Tampa Foodies Now Have a Chance To Eat At 3 Michelin-Starred Restaurant For 1st Time

TAMPA, FL — Four restaurants joined the exclusive group of Michelin-Starred eateries in Florida as the 2023 edition of the Michelin Guide Miami, Orlando and Tampa was announced Thursday night at an invitation-only ceremony at LoanDepot Park in Miami.

For the first time, the esteemed Michelin Guide bestowed stars on three restaurants in Tampa: Rocca, Koya and Lilac. Only four new stars were given out this year in Florida, and three of them went to the Tampa restaurants, each of which received one star. The other one was awarded to Tambourine Room in Miami Beach.

This is the second year that restaurants in Orlando, Miami and Tampa were eligible for the international dining guide.

The guide also awarded several restaurants with Bib Gourmand status, given to eateries that “offer a meal of good quality at a good value.”

Those included Tampa Bay restaurants Gorkhali Kitchen, a Nepalese restaurant; Psomi, a Greek restaurant in North Hyde Park; and two restaurants who also received Bib Gourmand designations last year, Rooster & The Till in Seminole Heights and the recently closed Ichicoro Ramen.

Four special awards were also given, including the Michelin Young Chef distinction awarded to Tampa’s Christina Theofilos, the chef and owner of Psomi, and the Outstanding Service Award to Matthew Braden of Lilac.

In all, the Michelin Guide awarded stars to 19 restaurants, with L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon Miami receiving two stars. The 2023 guide includes 144 restaurants.

“Florida has three distinct culinary hotspots that make the state a premier destination for gourmet travelers who can experience a wealth of flavors and creative cooking styles,” said Gwendal Poullennec, international director of the Michelin Guides. “We are especially happy to announce three one Michelin Star restaurants in Tampa — Rocca, Lilac and Koya — and a new one-star restaurant in Miami Beach: Tambourine Room by Tristan Brandt. Congratulations to these restaurant teams and to all who received guide distinctions. Your guests are always in for a treat.”

Related:

• A Repeat Visit To Rocca in Tampa Heights Impresses Once Again
• Dining At Rocca Is Like A Quick Trip To Italy
• Tampa EDITION Offers Elevated Dining Experience
• Tampa's 1st 5-Star Hotel Opens With Lenny Kravitz Performance
• Tampa's 1st 5-Star Hotel Named Among Best New Hotels In World

Lilac At The Tampa Edition

Lilac, 500 Channelside Drive in the Water Street District, is located in Tampa Edition, the city's first 5-star hotel, which was just rated among the best new hotels in the world.

The hotel offers seven dining and drinking concepts, five of which feature menus created under the guidance of Michelin-starred chef John Fraser.

The mood at Lilac, the signature fine dining Mediterranean restaurant helmed by Fraser, is set by walnut flooring and the warm glow from the pendant globes focused around an eight-seat Christian Liaigre chef’s counter in sandblasted walnut and an open kitchen.

Taking its cues from Fraser’s Greek heritage, the cuisine at Lilac highlights locally sourced and seasonal ingredients, showcasing unique flavors and techniques through an Eastern Mediterranean lens. Guests receive a prix fixe menu, beginning with hors d’oeuvres to share followed by three courses of their choice. Signature dishes include locally sourced grouper cooked in a cataplana, short rib cooked on a rotisserie and herbed pasta with a soft egg and sherry-braised chanterelle mushrooms.

"Situated in the sleek and oh-so-stylish Edition hotel, this concept from John Fraser is a popular spot with in-demand reservations," said the Michelin judges. "A meal might include luxe bites like a diver scallop infused with rosemary smoke and dramatically served under a cloche to well-executed 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."

Rocca Tampa

Rocca, located in The Heights District, 323 W Palm Ave., Tampa, with views of the Tampa skyline is the creation of Chef Bryce Bonsack.

The restaurant, which opened in 2019, received Bib Gourmand status the same year.

The Michelin judges lauded the restaurant for its “skillfully made in-house pastas showcasing classic flavors and scrupulous technique.”

Bonsack returned to his roots in Tampa after years of honing his skills in New York and then traveling to Italy to learn the techniques of the Italian kitchen. While in Italy, Bonsack worked and lived with the Rocca family at their century-old restaurant, “Da Felicin” in Monforte d’ Alba, Piemonte. During his stay, he traveled to Liguria, Emilia Romagna, Tuscany and Rome.

Although his travels in Italy were extensive, he always looked forward to coming back to Monforte d’ Alba and the generosity of the Rocca family. Before he left, he asked the family if he could name his new restaurant Rocca in honor of their hospitality and friendship.

"Chef Bryce Bonsack blends his New York know-how with Italian training to great effect in this of-the-moment eatery," said the Michelin judges. "Naturally, there's an assortment of pastas, 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 basil custard topped with an elegant brunoise of fresh apples and a layer of streusel."

Koya Tampa

Owned by the creators of Noble Rice headed by Chef Eric Fralick, Koya at 807 W Platt St. is a high-end omakase spot that opened in Hyde Park in 2020.

Koya is an intimate eight-seat tasting-menu-only experience. In the Japanese culture, the peak season of a particular ingredient is called its shun. At Koya, diners can expect to experience the concept of shun on the restaurants ever-changing, hyper-seasonal and thematic menu honoring Japanese tradition while showcasing new techniques. The tasting bar at Koya is like a stage, where every element of design is meant to highlight the theater of the tasting experience.

"The dishes are often unexpected yet always thoughtful," said the Michelin judges. "Spectacular seafood is a given: staple luxuries like bluefin tuna and uni are flown in weekly from Kagoshima market (in Japan), 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 the 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."