The famed MICHELIN Guide, which has been spotlighting some of the world’s best restaurants and hotels for more than a century, has finally added a few Sarasota dining spots.
And I’m thrilled with the selections — and what they could mean for local business.
The timing couldn’t be much better, either, as we enter the slowest months of the year following what many local restaurateurs have told me was a less-than-booming tourist season.
Started by the French tire company of the same name in 1900, the MICHELIN Guide can instantly elevate a restaurant’s profile and help turn it into a destination for travelers from around the world.
Having three restaurants recognized by MICHELIN roughly five years after its anonymous inspectors began visiting Florida is something all Sarasotans should take pride in.
Lucky 8 restaurant in Sarasota honored by MICHELIN Guide as Bib Gourmand
Michelin’s recognition system has expanded over the years beyond its famous one-, two- and three-star ratings, which are awarded to restaurants rather than chefs. Additional distinctions now include Bib Gourmand, Green Star and Selected, or recommended, status.
Lucky 8, located in Sarasota’s Southside Village, earned a Bib Gourmand designation, which recognizes restaurants that offer strong quality and good value. Once again, I find myself agreeing with MICHELIN.
Chef and co-owner Mark Majorie’s Lucky 8 is a love letter to the Cajun comfort food of his native New Orleans. From the muffuletta and po’ boys to the gumbo and collard greens, it’s hard to go wrong with anything coming out of Majorie’s kitchen, including his outstanding rendition of cochon de lait.
Lucky 8 appeared on my list of the best new Sarasota restaurants worth the time and money in late 2025, about a year after it opened. A few weeks ago, I also featured the restaurant in my picks for the six best burger restaurants in Sarasota, praising its smash burger and hand-cut fries.
Now, Lucky 8 will be representing Sarasota in the MICHELIN Guide. If you’ve never been, start with Majorie’s bold twist on the Louisiana classic cochon de lait (“suckling pig”). Reimagined with Asian flavors, it features nuoc cham, cashew-sesame crunch, Thai basil and coriander, arriving as a vibrant herb-packed salad stacked atop crisp-edged, golden pork — sweet, spicy, crunchy and fresh all at once.
It’s the sort of unforgettable dish that helps explain why MICHELIN came calling in the first place.
Tralia restaurant in Sarasota added to MICHELIN Guide
Fresh off winning our best pizza restaurants in Sarasota poll that concluded in April, Tralia was added to the MICHELIN Guide under its recommended category, listed as “Selected” on the guide’s website.
Last year’s runner-up in our best pizza poll, Tralia began as a popular pop-up before opening its brick-and-mortar location at 6566 Gateway Ave. in Gulf Gate. Today, it serves distinctive sourdough-based Detroit-style square pizzas as well as equally impressive thin-crust rounds.
In 2025, I featured Tralia in my list of 10 essential Sarasota restaurants for everyday dining that won’t break the bank.
“In Sarasota’s crowded pizza scene, Tralia stands out in the pizza-obsessed Gulf Gate neighborhood thanks to owner and executive chef Anthony Petralia’s gourmet approach,” I wrote. “His secret? A daily-fed sourdough starter that forms the foundation for two distinctly different but equally crave-worthy styles of pie: artisan rounds and Detroit square.”
For pizza lovers, the MICHELIN recognition simply confirms what Gulf Gate regulars have known for years: Tralia is serving some of Sarasota-Manatee’s most memorable pies.
For these three restaurants, long embraced by locals, the recognition feels well deserved. For Sarasota, it feels long overdue.
Focaccia Sandwich + Bakery in Sarasota makes MICHELIN Guide
Focaccia Sandwich + Bakery, at 2300 Bee Ridge Road in Sarasota, also earned a spot in the MICHELIN Guide under its recommended category.
Opened in early 2024, Focaccia describes its bread as “made in house every single morning with clean ingredients and organic flour,” noting that a single loaf requires 52 hours to produce. “We hope you enjoy eating it as much as we enjoyed making it. As we say, ‘life is short, eat the bread!'”
The bread can be purchased by the loaf, of course, but the bakery’s menu also features an enticing lineup of breakfast and lunch sandwiches, including a porchetta piled with fennel, house giardiniera, roasted garlic aioli and arugula.
My dining-out hours tend to be evenings these days, so I haven’t yet had the chance to visit Focaccia. But judging by the MICHELIN recognition, the devotion to bread-making and a menu that reads this well on paper, I’ll have to make an exception. The bakery is open from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday.
Of course, I can only imagine what the line will look like now. Oh well. Good for them.
For these three locally loved restaurants, the recognition feels well deserved. For Sarasota, it feels long overdue.
Wade Tatangelo is the executive editor of the Sarasota Herald-Tribune and Florida dining and entertainment editor for the USA TODAY Network. Follow him on Facebook, Instagram, and X. He can be reached by email at wade.tatangelo@heraldtribune.com. Support local journalism by subscribing.
This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: 3 Sarasota restaurants make famed MICHELIN Guide
Reporting by Wade Tatangelo, Sarasota Herald-Tribune / Sarasota Herald-Tribune
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
