These Miami Restaurants Deserve a Michelin Star
Since it arrived in 2022, Michelin got a lot right—and more than a few things wrong.
By Eric Barton | March 4, 2025
When the Michelin Guide finally made it to Miami in 2022, it was like watching your favorite band play a setlist you mostly agreed with—sure, they nailed the big hits, but what about the deep cuts? The Michelin Guide to Miami got plenty right, handing out stars to Boia De, Ariete, Ogawa, and the Surf Club—places that earned their spots at the top.
But a few restaurants got snubbed, relegated to the Bib Gourmand list or, worse, completely ignored. Hopefully that changes when Michelin inspectors return, but in the meantime, I’ve put together a list of Miami restaurants deserving of a Michelin star. To be clear, this isn’t a list of my favorite Miami restaurants (find that here) but those that are best suited to receive a Michelin star.
Here’s where Michelin needs to go back and right its wrongs.
Torno Subito
200 E Flagler St | Website | Instagram
What it is: This is Massimo Bottura’s more laid-back, funhouse-colored take on his Michelin-starred Modena institution, and while it’s playful, it’s also serious about food. To run the kitchen here Bottura brought in a heavyweight, Bernardo Paladini, who earned a Michelin star at Torno Subito Dubai.
Why it deserves a star: Few places in Miami are more Euro-spec Michelin-style than this, and since Paladini already impressed the inspectors in Dubai, it seems destined.
Although: Michelin isn’t exactly predictable.
Prediction: One star
Maty’s
3255 NE 1st Ave | Website | Instagram
What it is: Chef Valerie Chang both named her restaurant after her grandmother and also took inspiration from her abeula’s recipes. That means you’ll find traditional Peruvian ceviches and also new creations that show Chang’s talents, like the whole roasted dorade in a mind-blowing ají amarillo beurre blanc.
Why it deserves a star: Chang has a mastery of combining ingredients in ways that are original and also become something you want to eat again and again.
Although: I have no clue how Michelin could pass over Maty’s.
Prediction: One star
Fiola Miami
1500 San Ignacio Ave | Website | Instagram
What it is: Fiola Miami has the kind of glitzy, white-tablecloth setting that makes you want to order a rent-priced bottle of borello just to feel like you belong. But it’s chef Danny Ganem’s cooking—Italian with just the right amount of South Florida flair—that makes this a real contender.
Why it deserves a star: Michelin already gave Fiola DC a star, so what’s the holdup here?
Although: It’s hard to imagine why Michelin would pass Fiola over again.
Prediction: One star
Ghee Indian Kitchen
63 NW 24th St | Website | Instagram
What it is: Niven Patel’s farm-to-table approach to Indian cuisine means dishes like slow-cooked lamb curry and turmeric-marinated fish taste fresher and more vibrant than just about anywhere else. The second, and a bit fancier, Ghee in Wynwood should only bring Patel more attention.
Why it deserves a star: The fact that Patel is growing many of his own ingredients? Just further proof that this place deserves more than a Bib Gourmand nod.
Although: It’s downright hard to imagine a reason to not reward Ghee.
Prediction: One star
Brasserie Laurel
698 NE 1st Ave | Website | Instagram
What it is: Michael Beltran, best known for Ariete, brings his meticulous approach to dishes like foie gras with berry gastrique and steak frites that could hold their own in Paris. It’s refined but never fussy, exactly the kind of place Michelin usually falls over itself to praise.
Why it deserves a star: Michelin rightly gave Beltran’s other restaurant, Ariete, a star, so clearly they appreciate his cooking.
Although: It’s location in still-under-construction Miami Worldcenter means restaurants here can be packed or completely empty, so the vibe might depend on the night inspectors show up.
Prediction: One star
Hiyakawa
2700 N Miami Ave | Website | Instagram
What it is: Hiyakawa was already one of Miami’s top omakase restaurants before it recently tweaked its concept to a tasting menu. Now the menu blends sushi dishes with hot dishes that are both surprising and wildly inventive, like the savory custard with uni.
Why it deserves a star: All this creative cooking calls home one of Miami’s most stunning dining rooms, with a wooden ceiling looking like rolling waves above you.
Although: Michelin awarded a star to Hiyakawa’s sister restaurant, Ogawa.
Prediction: One star
Tâm Tâm
99 NW 1st St | Website | Instagram
What it is: Chef Tam Pham tells the story of his life with the menu of his downtown restaurant, combining the Cantonese flavors his mom would cook as a kid with the Vietnamese street food he ate on the way home from school in Saigon. In the front of the house, Pham’s husband Harrison Ramhofer creates an always-fun atmosphere in a charming setting.
Why it deserves a star: Chefs creating an autobiography with their food seems a surefire way to earn Michelin recognition.
Although: Things I love about Tâm Tâm, like the karaoke machine in the bathroom, may be too much if we end up with stuffy Michelin inspectors.
