In December, restaurants hustled to open before the city's most lucrative time of year. Beaker & Gray, the Wynwood bar and eatery by partners Ben Potts and Brian Nasajon, began operation for the Art Basel madness with a limited food and drink menu rather than wait out the rush. The 3,600-square-foot restaurant is now fully operational and offers a weekday happy hour from 5 to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday.
Piyarat Potha Arreeratn, AKA Chef Bee, finally opened his homage to Thai street food, NaiYaRa, in Sunset Harbour. The restaurant, decorated in a mix of industrial chic and sepia tones, offers a menu of favorite dishes such as sea bass in green curry ($24) and Burmese noodle wraps ($15).
Restaurants that have come this far in the season tend to ride out the wave of good fortune in the bustling tourist season, so there were no notable closings this month. There was one shocking announcement, however: Le Cordon Bleu announced the start of a process to close all of its U.S. campuses. The schools are accepting new students through January 2016, and a "teach-out" will gradually close the schools by September 2017, allowing all current students in good standing to complete their studies and graduate.
Looking ahead to 2016, there are many exciting restaurants on the horizon with choices ranging from doughnut shops like the Salty Donut in Wynwood to Giorgio Rapicavoli's garden-inspired Glass & Vine in Coconut Grove. (A rundown of Miami's ten most anticipated restaurant openings can be found here.)
Openings
- 33 (3195 Commodore Plaza, Miami)
- The Bar Next Door ( 2519 NW Second Ave., Miami)
- Beaker & Gray
- Choka's Caribbean Restaurant & Lounge (710 Washington Ave., Miami Beach)
Coyo Taco pop-up at Shore Club- Da Tang Unique at Four Ambassadors (801 Brickell Bay Dr., Miami)
- Dr. Smood (2230 NW Second Ave., Miami)
- Ergon Greek Deli + Cuisine (2982 Grand Ave., Miami)
- Hy Vong pop-up at Bookstore in the Grove
- Jaya at the Setai Hotel
- Komodo (801 Brickell Ave., Miami)
- NaiYaRa (1854 Bay Rd., Miami Beach)
- Pao at the Dome by Paul Qui at Faena Hotel Miami Beach
- Palmeiras Beach Club (4 Grove Isle Dr., Miami)
Tatore (15180 Biscayne Blvd., Aventura)- The Tuck Room at iPic Movie Theater
- Le Cordon Bleu
- 5411 Empanadas - From Chicago to Coral Gables
- Angelo Elia Pizza Bar - Opening at Aventura ParkSquare project.
- Alinea - Famed restaurant will pop-up at Faena Miami Beach
- Ariete - Michael Beltran to open Coconut Grove restaurant.
- Azucar - Opening near FIU.
- Bachour Bakery and Bistro - The master baker opens a bistro.
- Bake House - Opening in Miami Beach
- Bikini Barista - Coming to midtown.
- Biscayne Bay Brewing Company - Opening in Doral.
- Blue Ribbon Sushi Bar & Grill - Opening in Miami.
- China Grill - Moving to Brickell.
- Cake Thai Kitchen - Opening in Wynwood.
- Choices Cafe - Opening in Coconut Grove.
- Dragonfly - Third of the Florida chain and first in Miami-Dade coming to Doral.
- Estefan Kitchen - Gloria and Emilio are at it again.
- Farinelli 1937 - Upscale pizza by the owners of Strada.
- Freddo Helado - Opening in Doral.
- Glass & Vine - Giorgio Rapicavoli comes to Coconut Grove.
- Gravity Brewlab - Opening in Wynwood.
- Graziano's - Opening at Aventura ParkSquare project.
- Groovin' Bean - Coffee house and lounge opening in Overtown.
- Hank & Harry's - Buzzy Sklar to open
NY-style deli in SoBe. - Harry's Pizzeria - Chef Michael Schwartz expanding several locations.
- IGA Culinary School - Opening in North Miami.
