MICHELIN Guide Florida 2025 Additions: SNEAK PEEK

Ten new additions to the Miami (6) and Orlando (4) Florida list made headlines this morning as the MICHELIN Guide teased some of the upcoming entries.

What does this mean? It’s too soon to tell. Last year, for example, three Miami restaurants from the eight on the teaser list received One Michelin Star. Others landed in the Bib Gourmand category or solely received a mention on their website as Guide-approved.

The final placement within the Guide will not be known until the official awards ceremony. The date and location for that has not been announced.

For now, congratulations to:

MIAMI

Cotoa

Grand Central (On my Top 50 Bites of 2024 list)

Itamae AO (On my Top 24 Restaurants of 2024 list)

Palma (On my Top 50 Bites of 2024 list)

Sereia (On my Top 24 Restaurants of 2024 list)

Torno Subito

ORLANDO/WINTER PARK

Coro

Sorekara

UniGirl

ÔMO by JÔNT

As usual, I will publish an episode on the podcast with a deep-dive analysis and predictions next month: What do I know about the new additions? Who do I think will win a coveted star or two? Should anyone lose their star? And other MICHELIN Guide tidbits.

While we wait for the reveal, let’s look into some fundamental Michelin guidelines and facts many aren’t familiar with or simply choose to overlook. If you read anything closely on this page, THIS IS IT. Read it, learn it, and please stop referring to chefs in Miami as “Michelin-starred.”

1 In the United States, the Michelin Guide is ONLY published in California, New York City & Westchester County, Chicago, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Texas, and Washington D.C. That’s it. Only restaurants in these areas can authentically claim to have a starred restaurant.

2 “Restaurants may receive zero to 3 stars for the quality of their food based on five criteria: quality of the ingredients used, mastery of flavor and cooking techniques, the personality of the chef in his cuisine, value for money, and consistency between visits.”

3 “Restaurant inspectors do not look at the interior decor, table setting, or service quality when awarding stars – these are instead indicated by the number of ‘covers’ it receives, represented by the fork and spoon symbol.” Worth noting: Now that the Guide is digital, these “covers” have disappeared.

4 “The MICHELIN Star awards a restaurant as a whole, not a chef. The MICHELIN Guide wants to congratulate the whole restaurant team. For example, It takes an entire orchestra – not just its conductor – to produce beautiful music. As it is the restaurant that receives the award, if the chef leaves it, the award does not transfer to his or her new establishment. The originally awarded restaurant will be evaluated by our inspectors during the year (as all restaurants from our selection are) to see if it maintains its distinction or not.“

5 “Chefs can’t take off with the stars, nor do the stars transfer to another restaurant owned by the same chef. If a chef who runs a Michelin-starred restaurant in Spain opens a new restaurant in Hong Kong, this does not automatically make the latter a Michelin-starred restaurant.“

6 Chefs can’t technically return a star.

7 The MICHELIN Guide isn’t only about fine dining and fancy restaurants. Globally, stars have been awarded to a wide spectrum of restaurants.

Got it? Good! The more you know…