The Growth of Miami’s Dining Experience

Miami, FL – September 19, 2022 – From Michelin Stars and James Beard awards, to celebrity collaborations and the expansion of iconic out-of-state restaurants, the landscape of Miami’s restaurant industry has evolved over the recent years to showcase a different side of the dining experience.

Everything from fine-dining establishments like Dirty French in Brickell and The Key Club in Coconut Grove to casual fares like Tacombi in the Design District and Joe’s Pizza NYC in Wynwood, this influx of restaurants in Miami’s dining industry since the pandemic has both added local variety and elevated the competition.

Restaurants have been a driving force in South Florida’s hospitality and tourism industries for decades. Prior to the pandemic, a report released by commercial brokerage CBRE predicted a “strong restaurant sector with spending increasing above non-food retail industries”, indicating that South Florida would “remain a prime market for international restaurant expansions into the US”. While 2020 presented a major hurdle that led to the closure of many beloved local restaurants and the halt of franchise expansions, we are now seeing a reboot in that pipeline: In August of this year alone, over 15 restaurants and bars opened throughout the city.

Going back just a decade, Miami wasn’t necessarily known as a “good food hub” – in search of a decent bite, options were practically concentrated in Miami Beach. Now, it seems the city as a whole is flourishing with locales. Coconut Grove boasts a number of restaurants: the newly-opened Mayfair Kitchen, Bodega’s recent expansion, Groot Hospitality’s The Key Club in CocoWalk, Michelin-starred Los Felix, Sushi Garage, and various others all can be found along the strip. Boia De in Little Haiti, Osteria in Miami Shores, dōma in Wynwood…even local celebrity chef Adrianne is cooking up a storm out West in Kendall with Chef Adrianne’s Vineyard Restaurant & Bar.

The expansion of Northern, big-name restaurants like restaurateur Simon Kim’s COTE and Major Food Group’s Carbone has contributed to this recent boom, leading other notable venues to set their sights on Miami. Most recently, Rao’s, a classic New York City restaurant known as much for its exclusivity as its pasta sauces in stores, announced their plans to open a location inside of the Loews Miami Beach Hotel. Pastis, the Big Apple’s iconic version of a classic Parisian bistro, will be opening its second location in the country right in Wynwood. 

Celebrities have also seemingly caught on to the wave, with artist Bad Bunny and hospitality entrepreneur David Grutman coming together to open Gekkō at the SLS Brickell: An upscale venue that combines Japanese dishes with steakhouse fare surrounded by opulent decor. Strawberry Moon, another collaboration from David Grutman with artist and producer Pharrell Williams, opened last year at the Goodtime Hotel, boasting an outdoor pool area that serves as a swim club by day and a restaurant and lounge by night. Down the line, Chef Gordon Ramsay has announced plans to open two restaurants in Miami later this year: Lucky Cat South of Fifth and an outpost of his famous eatery, Hell’s Kitchen, in Downtown Miami.

As this city continues to rapidly grow across all sectors, there’s no telling where our local dining industry will be in another decade from now, but one thing is certain: Demand for fresh dining concepts and experiences has placed Miami on the map.

Written by Raquel Martinez