Unless, of course, you're a foodie. Thanks to the annual return of Miami Spice, the two-month promotional period designed to boost business at area restaurants, some of the priciest, fanciest, and most gourmet-friendly spots will offer prix-fixe menus for a (relative) steal.
That translates to just $35 for lunch and $60 for a three-course dinner.
Hungry for savings? We've rounded up our favorite Miami Spice meal deals for 2023, so dive into the alphabetical list below and prepare to make reservations.
Azabu
161 Ocean Dr., Miami Beach786-276-0520
azabuglobal.comWe've frequently shouted out Azabu for their Spice menus in previous years, and we're doing so again this year because they just refuse to let up on the deals. The Miami Beach sushi destination offers four courses for dinner instead of three, adding an additional appetizer for the same $60 price. For the first course, choose between hamachi jalapeño, a spicy tuna roll, scallops crudo, or a salad (either watercress with crispy rice pearls and pickled shallots or a house salad with grapefruit and kombu dashi dressing). The second appetizer heats things with lobster tempura, Wagyu gyoza, baked crab roll, salmon tataki, and various hand rolls. The main courses are all luxe takes on savory Japanese classics, from steamed salmon and chicken donburi to Wagyu hanger steak, miso black cod ($14 upcharge), and abura soba in duck confit. If you're feeling fancy, opt for more gourmet sushi ($18 upcharge) before ending with a dessert menu that includes mochi ice cream, a yuzu lime tart, or a Basque torta de queso. Miami Spice is offered seven days a week for dinner.
Boulud Sud
255 Biscayne Blvd. Way, Miami305-421-8800
bouludsud.comWhat's Miami Spice without a meal at a celebrity chef's fancy Miami outpost? While double-Michelin-starred L'Atelier de Joël Robuchon has not yet joined the program, mainstay Boulud Sud, a Mediterranean-focused pied-à-terre for French master Daniel Boulud, remains one of the best options for those looking to eat like a prince for a pauper's price. Lunch is especially tasty, with a choice between chicken paillard, saffron-spiced vegetable risotto, and an upscale take on cazuela de mariscos ($5 upcharge). Apps include pulpo a la gallega with paprika-infused potatoes, crab-stuffed piquillos in a lemon tomato sauce ($8 upcharge), or a Greek salad, followed by the chef's choice of ice cream or sorbet for dessert. Dinner starts with an amuse-bouche or oysters and caviar before subbing those starters for seared scallops in cauliflower purée, salmon crudo with Asian pear and lemon citrus dressing, or lamb meatballs in spicy tomato sauce. For mains, try mushroom risotto, grilled branzino with a tomato-mushroom ragout, or the eight-ounce grilled New York strip steak in Bordelaise sauce with confit potato and roasted root vegetables. For dessert, finish with a mango panna cotta or a banana and chocolate coupe (chocolate mousse, coffee gelato, spiced cookie crumble, banana jam, and chocolate foam). Miami Spice is offered for lunch Monday to Friday and dinner Tuesday to Saturday.
Chica
5556 NE Fourth Ct., Miami786-632-7725
chicarestaurant.comOccupying the former Soyka space, this pan-Latin restaurant is the work of Lorena Garcia, who became the first Latina chef to run a restaurant on the Las Vegas Strip when she opened the original location there in 2017. If that doesn't impress you, rest assured that Chica's Miami Spice dinner, executed under the direction of chef Rishi Kumar, will. We're talking Wagyu tartare with a lime guajillo-árbol sauce and grains of paradise; a Tijuana caesar salad with a cherry tomato confit, chorizo crumble, pickled grapes, and a creamy Manchego dressing; a seafood tostada with Oaxacan pasilla and guacamole; and asado negro arepas. And those are just the starters. For entrées, choose from pan-roasted Ora king salmon with ginger chili sauce and Baja glaze; Oaxacan rotisserie chicken with Chintexle crema and avocado aji sauce; roasted maitake mushrooms with al pastor ribs; a prime New York strip with salsa criolla and papas bravas; and "The Smoke Show," which is (we're not kidding) meant to remain a mystery. The $30 lunch menu swaps in a couple of starters like mezcal-cured salmon tostadas, while mains feature an Oaxacan fried chicken sandwich, lamb tacos, a seafood arroz negro with squid-ink sofrito rice, and a fire-roasted veggie quesadilla with roasted tomato and foraged mushrooms. The desserts — tres leches with roasted meringue or seasonal sorbet trinity — are available for lunch and dinner with the addition of a dinnertime-only "Marquesa de Chocolate" of espresso-soaked graham crackers layered with mousse and Colombian coffee ice cream. Miami Spice is offered for lunch Monday to Friday and dinner seven days a week.
Doya
347 NW 24th St., Miami305-501-2848
doyarestaurant.comDoya remains of the few good reasons to hit up a tourist-trappified Wynwood, thanks to its terrific menu of Aegean dishes from Greece and Turkey. The mezze-focused selection of mostly small plates was already a pretty good value, but the $30 Miami Spice lunch menu is an even better bargain: You get two dishes for the first two rounds of their three-course meal. Start with a classic Greek salad; piyaz with white beans, sumac, and eggs; haydari garlic yogurt with fresh mint; or shaved zucchini served with garlic, virgin olive oil, and green peppers. Main plates include grilled Turkish kofte meatballs, ground beef lahmacun, wood-fired chicken thigh served with onion and sumac, and a char-grilled cabbage kebap with roasted eggplant, red pepper kalamata olives, and Turkish spices. Save room for chocolate cake with a Turkish tea biscuit and sumac ice cream or homemade pistachio baklava. Miami Spice is offered daily for lunch.
Mignonette
210 NE 18th St., Miami305-374-4635
mignonettemiami.com
If you're not using Miami Spice as an excuse to pig out on expensive seafood and fancy dishes, what are you even doing with your life? Danny Serfer's Edgewater gem, Mignonette, is well-versed in offering a spread of East and West Coast oysters that will make any bivalve buff weep for joy, which is why they've come out with one of the best Spice deals of this year — and potentially ever. This year, for the first time, they're opening up nearly the entire menu to Spice, offering any app, entrée, and dessert for the $60 flat rate. Think of the possibilities here: diver scallops with lobster linguini, charred octopus and black grouper, clams casino with a Prime dry-aged strip, plus carrot cake, key lime pie, or Heath bar butterscotch bread pudding. Some more extravagant options are off the table: caviar, king crab, jumbo lump crab, and the oyster flight. And we're totally okay with that. Time to become a remorseless eating machine, amirite? Miami Spice is offered daily for dinner. (Note: The menu is not all-you-can-eat.)
