‘Not a culinary wasteland': Can Michelin make Fort Lauderdale a dining destination?

Miami Herald

2 days ago

Despite the endless sunshine and glorious beaches, the picturesque waterways filled with towering sailboats and robust yachts we can only gaze at with jealousy and longing, Fort Lauderdale has long existed as Miami's less important little sister. Legend has it, at least south of the Broward County line, that the Venice of America can't compete with the Magic City — especially in the culinary realm.
The 2020 pandemic and the ensuing onslaught of out-of-town restaurants racing to Miami seemed to cement this mindset. The arrival of the Michelin Guide in 2022 only intensified the rush, ensuring that restaurateurs from New York, Los Angeles, Europe, South America and beyond showed up, eager to get in on the action.
Now, though the spotlight remains trained further south, change is rumbling into Fort Lauderdale. Residential and retail development is booming, and a $1.2 billion project to renovate the Broward County Convention Center is underway just off the 17th Street Causeway, where a new 801-room Omni Hotel is rising. Young professionals are moving downtown, bringing disposable income and a demand for cool places to hang out. Upscale tourists are in need of high-end spots to live it up. And more than a few Miami chefs and restaurateurs have been willing to give Broward a try.
Fort Lauderdale has always had its favorite dining spots, from the red sauce wonderland of Anthony's Runway 84, which was remodeled three years ago, to beloved holes-in-the-wall like Southport Raw Bar and Kelly's Landing. Some older icons are returning to life, too: the iconic Mai Kai was renovated and reopened in 2024, and earlier this year the rotating bar atop the newly renovated Pier Sixty-Six resort began (slowly) spinning once again.
But when Michelin finally sent its anonymous inspectors to the city, even awarded one of its coveted stars to a restaurant in a glamorous beachfront hotel, Fort Lauderdale showed it was capable of raising the culinary bar.
Miami chefs take their talents to FTL
Miami chefs have staked a claim in Fort Lauderdale over the past few years. Chef Timon Balloo, founder of Midtown's now-shuttered Sugarcane, opened The Katherine in 2022, while in 2024 Tom Angelo, owner of Fiola in Coral Gables, opened Daniel's, a Florida Steakhouse near the Henry Kinney Tunnel with his daughter Kassidy Angelo and Chef Daniel Ganem. Its next door neighbor and little sister, D's Sports Bar, has become a hangout for South Florida sports fans, packed every game night. Daniel's has become so successful that Angelo is transforming Fiola into a second location of the steakhouse this summer.
Executive Chef André Bienvenu, who spent 26 years in the kitchen at Joe's Stone Crab, is now at Catch & Cut on Las Olas Boulevard, while the creator of Wynwood's beloved KYU, Michael Lewis, just opened Ukiah Asian Steakhouse along the riverfront.
'It's long overdue,' Stacy Ritter, president and CEO of Visit Lauderdale, says of the growth. 'There are many options north of the border. We're not a culinary wasteland.'
The culinary spark in Fort Lauderdale comes at a time when the city itself is booming. The Fort Lauderdale Downtown Development Authority estimates hotel room capacity is up 290 percent since 2018, with 278 restaurants now operating downtown, a 22 percent increase since 2022.
With such growth, the restaurant scene usually expands, too, something that has been a bit of a struggle in the past, according to Charlie Ladd, board member of the Fort Lauderdale Downtown Development Authority and President of Barron Real Estate.
'Landlords have not been as aggressive as you would find in the Design District, where they went out and pursued some really top notch restaurants,' Ladd said. 'Same with Wynwood, where they aggressively tried to bring in names. But it's fascinating, because whenever we do compare restaurants, for instance, the Louie Bossi on Las Olas, they do up to double what the other Louie Bossi operations do in Boca, Delray and West Palm. Earls just opened. They're doing monster numbers on Las Olas, too.'
The Michelin effect
Part of turning things around in Fort Lauderdale, Ladd said, is 'getting venues that are appropriate for the upscale restaurants. The Four Seasons was an appropriate venue. They went out, aggressively looked, and they got themselves a Michelin-star restaurant.'
The restaurant in question is the chef's counter at MAASS, which earned Broward County's first Michelin star. The 14-seat counter is located inside MAASS and serves a separate tasting menu (a calculated choice: Michelin has rarely met a chef's tasting menu it didn't like).
MAASS is the brainchild of chef and restaurateur Ryan Ratino, whose portfolio includes Jont in Washington, D.C. and Omo by Jont in Orlando, which also earned a Michelin star in 2025. Executive Chef David Brito, who runs the kitchen in Fort Lauderdale, said that diners were intrigued by the restaurant because of Ratino's reputation, but the Michelin star has heightened interest.
'The day after it was announced, it doubled our reservation count,' Brito said. 'It makes a huge impact. And we hear it — everyone has heard we got a star. I think it's obviously uplifting for the city, and it only opens more doors for many more restaurants.'
