TAMPA, Fla. — The Michelin Guide — the holy grail guidebook for food fanatics around the world — has added three Tampa restaurants to its list of recommendations for 2023.
The guide first came to Florida in 2022 to recognize restaurants it deemed to be the best of the best.
And after handing out a handful of highly-coveted stars and awards last year, its anonymous diners have been busy tasting even more of the innovative cuisine Tampa has to offer.
"This month, our Inspectors honed in on Tampa—the city situated along Florida's Gulf Coast known for its cultural attractions and bustling business district. It's also home to some truly innovative cuisine," the Michelin Guide wrote.
Here are the three new restaurants included in the Florida Michelin Guide for 2023.
Chef John Fraser is serving up "fresh produce with finesse" at this restaurant in the stylish and sexy Edition hotel, Michelin inspectors wrote. Diners can enjoy a contemporary Mediterranean four-course prix-fixe menu that displays French techniques on Florida-focused ingredients.
The guide says guests can expect small bites like "a Diver scallop infused with rosemary smoke and dramatically served under a cloche" and main dishes like "Ora King salmon with a Florida stone crab salad or Colorado lamb chop with tender leeks and house-made lamb sausage."
The tableside champagne cocktail cart also seemed to be a standout feature for the anonymous diners.
A sister restaurant to another Michelin Guide favorite Koya, this "minimalist Japanese restaurant" has a lively and modern vibe, inspectors said.
Adriana and Eric Fralick offer both an omakase — where you leave your selections in the hands of the chef — and an à la carte sushi experience along with some small plates.
"Traditionalists should head for the king salmon nigiri sourced from New Zealand, while bold and creative flavor combinations are found in maki like the negi toro roll, with spicy fatty tuna, scallion, tobanjan kewpie in a black garlic soy sauce," the guide reads.
Michelin inspectors said "there are few spots as refined as" Chef Christopher Ponte's contemporary American restaurant in midtown Tampa.
"Kick off this memorable meal with Champagne and pearls—oysters finished with a pink peppercorn mignonette foam—or opt for the salmon Wagyu set over crispy sushi rice," the guide reads.
Plus, there is an entire menu devoted to steaks with different sauces, toppers and butters.
When the guide first came to Tampa in 2022, only 15 Orlando and Miami restaurants were awarded Michelin stars. Still, Tampa earned some major recognition with three Bib Gourmand awards — Rooster and the Till, Ichicoro Ramen and Rocca.
The Bib Gourmand — named after Bibendum, the big, white Michelin Man — is awarded to restaurants that offer "exceptionally good food at moderate prices."
The internationally-recognized rating system is known for spotting the best restaurants in the world of fine dining. It was created in 1889 in France by brothers Andre and Edouard Michelin — the same guys who founded the tire company.
They first produced the small red books as a travel guide of sorts to get more drivers on the road, and in turn, sell more tires. Now, it's used by foodies across the world to know which restaurants are worth traveling to.