18-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Miami Herald
This tiny Miami restaurant led by a beloved local chef just won a Michelin star
Another Miami restaurant has earned a Michelin star, this time for a local culinary hero.
Itamae Ao, a 10-seat counter in Midtown, was awarded a star by the Michelin Guide, which reviews and rates restaurants from around the world, Thursday night at the Four Seasons Resort Orlando at Walt Disney World Resort.
The honor brings to 15 the number of Michelin-starred restaurants in and around Miami, which first joined the internationally famous Michelin Guide in 2022.
Since then, the following Miami restaurants have earned stars: Ariete; Boia De; Cote; Elcielo; EntreNos; Hiden; Le Jardinier; Los Felix; Ogawa; Shingo; Stubborn Seed; Tambourine Room by Tristan Brandt; The Surf Club Restaurant; and L'Atelier du Joël Robuchon, which was the first Florida restaurant to receive a two-star rating.
Led by chef Nando Chang, who has also been nominated for a James Beard Award this year, Itamae Ao serves the Peruvian-Japanese fusion Chang and his family have long been known for in Miami. The restaurant, which opened in May 2024, started its life in 2018 as Itamae at local food hall MIA Market (then St. Roch Market) in Miami's Design District, with Nando Chang working with his sister Val and father Fernando.
The restaurant eventually moved on to its own space across the Palm Court, with most tables outdoors in the courtyard and a smaller counter indoors, then to its current location as part of Maty's, Val Chang's Peruvian restaurant (which on the Michelin Guide as Recommended).
Nando Chang is in the middle of a month-long residency reviving the original Itamae at Maty's and, should he win the James Beard Award for Best Chef: South, will be following in his sister's footsteps: Val Chang won the same award last year.
Other newly starred Florida restaurants
Four other restaurants in Florida earned Michelin stars, including Sorekara in Orlando, which serves Japanese cuisine. Sorekara, under the helm of chef/owner William Shen, earned two stars, making it the second two-starred restaurant in the state.
Chef Ryan Ratino, who is known for his two-star restaurant Jônt and one-star restaurant Bresca in Washington, D.C., now has two spots on Florida's guide. His Chef's Counter at MAASS in the Four Seasons Hotel and Residences, which serves contemporary cuisine via a tasting menu, earned the first Michelin star for Fort Lauderdale. Ratino is also the force behind Ômo by Jônt in Winter Park, which earned a star on Thursday.
The first Michelin starred spot in Palm Beach is Konro in West Palm Beach, which also serves a tasting menu of contemporary cuisine.
No starred restaurants in Florida lost their stars this time around.
Other Miami Michelin honors
Two Miami starred restaurants were also awarded green stars this year, which are given to restaurants that demonstrate outstanding commitment to sustainable gastronomy and have a strong environmental focus.
Chef Jeremy Ford's Stubbon Seed in Miami Beach won a green star for using ingredients sourced from the chef's 5.5 acre farm in Homestead, a composting program and a partnership with the community program Compost for Life and initiatives to reduce the carbon footprint of the restaurant.
EntreNos from chefs Evan Burgess and Osmel Gonzalez, who operate out of the Tinta y Cafe in Miami Shores, earned a green star for locally sourced produce and land-based protein; sustainably sourced seafood; dinnerware made by a Miami-based artisan, its organic and biodynamic wine program and the fact they repurpose food waste into vinegars and sauces.
Jacqueline Pirolo of Macchialina on Miami Beach earned the Michelin Sommelier Award, while Juan Camilo Liscano of Palma in Miami won the Michelin Young Chef Award.
Affordable honors
Two local restaurants originally designated as Bib Gourmands — a title that indicates quality food at a great value — lost their designation Thursday: the Aegean restaurant Doya and Zak the Baker in Wynwood. Zak the Baker remains on the Michelin Recommended list, which was released for Miami earlier this year.
No new Bib Gourmands were added in Miami, but Fort Lauderdale earned its first Bib Gourmand via Heritage, the pizza-and-pasta spot from chef/owner Rino Cerbone.
There were a couple of Palm Beach restaurants added to the Bib Gourmand list, too: aioli and Palm Beach Meats, both from West Palm Beach. Four Orlando restaurants were added, too: Coro, Banh Mi Boy, Smokemade Meats + Eats and UniGirl. Florida has 36 Bib Gourmand-designated restaurants.
The Miami Bib Gourmand restaurants are Bachour; Chug's Diner; El Turco; Ghee Indian Kitchen; Hometown Barbecue; La Natural; Lucali; Mandorin Aegean Bistro; Michael's Genuine; Phuc Yeah; Sanguich de Miami; Tam Tam; Tinta y Cafe; and Zitz Sum.
