Tampa’s Rocca, Koya, and Lilac are now MICHELIN-starred restaurants

Tampa is now home to three MICHELIN-starred restaurants. Rocca, Koya, and Lilac at the Tampa EDITION all received the major culinary honor.

In all, the anonymous MICHELIN Guide inspectors awarded Stars to 19 restaurants, with L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon Miami remaining atop that list with two MICHELIN Stars. The 2023 selection comprises 144 restaurants and 38 types of cuisine, which customers will enjoy discovering.  

“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 – Koya, Lilac and Rocca – 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.”

Koya and Rocca create culinary theatre in Tampa

Here’s what the judges had to say about each of the three Tampa restaurants.

Koya is already one of the most revelatory restaurants in the city. “Adriana and Eric Fralick keep a watchful eye over the experience at this intimate eight-seat counter, where a multicourse contemporary tasting menu shares a singular interpretation of Japanese cuisine,” write the MICHELIN judges. “The dishes are often unexpected yet always thoughtful. Spectacular seafood is a given: staple luxuries like bluefin tuna and uni are flown in weekly from Kagoshima market, where the team has a personal buyer.”

Rocca had previously received a Bib Gourmand. Now it’s leveled up to full star status. Chef Bryce Bonsack blends his New York know-how with Italian training to great effect in this of-the-moment eatery. 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.

EDITION is now home to a MICHELIN-starred restaurant

Lilac is now the MICHELIN-starred restaurant inside of a 5-star hotel. Situated in the sleek and oh-so-stylish Edition hotel, this concept from John Fraser is a popular spot with in-demand reservations. The small space has a sexy vibe, albeit not a stitch of lilac in sight. Peruse the contemporary four-course prix-fixe with Mediterranean influences, Florida-focused ingredients and French techniques. 

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