Prediction: One star
Macchialina
820 Alton Rd | Website | Instagram
What it is: Macchialina was a favorite of locals long before it took over a neighboring space and transformed into a sleek-looking restaurant with a charming courtyard tucked away from Alton Road. I’d love it just for the looks, but chef Michael Pirolo’s dishes are some of my favorite in Miami, including a creamy polenta that regularly changes toppings like a runway model between walks.
Why it deserves a star: This is one of those restaurants where you just feel everybody there cares deeply about the dishes they’re putting out, and it shows.
Although: They say Michelin rarely awards stars to Italian spots outside Italy, a travesty.
Prediction: The four-course tasting menu is a steal at $75, so I’m guessing Macchialina will end up with a Bib Gourmand and hopefully earn a star later.
Zitz Sum
396 Alhambra Cir | Website | Instagram
What it is: A restaurant with no signage and a menu that changes so often you can’t get too attached to any one dish? Sounds like a place Michelin should be all over. Chef Pablo Zitzmann turns out dumplings and crispy rice dishes that somehow manage to feel both deeply comforting and wildly creative. Michelin should be paying attention.
Why it deserves a star: Zitzmann’s dishes combine his Latin heritage with the Asian flavors he found on his travels, the kind of backstory to a restaurant that Michelin adores.
Although: Zitzmann has a beguiling/brilliant policy of removing the most popular dishes from his menu to keep diners on their toes.
Prediction: One star
Sunny’s Miami
7357 NW Miami Ct | Website | Instagram
What it is: Sunny’s evolved from a pandemic pop-up into one of the most celebratory restaurants in Miami, a place where I immediately wanted to celebrate everything good in life in the stunning banyan-tree-covered courtyard. Chef Aaron Brooks lightly reinvents traditional steakhouse dishes, like a Caesar salad dominated by super-crisp fried breadcrumbs and an agnolotti with blue crab, corn, and saffron that tastes deeply of the sea.
Why it deserves a star: Few restaurants get everything right the way Sunny’s did from day one.
Although: Michelin doesn’t award many stars to steakhouses.
Prediction: Inclusion in the guide, with a star to follow once Michelin realizes its anti-steakhouse bias can’t be applied here.
Michael's Genuine Food & Drink
130 NE 40th St | Website | Instagram
What it is: Chef Michael Schwartz opened his flagship restaurant in 2006, and in my estimation, he hasn’t put out a dish that isn’t downright great since. The menu covers a lot of ground, from stackable pig ears at the bar to sandwiches at lunch to a felafel platter I could eat every day—and all of it is well done
Why it deserves a star: A restaurant that never misses, on food, service or vibe, seems like it ought to get Michelin’s recognition.
Although: The menu here leans toward crowd-pleasing (and I’m glad for it), but it might not be far-reaching enough for Michelin.
Prediction: Without messing with a tried-and-true recipe of putting out dishes people actually want to order, I’m not sure Michelin will come through with a star.
Kojin
804 Ponce | Website | Instagram
What it is: Kojin in Coral Gables is the kind of place where dinner feels like an experiment in what’s possible. Chef Pedro Mederos and his wife, pastry mastermind Katherine Mederos, serve up dishes with hard-to-find ingredients, like American Iberico pork and dry-aged duck.
Why it deserves a star: The Mederos are doing daring things with food that also happen to be delicious, the kind of thing Michelin likes to recognize.
Although: Those experiments can be a bit challenging even to the most creative eaters at times.
Prediction: Since Kojin 2.0 is still relatively new, Michelin may add it to the guide without a star—for now.
Walrus Rodeo
5143 NE 2nd Ave | Website | Instagram
What it is: The sister restaurant of Boia De, Walrus Rodeo was perhaps the most anticipated Miami restaurant opening of 2022. And while early reviews were decidedly mixed, it’s found its footing since, resting on superb pizzas, an entirely original mustard greens lasagna, and whatever they’re dreaming up next.
Why it deserves a star: Michelin caught the magic of Boia De, just a few doors down in the same modest strip mall, so perhaps they’ll do the same here.
Although: The negative reviews penned in the restaurant’s early days are still on the web.
Prediction: One star
Mimi Chinese
1575 Alton Rd | Website | Instagram
What it is: Mimi Chinese is the kind of restaurant that makes you wish Miami had more regional Chinese cuisine. The menu is an ode to Cantonese and Sichuan flavors, with dishes like long green beans in XO sauce and the signature seabass absolutely bathed in chilis.
Why it deserves a star: It’s not just that the dishes here are predictably delicious, it’s also that they often surprise with new-to-me ingredients.
Although: This is an export from Toronto, and Michelin may look down on its life as a clone.
Prediction: Inclusion in the guide for now, a star to come as the still-new Mimi establishes itself.
