2 FL Eateries Among 2026 Restaurants Of The Year, National Publication Says

Two Florida restaurants have been honored as among the best in the country by USA Today.

In all, food writers in the USA Today network found 40 restaurants in 25 states worthy of mention in its 2026 Restaurants of the Year list.

“This is not your usual best-of list, where food writers fly in for a whirlwind weekend of eating and drinking, often relying on the institutional knowledge of the locals who know the scene best,” USA Today said of its methodology for the list. “This list, instead, comes from our own locals. Food writers who know their beats best. They live there. They work there. They eat there. That's what makes our list stand out.”

Florida restaurants honored were Tide Tables in Bradenton and Oceano in Lake Worth Beach.

According to USA Today, Tide Tables is a waterfront favorite on Florida’s Gulf Coast that cuts its fish right on the dock along the Intracoastal Waterway.

"That just-caught seafood shines in dishes like a perfectly blackened grouper sandwich, rotating specials such as Thai chili grouper bites, and crowd-pleasing fish tacos topped with sesame ginger sauce," USA Today wrote.

Meanwhile, Oceano was founded by Jeremy and Cindy Bearman, a husband-wife duo with pedigrees from New York City’s ABC Kitchen and db Bistro Moderne, according to USA Today.

"Jeremy’s savory dishes are composed and confident; standouts have included a vibrant duck salad, delicate waloo crudo, mussels escabeche and expertly prepared American red snapper," USA Today wrote. "Cindy’s desserts are vivid, layered and unapologetically indulgent."

The 2026 Restaurants of the Year list also includes eateries in Arizona, California, Colorado, Delaware, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Virginia and Washington.