naturally, she’d also love to see the addition of some of our more hyperlocal spots like Stubborn Seed, Ariete, NAOE, and Itamae. Of course, we all agree a star for Thomas Keller’s The Surf Club would round the Miami section of the guide.

David Rosendorf, known for his blog Food For Thought and on Instagram as @frodnesor, was also quick to point out that The Guide doesn’t quite mesh well with Miami’s style of dining. “While it’s great for Florida to have the attention of the Michelin Man, it should also be noted that The Guide favors a particular type of Euro-centric, fussy, expensive restaurant that does not necessarily reflect the culinary zeitgeist of a city like Miami,” says Rosendorf.

The consensus between the two (and I agree) is that at this moment, we don’t have any three star contenders, and even two stars are pretty unlikely, but perhaps this will catapult Miami’s dining scene to a new much welcomed level.

“There won’t be more than three two-stars, and that may be a stretch. Most likely candidate is L’Atelier de Joel Robuchon, with Ariete, Naoe, and Ghee having outside shots,” says Rosendorf.

When it comes to top contenders for one star, Rosendorf has strong feelings about the local chefs who have been working hard to elevate Miami’s culinary scene. “Ariete, Boia De, Ghee, Itamae, Macchialina and Naoe will each get a star, or I’ll be burning Michelin tires in the streets,” says Rosendorf. He continued to say he believes L’Atelier, Le Jardinier, Carbone, Cote, El Cielo, Fiola, and Surf Club will get stars. As well as maybe 20 other Miami restaurants potentially vying for maybe another 5-10 one-stars slots.

As far as my predictions, I’ve got to say I think these two are right on the money. While several of our local chefs could and should be in the running for one star (Boia De, Macchalina, Itamae, Ghee, and Ariete) there’s a greater chance we will see stars being awarded to restaurants who already have stars in other cities like Cote and Fiola. Either way June 9th will be an exciting day for our talented city. Until then, we will be waiting with bated breath.