- IceBox Cafe - Opening at Aventura ParkSquare project.
- Jodi's Italian Ice - Opening soon.
- Juan Valdez Cafe - Opening in North Miami.
- La Muse Cafe - Jamie DeRosa opening a Brickell cafe.
- Ladurée - Pops up in Design District for Art Basel
- Laffa Mediterranean Kitchen - From the My Ceviche team.
- Latin House Grill - Opening near FIU.
- Le Macaron - Opening at Dadeland and other locations.
- Ms. Cheezious - Planning expansion.
- My Ceviche - Coming to Midtown and MIA
- Naked Burger - Chef Ralph Pagano at it again.
- Itabe - Kevin Aoki and Roman Jones collaborate on a restaurant.
- Magnum Lounge - a new version by the Bar Lab team.
- Panther Coffee - Opening in MiMo, and Little Haiti.
- Paraiso Bay Restaurant and Beach Club - Michael Schwartz opening a restaurant at this Edgewater complex.
- PB Station - The Pubbelly Boys open in Miami.
- Persona Pizzeria - California chain coming to Miami.
- Phuc Yea! - Popular pop-up opening in MiMo
- Puroroast Coffee - Opening in Brickell.
- Quinto La Huella - Uruguay's Parador La Huella coming to Miami.
- Palmeiras Beach Club - Opening in Coconut Grove
- Paulie Gee's Brooklyn pizza - Coming to Upper Eastside.
- Pasion del Cielo - Opening in Brickell and Doral.
- Pincho Factory - Opening several locations in Hialeah, Doral, West Kendall, Pinecrest, and Orlando.
- Pubbelly Sushi - Opening
second location. - Quinta La Huella - Opening soon.
- Revolution in Bloom - Vegan and vegetarian cuisine.
- Salty Donut -
Doughtnut shop coming to Wynwood. - Sarsaparilla Club - Janine Booth and Jeff McInnis to open
restaurant at Shelborne Wyndham Grand Hotel. - Segafredo - Opening in Bayside.
- Stellino's - Italian cuisine coming to Doral.
- Sugar Factory - Opening
second location on Lincoln Road. - Sullivan St. Bakery - Opening in Little Haiti.
- The Spillover - Lokal explores the sea.
- Spring Chicken - 50 Eggs doing fast casual chicken in four locations.
- Tanuki - From Moscow to South Beach.
- Tap 42 -Fort Lauderdale gastropub opening in Coral Gables.
- Taste Buds of India - Coral Springs rest opening in South Miami.
- Toasted Bagels - Coming to Coral Gables.
- Tobacco Road - New and improved Road opening this winter.
- Trust & Co. - Bank meets Steampunk in Coral Gables.
- Tutto Il Giorno - Authentic Italian fare coming soon.
- Velvet Creme - Iconic doughnuts returning to Miami.
- Which Wich - Opening several locations in Miami.
- Whole Foods Market - proposed megastore in Sunset Harbour.
- Zak the Baker - Planning an expansion of his cafe and bakery.
- Zest - Cindy Hutson opening a restaurant and fast-casual concept.
- Jugofresh's Matthew Sherman and Darren Laszlo plan to open a new concept in Sunset Harbour.
- Chef Alex Stupak is shopping for a location in Miami for a taco restaurant.
- Joel Robuchon and Jean-Georges Vongerichten are opening eateries in the Design District.
- Arjun
Wanjey , a partner at Zuma and Coya, will open a French restaurant in Brickell in the coming year. - Jeff McInnis and Janine Booth will open a seafood restaurant in the former PB Steak location in Sunset Harbour.
- Jose Garces is rumored to be opening a Miami restaurant.
- Alfredo Patino to open a French concept on 79th Street.
- Jeff McInnis and Janine Booth to open seafood concept in Sunset Harbour.
Embarek Alibay will open a cafe adjacent to his La Parisienne Bakery (1909 NE 154th St., North Miami Beach)