From chef-driven restaurants shining with talent to out-of-town transplants making their way to the Magic City from New York, Los Angeles, and even Chicago, Miami is one of the hottest culinary cities in the U.S. Beyond its popularity, Miami is home to several James Beard Award and Michelin-recognized talent, including baker Jesus Brazon of Caracas Bakery, James Beard Award-winning chef Valerie Chang of Maty's, Michael Schwartz of Michael's Genuine Food & Drink, and Michael Beltran of Ariete (to name a few).
Despite everything aforementioned in this story, a certain restaurant reservation and management platform (OpenTable) has completely snubbed Miami of any recognition in 2024.
OpenTable has just released its annual list of 2024's Top 100 Restaurants, which is a list of top restaurants that are ranked based on reviews and insights left by users on the platform. The platform states, "Some lists are decided by critics, but not OpenTable’s Top 100 — this one is driven by diners. See this year’s top-ranked spots based on insights and reviews from verified OpenTable users just like you."
Only four Florida restaurants made the list: Bern's Steakhouse in Tampa, Buccan in Palm Beach, Dry Dock Waterfront Grill in Longboat Key, and Sails Restaurant in Naples. While each of these restaurants is worthy of recognition, a jarring fact stood out to New Times editors this week — not a single Miami restaurant made the list.
With nearly 200 restaurants opening in Miami-Dade County alone in 2024, and not to mention the wildly popular ones like Mila in South Beach, which has more than 5,000 reviews on OpenTable and an average of 4.7 stars, the list has us perplexed.
It's also noteworthy that Miami restaurants did not make the cut in OpenTable's two additional annual lists: Top 100 Brunch Restaurants in America for 2024 and Top 100 Romantic Restaurants in America for 2024.
What gives, OpenTable?
For those wondering which restaurants would make New Times' top list for 2024, stay tuned to New Times all December long to find out.
