Fall Preview 2013: 11 Major Restaurant And Bar Openings In Miami
Here's an inside tip from a guy who used to spend a lot of time in Miami: If you live north of Atlanta and want to get to the Magic City this fall or winter, make your plans now. Once it starts getting cold and the leaves change and snow falls, airfare to this tropical city rises exponentially, the best hotels are booked and your local connections who you're banking on to score you a table reservation at the nightclubs are all tapped out. You'll also want to know about the new places to eat (and be seen, of course).
Miami's culinary scene has improved vastly in the past five years, probably more than any major city other than Los Angeles (keeping in mind where these cities started), so it's not surprising that it continues to attract chefs and restaurateurs from around the country. One trend for fall seems to be that Miami's highly international bent is increasingly enticing restaurants and chefs from around the globe. So in coming months, Michael Mina will continue to expand here, while New Yorkers like Josh Capon join the fray and new entries like Europe's L'Entrecôte de Paris (at 1053 SE First Ave., Miami, 305-755-9995) — the steak-frites joint opened last week in the bristling Brickell area — and Peru's La Mar (from Gaston Acurio) try to find their place in the sun.
- Public House
A new bar is set to open in the South of Fifth neighborhood, and while little is known at this point, a teaser website with a filament bulb and sharp branding hint that this could be an urbane upgrade to a neighborhood in need of more cool places to hang. 423 Washington Ave., Miami Beach, 786-408-2917, sofipublichouse.com (September)
This seafood spot perched atop Brickell's Epic Hotel offers some of the most striking views in the city. Perhaps since it's never lived up to its potential, the restaurant recently closed for a complete overhaul, and will reopen later this month with a new cocktail program, a promising menu that will flaunt South Florida's seafood riches and a chef in Wolfgang Birk who has helped add sizzle to Miami landmarks like Casa Casaurina. 270 Biscayne Way, Miami, 305-424-5234, area31restaurant.com (September)
Mary Brickell Village gets a promising newcomer in this restaurant featuring executive chef Jeff O'Neill, a former Barton G. and Trump family chef. Steak will be the star of the menu, but plenty of other meat and seafood dishes are promised as well. The building will also house a patio with small bites and an upstairs lounge and nightclub branded as KAO, as well as a cigar-friendly speakeasy called KAO Smoke. 901 South Miami Ave., Miami, 305-779-2445, porcaogrill.com (September)
An Asian menu with a focus on "soulful Chinese cuisine" is being touted at Midtown newcomer Blackbrick, from the team behind Sakaya Kitchen. Taking over the former ACME bakery space, this 50-seater should provide a more affordable look at modern Chinese cooking than you'll find over on the beach; an all-day 5-course menu at $35 is among the early highlights. 3451 NE 1st Ave., Unit 103, Miami, 305-573-8886, midtownchinese.com (October)
Today's news that the original location in NYC's Soho will stay put following a threatened rent hike — the dilemma even spawned a hashtag, #savelurefishbar — was welcome news to Manhattan diners, and now Miami has reason to get excited as well. Josh Capon will bring his first-rate seafood, A-List crowd and award-winning burger to the Loews Miami Beach Hotel this fall. 1601 Collins Ave., Miami Beach (November)
Michael Mina was an early adapter to Miami, leaving the comfort of the West Coast to take a chance with Bourbon Steak at Turnberry Isle back in 2007. He somehow survived the economic crisis while serving pricy steaks, ornate seafood platters and duck-fat fries, and now he seems to be in full-on expansion mode. Next up from the intelligent chef/restaurateur is Michael Mina 74, a new concept that mixes the dining room, the cocktail lounge and the nightclub into one very Miami-sounding package. 4141 Collins Ave., Miami Beach (November)
The Peruvian master chef and restaurateur has met with mixed results in his U.S. outreach, succeeding in San Francisco and swinging and missing in New York City. This iteration of his La Mar concept makes sense though; he's taking over a sharp-looking space in the beautiful Mandarin Oriental hotel on Brickell Key, along with indoor/outdoor dining rooms with phenomenal views. La Mar's ceviche and tapas should go over well in this fish-obsessed town, provided Acurio's anointed team keeps standards high. 500 Brickell Key Dr., Miami (December)
Don't let the "bar" in the name fool you: Bocce Bar is the latest spot from Sushi Samba's Samba Brands Management, and is slated to be an Italian restaurant helmed by executive chef Timon Balloo. Balloo knows the area well; since moving from the Design District and the lamented Domo Japonais, he's kept diners happy at Sugarcane raw bar and grill, which the chef will continue to oversee in its nearby space. 3252 NE 1st Ave., Miami (late 2013)
With Pubbelly established as Miami Beach's g0-to gastropub, its team heads further up the beach to 62nd Street for this enticing-looking French-style brasserie. 6261 Collins Ave., Miami Beach (late 2013)
Chicago's Dineamic Group and Top Chef alum Fabio Viviani bring their Italian comfort food concept to Miami Beach. Viviani has described the restaurant's cooking as revisiting American classics with a Mediterranean influence. Address TBA (late 2013)
While Kevin Coury will face some stiff competition when Gaston Acurio's La Mar goes into the nearby Mandarin, the raw-fish master is keeping one step ahead, with plans to open N Lounge next to his popular Brickell Key sushi joint NAOE. The chef tells Miami.com's Leslie Abravanel that the offshoot will serve lunch and dinner but that sushi won't be the focus at N Lounge. 661 Brickell Key Dr., Miami (late 2013)
Note: This article was updated to reflect the change to Michael Mina 74, from the originally announced RN74, at teh Fontainebleau Miami Beach.
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