The MICHELIN Guide Inspectors are an intrepid bunch. They spend most days and nights dining out in cities around the world, so when it comes to spotting trends, they’re usually the first on the scene. With Florida’s MICHELIN Guide Ceremony celebration in April, we checked in with our Inspectors to learn what trends they spotted in the Sunshine State. Their answers may surprise you (Hint: it’s all about size).
Read more to see what they noticed the most this year.
Intimacy is In
It turns out, smaller is bigger. “In a city like Miami, where many people believe bigger is better, some of the best restaurants have the smallest footprint,” one Inspector said. These three restaurants following prove the point.
Palma
Dressed head to toe in concrete and lit with candles, this narrow room in Little Havana is out to make a mark. The staff totals fewer than five, including Chef Juan Camilo Liscano (who received the Young Chef Award at the 2025 Florida MICHELIN Guide Ceremony) and his sous who cook, plate, and clear with impressive efficiency. The lean team, however, turns out a stylish and agreeably priced tasting menu that changes with great frequency. Grilled baby corn brushed in burnt eggplant aioli and wrapped in aged sirloin is a thrilling start, followed by delicately steamed flounder enrobed in a smooth sabayon made of mussels. Brioche made with roasted plantains is the only staple, and what a staple it is. Beautifully shaped, nicely crusted, and served hot with caramelized coconut butter, it is impossible to resist.
Tambourine Room by Tristan Brandt
One MICHELIN Star
Inside the Carillon Miami Wellness Resort on a rather calm stretch of Collins Avenue, find this ambitious dining bijou helmed by Chef Tristan Brandt and his trusted lieutenant Timo Steubing. The duo delivers a colorful, multicourse tasting grounded in French cuisine with notable Asian inspiration. The results are anything but timid: Expect rich, bold sauces and foams made with the likes of parmesan, lobster and saffron, and ginger turbocharging everything from tomatoes to scallops to wagyu. The shrimp and caviar is a visually stunning dish that is deeply savory and wildly creative. By contrast, the space itself is fairly spartan, sequestered off to the side of the main hotel bar and defined mostly by oversized oak tables, blue leather chairs and modern light fixtures.
Ogawa
One MICHELIN Star
In a nod to the Little River neighborhood that it calls home, Ogawa translates to "small river." Chef/co-owner Masayuki Komatsu commands a presence with an omakase that stuns with a series of enticing cooked dishes and a procession of focused and skillful nigiri. From baby sea eels with a soy-cured quail egg and bigfin reef squid in a shiso-miso sauce to baby snow crab and Japanese-style herring roe, this appetizer of four bites is the first sign that this isn't your typical sushi counter. Then, lotus root, wild yam and langoustine tempura is sided by a thick sauce made from roasted langoustine shells. After the cooked dishes, nigiri comes next with bright and balanced kisu, creamy ebodai, squid topped with osetra caviar and anago dusted with sansho pepper exemplifying the chef's skill.
Menus Are Skewing Smaller
Leather bound book-style menus are a thing of the past. “I’ve been noticing many compact and focused menus,” another Inspector said. Case in point? “Recoveco in Miami only offers around 10 dishes at any given time. Gyukatsu Rose in Orlando is hyper-specific and concentrates on a single dish.”
Chef’s Counters Are Big
Not literally, of course, but the rise of the chef’s counter in Florida is evidenced by three spots across the state that took home new Stars at the MICHELIN Guide Ceremony in April.
Itamae Ao, Miami
One MICHELIN Star
A restaurant within a restaurant, this 10-seat counter by Chef Nando Chang in Midtown looks to set a new standard for Nikkei cuisine in the region. Those familiar with the chef’s past work in the Design District will take heart in how classic Peruvian-Japanese flavors as well as signature dishes have been reworked, reimagined, and refined. Searing levels of acidity and spice figure prominently on this bold tasting menu, often in the form of leche de tigre. From lobster bisque with sweet potato gnocchi to creamy rice with Hokkaido scallops and parmesan, the cooking possesses style and substance in spades. Sourcing is a priority, with whole fish flown in from Japan, later to be broken down and occasionally strung up in dry-aging fridges along the wall.
Chef’s Counter at MAAS, Fort Lauderdale
One MICHELIN Star
The Chef's Counter enjoys a prime spot inside the MAASS dining room at the Four Seasons Fort Lauderdale, and this stylish perch facing the large, open kitchen offers a distinctive dining experience. Chef Ryan Ratino's tasting menu, in the hands of Chef David Brito, is a beautiful tribute to contemporary cooking with French techniques, Japanese ingredients, and a few Florida highlights. Ingredients take center stage in courses like the single seared diver scallop over a truffle puree. Designed as an upmarket riff on chicken noodle soup, it's finished with a velvety broth. A delicate bowl of koshihikari rice cooked in a donabe with maitake mushroom and a Comté foam is excellent from start to finish. Finally, kakigori with candied nuts and fresh raspberries is a delightful conclusion.
Konro, West Palm Beach
One MICHELIN Star
Chef Jacob Bickelhaupt and sommelier Nadia Bickelhaupt preside over this beautiful and intimate counter set within a mixed-use building in West Palm Beach. Bold cooking takes center stage here, where an affinity for rich, umami-packed dishes delight diners. Meals begin with snacks; the foie gras mousse in a chicken-skin cone is a highlight. The chef's creativity is displayed in dishes like barley risotto with enoki mushrooms, caramelized crispy fried onions, and black truffle shavings, served in a golden egg. Binchotan grilled wagyu in a house-made soy sauce with a poached carrot dotted with celery root and brown butter purée evolves with each bite. A beautiful bowl of coconut and passion fruit sherbet with shortbread cookie crumble delivers a memorable ending. The wine pairing isn't a suggestion—it's required—and the bill is bracing.
Hero image: Diego Ingratta / Ogawa
