Driving and Dining with Lucid Motors and Michelin Guide Florida

On Thursday, May 11^th, MICHELIN Guide Florida hosted the reveal of the restaurants in Miami, Tampa, and Orlando earning Stars in 2023. Jacqueline was invited by sponsor, Lucid Motors, to enjoy a driving and dining experience with the Lucid electric cars and MICHELIN Guide.

MICHELIN Guide is now in its second year of selecting MICHELIN-Starred restaurants in Miami, Tampa, and Orlando as a nod to this state’s culinary achievements.

In May of 2023, new restaurants were awarded at a ceremony that took place at LoanDepot Park in Miami. The total 2023 selection comprises 144 restaurants and 38 types of cuisine over recommended restaurants, and the categories of Bib Gourmand and Starred restaurants. Four new restaurants joined the exclusive group of MICHELIN-Starred eateries in Florida.

Overall, the anonymous MICHELIN Guide inspectors awarded Stars to 19 restaurants, with L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon Miami remaining the only Florida establishment with two MICHELIN Stars. Miami added one new Starred restaurant, and Tampa added three.

Here are the new MICHELIN-Starred restaurants along with the anonymous inspector notes:

Koya (Tampa, Japanese cuisine)

Adriana and Eric Fralick keep a watchful eye over the experience at this intimate eight-seat counter, where a multicourse contemporary tasting menu shares a singular interpretation of Japanese cuisine. The dishes are often unexpected yet always thoughtful. Spectacular seafood is a given: staple luxuries like bluefin tuna and uni are flown in weekly from Kagoshima market, where the team has a personal buyer. Instead of the typical parade of nigiri, dishes offer unique combinations of Eastern and Western culinary sensibilities, as in the beet- and vodka-smoked salmon macaroon or a chutoro hand roll with wasabi guacamole. The meal ends memorably with desserts like yuzu ice cream topped with Hokkaido uni and a sprinkling of caviar with lime zest.

Lilac (Tampa, Contemporary cuisine)

Situated in the sleek and oh-so-stylish Edition hotel, this concept from John Fraser is a popular spot with in-demand reservations. The small space has a sexy vibe, albeit not a stitch of lilac in sight. Peruse the contemporary four-course prix-fixe with Mediterranean influences, Florida-focused ingredients, and French techniques. A meal might include luxe bites like a Diver scallop infused with rosemary smoke and dramatically served under a cloche to well-execute and flavorful lobster feuillantine. Main dishes include Ora King salmon with a Florida stone crab salad or Colorado lamb chop with tender leeks and house-made lamb sausage. Cocktails and wine are on offer, but Lilac has upped the ante when it comes to tableside service with a champagne cocktail cart. (Yes, please!)

Rocca (Tampa, Italian cuisine)    

Chef Bryce Bonsack blends his New York know-how with Italian training to great effect in this of-the-moment eatery. Naturally, there’s an assortment of pasta, skillfully made in-house and showcasing classic flavors and scrupulous technique, as in spaghetti al limone, tossed with knobs of blue crab and lemon, shaved garlic, and zucchini. Guests gush over mozzarella hand-pulled to order in a tableside cart, but the flavor outshines the show. Perhaps most exciting of all are the displays of originality, as in a vibrant hiramasa carpaccio with green apple, capers, and horseradish; and dessert is a delightful bookend to an impressive meal. Basil custard topped with an elegant brunoise of fresh apples and a layer of streusel is spot-on in every way.

Tambourine Room by Tristan Brandt (Miami Beach, Contemporary cuisine)

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. 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. Swing for the second seating of the evening for a longer menu.

Bib Gourmand

Additionally, the MICHELIN Guide inspectors announced 33 restaurants worthy of the Bib Gourmand distinction, which recognizes great food at a great value. These are restaurants where one can have two courses and a glass of wine or dessert for about $50. There are 18 in the Miami area, 11 in the Orlando area, and four in the Tampa area.

Here is a list of the Miami Bib Gourmand restaurants.

Michelin Guide Florida Exceptional Cocktails Award Goes to…

A big congratulations to the Miami restaurant, Jaguar Sun, for winning the Exceptional Cocktails Award.

The MICHELIN Guide Florida Sommelier Award went to Benjamin Couttes of Soseki in Orlando. The Outstanding Service Award to Matthew Braden at Lilac in Tampa, and the Young Chef Award to Christina Theofilos at Psomi in Tampa.

Lucid Motors

Lucid Motors is an electric vehicle company redefining luxury. During the day prior to the MICHELIN event, select guests were invited to test drive these vehicles around Miami to get a taste of the luxury electric vehicle lifestyle. Lucid cars have the longest range and fastest charging times in the EV category.

Designed in California, Lucid vehicles are built with exquisite interior details and mid-century modern design inspiration. The cabins are spacious, with ample legroom in both the front and back seats without extending out of the sedan category. Within the range of cars, extra interior add-ons include accessories like massaging seats. Who wouldn’t appreciate a little massage while stuck in rush hour on 95?

The cars start at $107,000 ++

Find more Miami wine-ing and dining stories in our Miami section on Wine Guide Miami.