If you’re the type of traveler who would visit Miami just to savor a sweet guava-and-cheese-stuffed pastelito and potent cup of Cuban coffee at Versailles, Miami Spice Restaurant Months is a must.
The 23rd annual event from the Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau gives foodies an extra reason to try some of the best restaurants in the city: through September, you can enjoy three-course lunches and brunches for $30 or $35 and dinners for $45 or $60.
However, in a city spilling over with restaurants, the dining options can be overwhelming. More than 350 restaurants are participating across 20 neighborhoods in Greater Miami and Miami Beach, but we found three enticing spots to put at the top of your Miami Spice culinary itinerary:
Set within the bright, bold Forbes Travel Guide Five-Star Faena Hotel Miami Beach, Pao is a feast for the eyes. Under a gold-leaf dome, palm fronds adorn the walls and a Damien Hirst unicorn sculpture (named Golden Myth, it’s half painted in bronze and gold leaf and half flayed, exposing the muscles and tissues) stands sentinel over diners sitting in the brown leather curved banquettes.
Born in Manila and based in Texas, Qui came to fame when he competed on the ninth season of Top Chef. Now he’s known for helping introduce Filipino cuisine to a wider audience with his own string of restaurants. At Four-Star Pao, Qui continues to showcase Filipino food, but he weaves in Japanese, French and Spanish influences for unique fusion fare.
For dinner, begin with the fried chicken, crunchy bites of boneless meat coated in sweet chili sauce, topped with fresh herbs, jalapeño and shallots with roasted banana ketchup for dipping. Or go for the maguro, fresh bluefin tuna with tomatillo aguachile, sesame oil, serrano pepper and avocado puree. Then move on to tobanyaki, a savory plate of adobo rice, Comté cheese espuma, wagyu short rib and pickled chilies, or the branzino with black garlic miso labneh and kaffir-brown butter breadcrumbs.
Desserts also get the fusion treatment, whether it’s the panna cotta with strawberry confit, Thai basil and coconut-lime sorbet or the champorado, a chocolate rice porridge with caramelized cashews, soufflé and Hukambi whipped ganache.
Insider Tip: Arrive early for a drink at the bar. As you gaze at the unicorn sculpture, sip The Myth. The tropical libation infuses ube (a Filipino purple yam) into Grey Goose and Absolut vodka and adds coconut rum, toasted pineapple and lemon. It comes in a heavy copper cup shaped like a unicorn head.
This Design District restaurant hides in a corner of the Palm Court shopping center, but you know you’re heading in the right direction when you come upon the Italian restaurant’s ruffled pink umbrellas on the patio. More pink awaits inside, and it’s decidedly more glamorous with floors made of pink and white marble, salmon-colored velvet chairs under milky-white Murano glass chandeliers and alcoves bathing a rosy neon light on the pink leather booths.
But your eyes will be drawn to the art, a rotating display of contemporary works like Italian painter Marco Grassi’s Grama Gold Experience n. 572, a portrait of a wide-eyed young woman surrounded by gold leaf and bursts of bright colors, or Russell Young’s Marilyn Crying, a screen-print of a famous photo of Marilyn Monroe weeping in a car. Here, she shimmers with pink diamond dust.
After admiring the Pop works, start brunch with appetizers like the thick sourdough bruschetta with heirloom tomatoes, creamy stracciatella cheese, basil and balsamic, or the fritto misto, a heaping plate of fried calamari, zucchini and eggplant with a Meyer lemon aioli dipping sauce.
For the main course, the spicy rigatoni alla vodka is a must. Sofia’s signature dish is elevated comfort food (thanks to the 36-month-aged Parmigiano Reggiano shards) with a kick (courtesy of the Calabrian chili). Though the carrozza also is tempting — the brioche buffalo mozzarella sandwich is coated and fried to crisp perfection, with each triangle standing upright on a pool of Parmesan fonduta and topped with truffle shavings. For the last course, go for the tiramisu. Sofia updates the traditional dessert by layering in its housemade espresso semifreddo.
Check out the special list of Miami Spice cocktails, too. We enjoyed the fruity pink-hued Love Affair, with tequila, pisco, passion fruit, pistachio and chili tincture for some heat.
Insider Tip: The pretty-in-pink patio is popular. Snag one of the plush blush loveseats or rattan peacock chairs to dine under the palm trees. You’ll have a good vantage point for architect Buckminster Fuller’s Fly’s Eye Dome, a 24-foot geodesic dome with bubbled sides that serves as the courtyard’s centerpiece.
Avra was a dream of cofounder Nick Tsoulos, who emigrated from Greece and brought with him the seafood and taverna-style fare he grew up eating. Avra first made a splash in New York before moving to other cities, with more U.S. locations on the way.
The Miami outpost, tucked inside Five-Star Acqualina Resort and Residences on the Beach’s Estates, brings elements of Greece into the sprawling dining room. Bougainvillea laces through the pergola ceiling, fiddle-leaf figs and potted leafy trees pepper the space, salt stone sculptures hang on the white walls and floor-to-ceiling windows overlook the ocean.
Here, you will find wholesome food simply prepared to let the fresh, quality ingredients shine. At dinner, you could fill up by sharing starters like the classic spreads (we especially enjoyed the htipiti, a velvety spicy red pepper and whipped feta dip, and the melitzanosalata, a smoky eggplant option) with fresh pita; the tender, flavorful grilled octopus with Vidalia onions, capers, bell peppers and red wine vinaigrette; and the classic grilled saganaki (and you might want to go off the Miami Spice menu and add on the addictive Avra chips, paper-thin rounds of fried zucchini and eggplant with tzatziki). But then you wouldn’t get to enjoy the mild, sweet lavraki (sea bass) filet or the grilled chicken drizzled with lemon sauce.
While you can never go wrong with baklava, don’t miss the portakalopita. We’re still thinking about the cake’s layers of moist, flaky phyllo infused with zesty orange flavor and aromatic spices accompanied by a scoop of housemade vanilla ice cream.
Savor the last of the season with the Summer Spice, a well-balanced Miami Spice cocktail featuring Four Roses bourbon, pineapple, lime, simple syrup, cocoa bitters and a Tajín rim for a jolt.
Insider Tip: Opt for an alfresco terrace table overlooking the ocean and watch the sun sink into the horizon. In addition, there’s more to taste at Acqualina: the Sunny Isles hotel offers Miami Spice menus at its Four-Star Italian fine-dining spot Il Mulino New York and Japanese fusion restaurant Ke-uH.
