If you’re in Miami Beach attending at Design Miami events, surely you’ll want to have lunch at the best restaurants. Well-known for its nightlife and great entertaining highpoints like pubs, nightclubs, live music, DJ’s, parties and casinos, Miami is a cosmopolitan city with people from all over the world, open to so many different experiences and flavors.
Full of idealistic restaurants which have a very intense collection of dinning choices, Miami has so many astonishing restaurants, the people expect a lot from each one – and that’s not a bad thing at all. Here’s three must-go’s.
The Bazaar by Jose Andres
1701 Collins Avenue, Miami Beach, FL, United States
The Bazaar by José Andrés is a great choice if you are thinking about having a great meal while visiting the Design Miami/ Global Forum for Design. Decorated by Philippe Starck, this restaurant is on SLS Hotel, like its Los Angeles’ twin, and the first thing you see when you walk in is the open kitchen and the bar. With a sober and elegant look, “unmatching” table lamps, chairs and sofas fill the two-story space and somehow it all works beautifully, below an astonishing custom-made chandelier.
But don’t think the décor overwhelms the food. José Andrés, named Outstanding Chef of the Year at the 2011 James Beard Awards, redefines modern dining by reinventing Spanish cuisine. The menu is described as Spain-meets-Florida-meets-the-Carribean. One of Andres’ signature techniques is flavored air, perfectly displayed in the “Smoked Oysters” or in the “Deconstructed key lime pie”. The liquid nitrogen Caipirinha is also a must-try.
Naoe restaurant
661 Brickell Key Drive, Miami, FL, United States
“It’s not fresh, it’s alive.” This is the motto of Naoe Japanese restaurant, located in Brickell Key Drive. There’s no menu, and you’ll eat all entirely “omakase”, or chef’s Kevin Cory choice. But don’t be intimidated, the chef and hostess are sober, friendly, and absolutely charming.
It is a small but quietly elegant space, done mostly in shades of grey, brown and black with soft lights which literally put the spotlight on the food. There are 17 seats total, half of which are at a beautiful wood bar which faces the open kitchen. The reason that there’s not much seating, is because Chef Kevin Cory will only be serving eight diners per service.
However, there are about a half-dozen choices of sake, all produced by Chef Cory’s family in Japan, including junmai (organic to boot), ginjo, and daiginjo styles. The food is creative and delicious with adventurous and magnificently fresh ingredients.
Be prepared: this could be one of the most unexpected and special dining experiences you’ll had in Miami.
The Forge
432 41st Street, Miami Beach, FL, United States
Miami Beach’s landmark Forge restaurant has long been a favorite of both Miami locals and visitors alike. Their award-winning menu has continually satisfied patrons with a penchant for fresh, innovative, and – above all – incredibly tasty dishes.
With an impressive décor, grand wood panels surrounds all four sides of the formal dining room with some modern touches. Overhead, an imposing crystal chandelier irradiates a dressy dinner crowd in a series of private dining rooms and lounges, including the hip Wine Bar assembled personally by the owner Shareef Malnik.
In addition to its over 300,000 vintage wines, The Forge was once the place for legendary figures such as former president Richard Nixon and actor Richard Burton. Today, The Forge is a sustained success, with loyal celebrities visiting once in a while.
Bourbon Steak
19999 West Country Club Drive, Aventura, FL, United States
Located in the famous Turnberry Isle Miami, Bourbon Steak is celebrity chef Michael Mina’s modern twist on the classic American steakhouse.
Open daily for dinner, Bourbon Steak is a lively restaurant with a distinctly chic Miami design. It is famous for its top rate steak and beautiful décor, and the service is simply the best. A dramatic glass-box entrance leads to a large dining room that shines with lights and mirrors.
The specialty is up generous cuts of beef that are both organic and hormone-free — and its fries get the same attention to quality and detail. Mid-thick cuts of potato get dunked in duck fat to provide both their rich flavor and crispness, and an order covers three seasoning and sauce combos: rosemary herb accompanied by a side of spicy ketchup; onion-dusted with sour cream sauce; and smoked paprika with smoked barbecue sauce – enough to deserve a place on CNN’s Travel + Leisure’s Best French Fries in the U.S.
If you’re lucky, the cheerful servers will not only provide you with thoughtful service throughout the whole dinner, as well as they will gladly take you on a tour around the kitchen, if you ask nicely.
Azul
500 Brickell Key Drive, Miami, FL, United States
Make your reservations in advance if you want to experience one of the best fine dining restaurants in Brickell. Located inside the Mandarin Oriental hotel on Brickell Key, Azul’s dazzling white marble open kitchen catches your eye, where you can observe true culinary art at work.
The remarkable ambience with floor to ceiling windows showcasing the romantic Bay of Biscayne and the minimal décor become the perfect ambience to experience Chef Jacob Anaya delicacies. The diverse menu features an exotic mix of Asian and Mediterranean specialties. The servers are extremely informed about the dishes on the menu and the ingredients in each one, so you can have a full-flavored experience.
Joey’s
2506 Northwest 2nd Avenue, Miami, FL, United States
Joey’s is an affordable, chic restaurant owned by the son of South Beach pioneer Tony Goldman, Joey Goldman. Established December 2008, Joey’s Italian café was the first restaurant to open in Wynwood since the area turned into a hip Arts District.
This cozy, minimalistic, industrial-style concrete-floored eatery with open kitchen, a few tables inside, and an outdoor patio creates the perfect ambience to try the thin-crusted pizza, considered one of the top pizzas in the U.S. by Food & Wine.
