MIAGuide
The 11 Most Exciting Dinner Spots In Miami Right Now
A night out at one of these places—whether it’s for a catch-up with a friend or an impressive date night—feels overwhelmingly of the moment.
For anyone wondering which sit-down restaurants are currently hot in Miami right this second, you have arrived at the right figurative Internet place. What does “hot” mean, you ask? Well it’s safe to say that we put on relatively cute outfits to dine at each restaurant below (possibly even eye makeup and our “good deodorant”). A night out at one of these places—whether it’s for a casual catch-up with a friend or an impressive date night—feels overwhelmingly of the current moment. Many of them are brand spanking new, but there are also old favorites who are doing something fresh.
And, as always, we wouldn’t be recommending any of these restaurants simply for having a memorable scene. We’ve been to each and every spot and loved the food they serve—so you can plan your dinner confidently.
Zitz Sum has been exciting from the millisecond it opened. But the Coral Gables spot recently launched a six-course omakase menu that is not only one of the best tasting menus in town, but also comes in under $100 per person. The omakase changes weekly, and offers a mix of on-menu hits and off-menu dishes, like a sesame mochi filled with potato and parmigiano reggiano that is one of the best bites we’ve had all year. There’s also a wine or sake pairing option for $35. Zitz Sum also finally just got some sound-proofing installed on the ceiling here, which is exciting for folks who don’t like to raise their voice during dinner.
Every time we check in on Downtown’s Over Under, something new and exciting is going on. This is true of both their weekly programming—a mix of DJs, dance parties, and karaoke—as well as the always-evolving food and drink menu. They recently started making our new favorite martini in Miami: the shelltini, which uses an oyster shell-infused gin. They also just launched an outstanding Sunday-only pizza night. We love the restlessness of this place, because it makes eating here feel like a little surprise party for your stomach every single time.
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Speaking of Over Under, meet their new sister restaurant, Low Key. It took approximately four seconds for this place to become one of our favorite new spots to lazily eat and drink with friends. This outdoor restaurant is open Thursday through Sunday, and it’s the antithesis of all the impossible-to-book openings that’ve been popping up around Miami lately. Low Key is walk-in only, and the space is pretty much just an empty lot. If the illegal high school kegger aesthetics don’t excite you, the food will. They serve outstanding Florida seafood, including a simple grouper sandwich on a potato bun, clam frites, and the best fish and chips in Miami. It all pairs excellently with the frozen drinks and wine you can also consume here. Plus, there’s always a DJ or live band playing late into the night.
When Tropezón opened in December 2021, it was abundantly clear the South Beach restaurant was a wonderful place to visit and drink lots of gin. That’s exactly what we urged folks to do. But the Andalusian spot recently revamped its menu and has a new chef (the same one who ran Gilda, a pintxos pop-up we loved dearly)—and now the food is every bit as exciting as the prospect of getting gin-drunk underneath a dangling leg of jamón. The new menu includes pan con tomate rubbed with tons of garlic and layered with juicy tomatoes, excellent gambas al ajillo, a really good carrot/chimichurri salad, and paella dotted with chorizo and a confit duck leg. Tropezón really feels more like a well-rounded restaurant now, and it’s still one of the most fun dinners you can have in South Beach.
Like Steve Buscemi’s acting career, Paradis Books & Bread started off strong and has only gotten better. The North Miami wine bar and bakery just celebrated its one year anniversary, and there has probably been no restaurant we’ve recommended more often in the last 365 days. Catching up with friends? Going on a date? Need somewhere to drink and read on a weeknight where you won’t hear a single bad song? Paradis is always the answer. And one big thing that keeps it exciting for us is the rotating menu, which changes often enough to all but guarantee you’ll find something new to stare at lovingly on your plate.
Walking into Klaw feels like attending your first professional sporting event. Everything about this new Edgewater spot feels big—both literally and figuratively. The fourth-floor dining room is a cavernous, glamorous space with big windows that show off one of the best waterfront views in all of Miami. And the dishes are Big Night Out plates worthy of your most special occasion: fresh Norwegian king crab and pricey dry-aged steaks that’ll make you feel like the world’s fanciest caveman. This is that rare sort of new restaurant that already feels like it’s been around for decades, thanks to both the historic building it calls home and the exceptional service.
Sushi by Scratch is one of those buzzy out-of-town restaurants who were already booked a month before they even opened. But unlike so many of those kinds of places, this is actually a reservation worth competing for (so set your alarm for the first of the month at 1pm, when they release 30 days worth of reservations). You should eat here sooner rather than later too. Because Sushi by Scratch is running service from Stirrup House, a historic Coconut Grove home, while their permanent dining room is being built. It’s a really unique space that feels like a group of rogue sushi chefs broke into a house and started serving nigiri from the slightly-too-small living room of a stranger. The 17-course, $165-per person meal is really good and really interesting. Nigiri is topped with little slices of pineapple, drizzled with melted bone marrow, brushed with a beet mustard sauce. Like the tiny living room it’s served in, it all catches you off guard in the best way possible.
Krüs Kitchen in Coconut Grove is the upstairs neighbor and sister restaurant of Los Félix (a spot you'll meet just a few blurbs down). Like its downstairs neighbor, Krüs feels more like a living room than a restaurant. The airy space—a pitch-perfect date spot, by the way—has a domed ceiling, scattered wooden tables, and shelves of natural wine and pantry supplies. Krüs has been doing lunch and takeout for longer than a year, but they just launched a proper dinner menu this year. It's a seasonally rotating mix of crudos, pasta, and more. Because it changes often, we can't guarantee what you'll encounter. But our last trip involved a hunk of fresh bread with anchovy/black garlic butter, smoked corn agnolotti, and beef cheek ragu—all incredibly delicious things that made us sad to leave the table.
While restaurants have been opening like crazy in Miami, a great new bar is a much rarer thing. We’re not quite sure why this is the case for a city that loves to party so much, but it’s true. That’s why The Gibson is such an exciting opening. It’s a really great bar that hosts live music and has already become one of our go-to spots whenever we’re in the mood for a martini. Even better news? It’s also a really good restaurant. The rotating menu includes dishes like an impressively crispy chicken schnitzel, strozzapreti with diced ham, and a wonderful foie gras flan.
Itamae is one of those restaurants that’s probably always going to make this list. The Design District Nikkei spot is always exciting, fresh, and a reservation we look forward to like the day our tax refunds come in. It’s still as good as ever, and they’ve also recently added nigiri to the menu. Like everything here, it’s confusingly good and impressively creative—with options like scallop, apple banana, and charapita nigiri or bluefin tuna, yuzu kosho, and finger lime.
Wynwood has become a word that inspires dread in many locals. The parking, the crowds, the clubs playing reggaeton loud enough to set off the alarms of all rented Lamborghinis within a five-mile radius. We get it. But that’s also why Doya has become such a great addition to Wynwood. This is a place that actually makes us excited to brave the storm of Wynwood in order to secure a table. Doya is everything you want in a fun dinner—the Aegean food is really good, the cocktails are wonderful, and the restaurant itself is energetic, but not annoyingly loud or chaotic. Doya will make you forget why you’ve grown sick of Wynwood. At least until you walk outside and almost get run over by a screaming pedal pub.
