March 18, 2024

The Robert W. Tolf Award
for Best New Restaurant

The late Florida Trend Restaurant Editor Robert W. Tolf ran the Golden Spoon Awards for 34 years. This selection is in his honor.

Boia De - Italian - Miami
5205 N.E. 2nd Ave. - (305) 967-8866

Subtle hand-crafted Italian in a 24-seater in Little Haiti next to a laundromat. The chefs met at NYC’s Eleven Madison Park and NoMad and turned their big-city chops to a taco cart and now a tiny restaurant of their own. A valiant and delicious show of smarts in these times: Luciana Giangrandi and Alex Meyer make tomato-rubbed lamb rib with peaches, wild mushrooms with soft egg, clams and ‘nduja, or tonnato on beef carpaccio instead of veal; daily hand-made pasta from tagliatelle with rabbit to green pea garganelli. Plus, they opened their larder to sell home cooks the ingredients they work with, like house muffuletta sauce, Green Goddess dressing, pastas and small estate wines. Boia de! is an exclamation of amazement in dialect heard in Livorno, and this fresh taste and thinking deserves one.

Boia De

Coral Gables
Bachour - Latin Bakery 

Delray Beach
Elisabetta’s Ristorante - Italian 
Taru at Sundy House - New Florida 

Jacksonville
New Berlin Fish House & Oyster Bar - Seafood 

Miami
BAKAN - Mexican 
Cafe La Trova - Cuban 
Maska - Progressive Indian 

Naples
Grappino - Italian 

Orlando
534 Scratch Kitchen - Contemporary 
Taste of Chengdu - Chinese 
The H - Steakhouse/Mediterranean 

Palm Beach Gardens
Stage Kitchen - Regional Small Plates 

Pensacola
Angelena’s - Modern Italian 

Ponte Vedra Beach
Valley Smoke - Southern Barbecue 

Santa Rosa Beach
Black Bear Bread Co. - Bakery/Wine Bar 

Sarasota
1592 Wood-Fired Kitchen - Mediterranean 

St. Petersburg
Baba - Mediterrean Bakery/Cafe 

Tampa
Counter Culture - Contemporary 

West Palm Beach
High Dive - Seafood 

Winter Park
BoVine - Steakhouse 

What are the Golden Spoons?

» Read this FAQ about Florida Trend's Golden Spoons with Restaurant Editor Chris Sherman to learn what the Golden Spoon Awards are, when they started, and much more.

Dining in Florida

» Browse all Chris Sherman's restaurant reviews and features at the Dining & Spirits archive

About Florida Trend's Restaurant Editor

Florida Trend restaurant editor Chris Sherman stuck his finger into Key lime pie 20 years ago and has eaten his way up, down and across the sunshine state. Florida sets a big and constantly changing table, so when you find a great new restaurant or have a grand meal, let Florida Trend know.

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