Our Favorite Hotel Restaurants in Miami
/Walk down Collins Avenue, and one thing is abundantly clear: Miami Beach is packed with dazzling hotels that are just as much a place to hang out as they are a place to stay. And like any cool hangout, they’ve got some delicious food and drink that’s worth hanging around for – like these restaurants, listed below.
Bazaar Mar- SLS Brickell
This hotel restaurant is as beautiful as it is delicious. Designed by the iconic Philippe Starck, the room is sprawling with white and blue tiles donning sexy mermaids and unicorns, copper crustaceans that appear to crawl up the walls, and marble tables. And on those marble tables, James Beard Award-winning chef and restaurateur José Andrés’ weirdly-wonderful dishes: like uni souffle with a whole fried lionfish, liquid nitrogen caipirinhas, and a special “bagel and lox” that look like tiny a school of cavorting fish – they’re made with Russ & Daughters smoked salmon, air bread, cream cheese and pickled onions.
Pao by Paul Qui- Faena Miami Beach
What’s a restaurant at the Faena Miami Beach without a little extravagance? Set in an oval room overlooking the ocean, this Filipino-inspired restaurant (which has Spanish and other Asian influences) has gold leaf walls, a dome, a Carrara marble bar and a $6.5M golf-leaf Damien Hirst unicorn sculpture – the latter of which might as well be a metaphor for the food. On Chef Qui's exotic menu, the signature dish is the Unicorn with sea urchin, grilled sweet corn pudding, calamansi, chile de árbol and sake aioli, all of which goes well with the restaurant’s short rib and wild mushroom rice.
Talde- The Confidante Miami Beach
If the name Dale Talde doesn’t sound familiar, it should – he was on Top Chef: Chicago in 2008 and Top Chef All-Stars in 2010-11, and now, he has a hip Asian-American gastropub at The Confidante Hotel on Miami Beach. In a dark hotspot surrounded by painted graffiti, listen to hip-hop while you eat pretzel pork and chive dumplings, Kung Pao Chicken Wings or Korean fried chicken with spicy kimchee yogurt sauce. Out late? Every Friday and Saturday, you can head to Talde and get $5 late-night noodles from Midnight to 4 a.m.
27 Restaurant & Bar- Freehand Miami
No one knew what to expect when Miami’s famed hostel, which already had an award-winning bar, decided to open a restaurant – but everyone’s glad it did. At 27 Restaurant & Bar, taste Miami’s Jewish, Caribbean and Cuban influences in every menu item, whether it’s the carne asada tamale, “Gabe’s Arepa Platter” with homemade arepas and ropa vieja, crispy pork shoulder with spicy slaw, or (perfect for Miami) the “Psycho Beach Party” cocktail.
Quinto La Huella- EAST Hotel, Miami
Sitting on the fifth floor of the dazzling EAST Hotel, Miami, this unique, fire-cooking restaurant is a reinterpretation of Uruguay’s popular Parador La Huella. Here, Argentinian-born Executive Chef Nano Crespo serves up sizzling steaks, like the signature Uruguayan grass-fed ribeye, and grilled swordfish filet, wood-fired New Zealand rack of lamb, wood oven langoustines with curry potatoes and more. For dessert, definitely order the Volcan de Dulce de Leche dessert… it literally means “caramel volcano.”
Beachcraft- 1 Hotel South Beach
The brainchild of famed chef and restaurateur, Tom Colicchio, this tasty spot fuses farm-to-table fare with 1 Hotel South Beach’s eco-friendly decor. Emphasizing all things local and fresh, find plates like beets with artichokes, cured olives, anchovies and cherry peppers; spicy Italian sausage flatbread with charred onions and Fresno chili; duck breast with carrot foie puree and cherry jus, and lamb fat potatoes. Need we say more?
Pizza & Burger by Michael Mina- Fontainebleau Miami Beach
Once just a pop-up to temporarily replace the incomparable Michael Mina 74, the laid-back Pizza & Burger by Michael Mina was so wildly popular that everyone decided it needed to stay. Inspired by Michael Mina’s own childhood summers, Pizza & Burger is a haute spin on a backyard BBQ. Go there for pizzas and burgers that aren’t your typical pizzas and burgers. From the latter, try the dry-aged MM74 burger with double-smoked bacon and a “secret sauce,” or the vegetarian The Hippie Chick with marinated and grilled eggplant, tomato jam, crispy zucchini, red onion labneh and Halloumi cheese. The pizzas are just as good: The Surf with butter poached lobster, chanterelle, charred cauliflower and summer truffle is not to be missed, nor is The Farm – it’s topped with bacon, egg, Yukon gold potatoes, Bermuda onion, Crimini mushrooms and smoked mozzarella.
www.fontainebleau.com/dining/pizza-burgers
By: Jennifer Agress