Safety Harbor’s The Tides Market was just named one of the country’s 50 best restaurants by the New York Times.
The impressive accolade was announced Tuesday morning, when the Times released its 2026 Restaurant List, an annual collection of the paper’s “50 favorite places in America right now.” Times food writer Brett Anderson praised dishes like the fried fish sandwiches and blackened yellowtail snapper at the north Pinellas seafood restaurant as well as the kitchen’s ability to “transform exceptionally fresh ingredients into food you know you want.”
The Tides is the only Tampa Bay restaurant to make the list this year. One other Florida restaurant, Tin Tin in Miami, made the list.
The annual list was compiled by 16 reporters at the news organization who scouted the country, from “small town Wisconsin to downtown Manhattan.”
Jon and Mary Kate Walker opened their seafood market and restaurant on a busy stretch of Safety Harbor’s Main Street in late 2021. The hybrid business — part grocery store, seafood market and counter-service restaurant — soon blossomed and expanded into a sprawling full-service operation that’s garnered praise and accolades from critics and diners alike. In 2025 and 2026, the prestigious Michelin Guide included The Tides among its selection of “recommended” restaurants in its annual Florida guide.
The Tides was also ranked among the area’s Top 10 restaurants on the Tampa Bay Times’ Top Restaurants lists, in 2024 and 2025.
When reached by phone Tuesday, Jon Walker said he was “completely awestruck.”
“It’s incredible,” he said. “There’s still a seat at the table for straightforward, honest, approachable food.”
Walker said having a more casual restaurant like theirs included in such an esteemed list was thrilling.
“We’re not doing composed, fine dining,” he said. “It’s kind of nice that you can make a really good sandwich and get recognized for that, too. I’m just super grateful to be a part of the conversation.”
(Full disclosure: My partner has done some freelance design work in the past for The Tides Market.)