The Four Seasons is also home to another Michelin-recommended restaurant, Evelyn's, helmed by Chef Brandon Salomon. Evelyn's, which serves stunning Mediterranean food with an ambitious wine program and lovely side view of the Atlantic, was named to the 2025 Michelin Guide but hasn't earned a star yet, but the possibility has fueled Salomon and his team to present flawless hospitality.
Salomon, who has been at Evelyn's for three years, has seen a change in the city during his time here.
'When I first came here, the scene was still finding its identity,' he said. 'Now I feel that we've come to a real culinary personality, and it's starting to take shape. Having the Michelin guide here as of this last year, it's really putting Fort Lauderdale on the map and making sure that the residents see us as a culinary city. They know that you don't have to go to Miami to get a great dinner.'
'We need that upscale user'
Ritter from Visit Fort Lauderdale said that despite the fact the city reached out to Michelin for consideration, she was initially a bit skeptical about the process of paying the guide. Tourism bureaus and cities pay to be evaluated, and in Fort Lauderdale, the price tag was $90,000 for a year, Ritter said. Even then, there's no guarantee any restaurants will earn a star, a recommendation or a Bib Gourmand designation (awarded to more affordable restaurants that offer great food at a good price).
'There's no guarantee you'll get anything,' she said. 'They make that clear. They don't tell us anything. You can give them a list of recommendations, but there's no guarantee they'll even go to those places.'
Now, though, witnessing the excitement around the awards, which included a Bib Gourmand for the Italian spot Heritage and the addition of Evelyn's, Daniel's and Larb Thai to the guide, she says Fort Lauderdale wants the guide to return next year.
'When Michelin came to Florida a couple of years ago, we were kind of pissed off that Visit Florida didn't sent them to Broward,' she said. 'So we decided we'd do it ourselves. . . .We're thrilled that it finally happened.'
There's another reason having Michelin-rated restaurants is important to a city, said Ladd of the Downtown Development Authority.
'So say I'm Steve Ross [owner of the Miami Dolphins], and I'm trying to get all the big New York players to come here. What do I need for them to be there? I need great hotels. I need great restaurants, because that's the level of amenities that those corporate players are used to. That's why it's important. It's part of a package of why someone would choose to live or to bring their their employer base to a city.
'Fort Lauderdale, we need that upscale user. So if you don't have a great hotel, you don't have great restaurants, and I can live anywhere I want, am I going to come to Fort Lauderdale? Some people do, but we'll get a lot more as we get those amenities.'
Tom Angelo of Daniel's, which draws diners wanting such an upscale dining experience, agrees that having the guide in Fort Lauderdale is helpful.
'Certainly the star is going to move the needle more than being in the guide, but we've gotten some attention, and we can see more reservations,' he said. 'Our business has been consistent.'
But although Michelin has arrived and the food scene is growing, restaurateurs should still consider the demographic makeup of the city before trying to open here, Angelo said.
'For example, the tourist demographic is different than Miami. You have to say, OK, what are these tourists looking for? Are they looking for a tasting counter experience? Miami has a lot of young people 24 to 30 that love, say, Sunny's Steakhouse. It's cool. It's a great vibe. When I was 24 or 25, I want to go to those places. Those may not be the same places that a 60-year-old tourist from Iowa may want to go to.'
Forcing the city to 'level up'
Still, the arrival of Michelin has the power to shape Fort Lauderdale's culinary scene, said Rino Cerbone, founder and chef at Heritage, who spent two and a half years getting his always-packed restaurant off the ground, only to have it shut down a month later because of the 2020 pandemic.
'It's huge,' he said. 'It means our city is a force to be reckoned with,' he said 'It's forcing the city to level up now and maintain the standards this city needs. And it's just the beginning.'
Of course, he pointed out, there are always improvements to be made.
'As a local and impatient chef, I would like to see more changes,' he said. 'I would like to see more chef-driven concepts come to our area. I want to see people take their shot at Fort Lauderdale. I want to see more people bring more culture to this little big city, and I think this is definitely going to help people feel confident that maybe they can find a home here.'
Timon Balloo of The Katherine agrees with this assessment.
'I personally hope it brings some cool, young, diverse chefs to roll the dice and come to Fort Lauderdale,' Balloo said. 'Some rock and roll new guys, like the chef from Palma [Juan Camilo Liscano] or the couple from Recoveco [Maria Teresa Gallina and Nicolas Martinez]. Tam Pham of Tam Tam is awesome, too. These are the torch carriers of South Florida. If Fort Lauderdale grows like this, we'll grow with it.'