Tin Tin, the Little Havana dinner restaurant from chefs Sachi Statz and Víctor Santos, has been named one of The New York Times' 50 favorite restaurants in America for 2026, according to reporting by Miami New Times. The recognition comes soon after the restaurant's opening and places a new dinner-focused venture from the team behind Tinta y Café in a national spotlight.
The New York Times says the list was assembled by 16 people who traveled throughout the country. The picks are unranked, and restaurants that appeared on any previous year's list were excluded, according to The New York Times. A third-party roundup, mytablescout.com, lists Tin Tin alongside The Tides Market in Safety Harbor as the two Florida entries.
From a Family Café to a Dinner-Focused Sibling
Tin Tin is at 2555 SW Eighth St. in Little Havana, according to miamiandbeaches.com. Its roots go back to 2005, when Statz and Santos opened Tinta y Café. Tin Tin is the larger, dinner-focused sibling, with the chefs describing its approach as Miami cuisine shaped by Cuban flavors and French and Italian techniques.
Tin Tin opened at the end of December in the former Social 27 space on Eighth Street, according to the Miami Herald. The Herald identifies Statz and Santos as the restaurant's co-owners and chefs and highlights offerings including a Cuban sandwich-inspired wagyu carpaccio.
Calle Ocho's Food and Business Legacy
Tin Tin's setting is part of a longer food-business tradition. According to the National Park Service's American Latino Theme Study, Cuban communities in Miami built local food networks that included grocery stores and restaurants serving fellow residents. The agency's food-focused history describes Cuban exiles in the 1960s as transforming Miami into Little Havana, centered on the restaurants, cafés and street vendors of Calle Ocho. That cultural identity also has a measurable commercial reach. CBS Miami reports that the Greater Miami Convention and Visitors Bureau estimates the annual Calle Ocho Festival has a $40 million economic impact.
A Menu Built on Cuban, French and Italian Techniques
The Herald's report notes Tin Tin serves ropa vieja-stuffed tortellini alongside dishes like fruta bomba y jamón serrano, ropa vieja raviolo and malanga cacio e pepe, according to OpenTable. That same account notes the restaurant had already generated significant buzz in the short time since it opened. Miamiandbeaches.com adds that Tin Tin offers lunch and dinner service alongside a curated wine list and an inventive cocktail program, with a menu the site says celebrates Cuban cuisine with refined French and Italian influences.
Florida's Other Pick, Far From Miami
Florida's second selection on the 2026 list, The Tides Market, sits in Safety Harbor at 305 Main St., owned by Jon and Mary Kate Walker, according to tampabay.com. That outlet reports it was the only Tampa Bay restaurant to make the cut, serving dishes like oysters bienville topped with andouille, shrimp, parmesan and buttered breadcrumbs alongside po'boys filled with fried grouper bites.
Elsewhere on the list, the Times also singled out La Sirena, a 22-seat restaurant in Ephraim, Wisconsin, owned by Carlos Salgado and Emilie Coulson Salgado, which opened in Door County in August 2025, according to jsonline.com. That outlet reports it is the only Wisconsin restaurant to make the list, underscoring how the Times' 2026 picks stretch from small coastal towns to Little Havana's dinner tables.
