Restaurants in Miami Beach and Key West named among the best in the country

Connie Ogle
·2 min read

An upscale Michelin-starred restaurant in Miami Beach and an outdoor, oceanfront paradise in the Florida Keys were named among the top 100 restaurants in the United States for 2023.

OpenTable has released its annual Top 100 Restaurants in the U.S. for 2023, and Stubborn Seed was the only spot in Miami-Dade County to make the cut. Led by chef and partner Jeremy Ford, winner of Bravo’s “Top Chef” season 13, the restaurant opened South of Fifth in 2017 and earned its first Michelin star in 2022. It offers an eight-course tasting menu, with an a la carte menu available at the bar.

Also on the list was Latitudes Key West on Sunset Key, which serves breakfast, lunch and dinner on the beach with views of the Gulf of Mexico. Latitudes was also named one of the best outdoor restaurants in the U.S. by OpenTable in 2022.

Ford, also the force behind Beauty and the Butcher in Coral Gables and The Butcher’s Club at the PGA National Resort & Spa in Palm Beach, said that being named to the OpenTable list was an honor.

“To have this recognition come directly from our guests and their experiences is so rewarding,” he said.

Latitudes restaurant in Key West is one of the best restaurants of 2023, according to OpenTable. Opal Collection
Latitudes restaurant in Key West is one of the best restaurants of 2023, according to OpenTable. Opal Collection

Ignacio Garcia-Menocal, CEO and co-founder of Grove Bay Hospitality Group, said that the ranking celebrates the hard work that goes into the experience of Stubborn Seed.

“When we began this journey for Stubborn Seed six years ago, we wanted to bring something different to Miami by creating a restaurant that offers an elevated tasting menu with fine dining service, but served in a casual ambiance,” he said. “At the time, there weren’t many restaurants like this in Miami so it was a bit risky to open a tasting menu-only concept. It has been very rewarding to see how guests have embraced Stubborn Seed over the years.”

Five other Florida restaurants made the list: the famous Bern’s Steak House in Tampa; the upscale café Buccan in Palm Beach; Lilac in Tampa, which earned a Michelin star in 2023; the Peruvian Llama Restaurant in St. Augustine; and the eclectic Savour in downtown Tallahassee.

California had the most restaurants on the list with 14. OpenTable created the listing by culling more than 12 million verified diner reviews and dining metrics that include ratings, five-star reviews and percentage of reservations that were made in advance.

The Michelin-starred Lilac in Tampa was named one of the best 100 restaurants in the U.S. in 2023 by OpenTable. Nikolas Koenig
The Michelin-starred Lilac in Tampa was named one of the best 100 restaurants in the U.S. in 2023 by OpenTable. Nikolas Koenig

Top OpenTable restaurants in South Florida

Stubborn Seed: 101 Washington Ave., Miami Beach; stubbornseed.com; 786-322-5211

Latitudes Key West: 245 Front St., Key West; opalcollection.com/sunset-key-cottages/restaurants/latitudes; 305-292-5394

Buccan: 350 S. County Road, Palm Beach; www.buccanpalmbeach.com; 561-833-3450

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