Danny Hernandez couldn’t believe it.
When the Michelin Guide on Thursday afternoon announced its annual star reveal, the chef and owner of Tampa’s The Brisket Shoppe was watching the livestream with bated breath.
Then, the big news: His restaurant, a West Tampa barbecue spot, would be added to the guide as one of the “recommended” selections.
“I’m ecstatic,” Hernandez said when reached by phone Thursday. “And I’m not ready — what a wave of emotion.”
Michelin’s announcement Thursday spurred mixed reactions around Tampa Bay, though. Not a single restaurant in the region received a new star or a Bib Gourmand. And in Tampa, one restaurant — Lilac, inside the Tampa Edition — actually lost its star. It was downgraded to “recommended” status, something that so far in Florida has been rare.
Hernandez’s restaurant and five other Tampa Bay eateries were added to the guide as new recommended selections. The others were Fat Beet Farm Kitchen and Bakery, Bar Terroir and Kinjo in Tampa; and Elliott Aster and In Between Days in St. Petersburg.
Fat Beet Farm Kitchen and Bakery also received the guide’s Green Star award, which is bestowed onrestaurants that lead “the way in mindful gastronomy.” And chef Jada Vidal, of Tampa’s Kinjo, was awarded the Michelin Young Chef Award.
For several chefs, like Hernandez, the guide’s selection was met with enthusiasm. Vidal said she was surprised and grateful. Zach Ashton, owner of St. Petersburg’s In Between Days, a Tokyo-inspired sake bar and restaurant, echoed similar sentiments. He said the experience of being added to the guide felt surreal and a little “weird.”
“I’m sure it will change a lot,” Ashton said.
But Thursday’s big reveal was experienced differently across Tampa Bay.
“It hurts a little bit that Ash didn’t get any recognition,” chef Ferrell Alvarez said during an Instagram feed he posted after the announcement. “We didn’t even get a recommendation. I mean, I think it’s Bib-worthy — I think that’s realistic.”
Restaurants that are chosen for the Michelin Guide often attract international accolades, in particular the ones that receive its highest three-star rating. Stars are the most prestigious designations Michelin bestows, but in the absence of stars, restaurants are also eligible for Bib Gourmands — given to spots that present a meal for the “best value” — and “recommendations,” which recognize “above average” food that’s not quite at the star or Bib Gourmand level.
Tampa restaurants that retained their one-star designations are Rocca, Ebbe, Koya and Kosen, bringing the number of starred restaurants in the Tampa Bay region from five to four.
Alvarez, whose Proper House Group owns Tampa restaurant Ash and the Bib Gourmand-rated Rooster & The Till, said he was proud of his team.
“Arguably, we’re putting out some of the best food in Tampa Bay right now,” Alvarez said. “But we don’t need an award to remind us of that.”
Thursday’s biggest upset came for Pinellas County restaurants, which have only been eligible for the guide’s star ratings since last year, after the region’s tourism marketing agency Visit St. Pete-Clearwater agreed to a paid partnership with the guide.
St. Petersburg’s Il Ritorno, which received a recommendation last year, was widely considered the region’s front-runner for a star. During Michelin’sYouTube livestream, commenters flocked to the feed to cheer on the restaurant.
“Let’s go Tampa Bay!!!” @niajae wrote. “Patiently waiting to see Il Ritorno receive a star!”
But when the guide’s new one-star ratings were announced, only two Florida restaurants made the cut: Mutra in Miami and Emelina in West Palm Beach. Il Ritorno retained its recommendation, but didn’t get a star.
“This doesn’t define us,” Il Ritorno owner David Benstock wrote in a text message to the Tampa Bay Times. “We’ve been around almost 13 years, before Michelin ever thought about coming to Florida. (I’m) proud of our team and everything we’ve done.”
The Michelin Guide, founded by a French tire company in 1900, for years mostly existed in Europe and a few American cities. But over the last few years, the company has been rapidly expanding its footprint through financial investments with tourism bureaus in the regions where it lands, a business model that’s received some criticism.
The guide first came to Florida in 2022, the result of a pricey partnership between Visit Florida and tourism marketing agencies in Tampa, Orlando and Miami. This year marked the first year that restaurants in the entire state of Florida were eligible for inclusion, and Thursday’s reveal featured a long list of recommended selections from St. Augustine to Sarasota to Lakeland.
Over the years, the guide has ramped up the fanfare surrounding its “recommended” selections, inviting recipients of those distinctions to award ceremonies and sending them the company’s signature cherry-red plaques, the internationally recognized symbol of culinary excellence.
Some have wondered whether Michelin’s increased presence is confusing diners or even diluting the brand, which historically has favored expensive tasting-menu restaurants over more casual spots.
“What separates a recommendation from a star is still pretty ambiguous,” said Nathan Howey, the executive chef for Asian restaurants Fortu and Isu, both in St. Petersburg. Fortu was added to the recommended list in 2025 and has maintained that distinction, though Howey has said he is hopeful for a star.
“I see more folks come in … seeing the plaque on the wall and (they) just assume we have a Michelin star, rather than just a recommendation,” Howey said. “Honestly, I don’t think your average guest in this area understands the difference.”
Still, Howey said, the plaque has been a strong driver ingetting diners in the door.
“Obviously, it’s great marketing for us; having the plaque on the door is huge. But I’m not sure that it’s been here long enough for folks to understand its meaning.”
Tourism agencies in the state have not yet signed a new contract with the Michelin Guide, and it’s unclear what that might entail. A spokesperson for Michelin has said in the past that once the guide has established itself in a destination, the “intent is for it to remain there,” with continued financial investments.
Santiago Corrada, the president and CEO of Visit Tampa Bay, said his organization hasn’tfigured out yet what those agreements might look like, or how much the agency will have to pay to keep Michelin here.
“We started conversations with Visit Florida since it’s now a statewide program to see how that can be equitable for everybody,” Corrada said. “We want everybody to contribute.”
Despite the mixed emotions following the guide’s selection this year, most chefs and restaurateurs have said they are happy to have Michelin’s presence in the state and are grateful for the increased attention Florida restaurants have received. And, stars or no stars, restaurant owners who receive the guide’s bright red plaques are hanging them with pride outside their businesses.
“A red plaque in West Tampa on a one-way street in a Cuban neighborhood?” said Hernandez of The Brisket Shoppe. “It’s beyond exciting.”
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