The Resy Guide to Outdoor Dining in Miami

While other chefs often look to set up shop in Miami or Miami Beach, Eileen Andrade found her sweet spot in western Miami-Dade, first with Latin-Asian fusion hits Finka Table & Tap and Amelia’s 1931 and now with her latest: Barbakoa at the Doral Yard. The indoor-outdoor space is comfortable for a breezy lunch with cocktails (Not a Lychee Martini is new to the frequently changing menu) or a cozy date night with a shareable entree from Barbakoa’s “For 2” menu options (you want the whole fish of the day).

Sagra’s Roman-style pizzas are cooked outside (in a rocket-hot, wood-burning oven imported from Italy), which is where they should be eaten, too — on Sagra’s buzzing front patio. Dive into a white pie with whole clams or a signature meatball pizza with red sauce, fior di latte, and Parm.

Few Miami Beach restaurants have the staying power of OLA (Of Latin America), which is still going strong after 19 years, albeit at its third — and best-yet — location. Chef Carlos Castro now oversees a menu of fresh ceviches, craveable empanadas, and Latin comfort dishes like roast pork with mashed yucca served in a garden-style setting at the Gates Hotel.

Shaded beams of subtropical sunlight smile down on the backyard oasis of Rosie’s, the newest space from rising-star Miami culinary couple Jamila and Akino West. Their summer brunch menu is rooted in Southern comforts with Italian sensibilities — highlights include chicken and biscuits with Calabrian chile oil, and crispy fish on brioche with spicy aioli.

With its manti dumplings on the list of Miami’s must-eat dishes, cool, breezy, open-air Mandolin is a shoo-in among the city’s best outdoor dining spots. Each visit feels like a trip to the Aegean Sea, with Greek and Turkish standouts like tomato-cucumber-feta salads and grilled prawns and other things that pair excellently with cold, pink wine.

Mexican restaurant. Natural wine bar. Vinyl and DJ spot. Michelin star winner. Get a feel for it all from a perch on Los Félix’s patio on Coconut Grove’s main drag, where heirloom corn totopos with fresh guacamole are on the brunch and dinner menus, as are the orange-braised pork cheek carnitas and pineapple-kissed al pastor tacos.

The team behind Mandolin in the Design District has helped turn The Drexel into a hospitable respite from South Beach’s hustle and bustle, right on charming Española Way. Chef Nano Crespo’s clean, straightforward, flavorful dishes like spaghetti cacio e pepe with lemon and wood-roasted eggplant with mint and pesto let you appreciate the true beauty of alfresco dining.

All-day rooftop dining is available poolside or under cabana shade atop the Esmé hotel. A sangria menu ($15/glass, $65/jug) complements lighter fare like tuna tartare with passion fruit ponzu, and salmon with plantain puree and house kimchi.

Chef Lorena Garcia partnered with Miami restaurant group 50 Eggs to open this pan-Latin restaurant in the former longtime Soyka restaurant space. Score a spot in the hip, Instagram-ready atrium, and you’ve unlocked a semi-private outdoor dining experience — all the better to enjoy Garcia’s multicolored arepas (beet, cilantro, black bean, cheese, nata butter), lobster croqueta mac ‘n’ cheese, and more.

Chef Sam Gorenstein’s light and bright South-of-Fifth Israeli cafe is full of food you want to share and outdoor nooks in which to share it. A selection of salatim like hummus, labneh, and babaganoush can lead into bigger plates of flame-roasted whole branzino with preserved-lemon tapenade and grilled lamb chops with roasted tomatoes and peppery arugula.

It may not be any easier to nab a reservation for an outdoor table at hot spot Carbone than it is to get an indoor spot, but the good news is that the menu is the same either way. So if you’re lucky enough, you’ll be perched for prime South Beach people-watching and have your bowl of spicy rigatoni and lobster fra diavolo.

Frito pies and smoked chicken wings and rib tips and frozen Negronis. You’re eating this inside? Nah. This is open-air eating, and you’re doing it in Hometown’s urban garden. Don’t head home without some racks of baby backs and a few pounds of smoked turkey and pulled pork to go.

French technique and vegetable-driven cooking feel perfectly at home in Le Jardinier’s lush outdoor setting in the Design District. From the seasonal summer menu, a corn and foie gras parfait with stone fruit and a strawberry mousse with lime curd are two dishes just meant to be paired with fresh air and a light breeze.

Sourdough pizzas and solid happy hour specials are two reasons to stop by Miami’s Freehold. Expansive outdoor spaces with plenty of nooks and crannies are a reason to stick around and order another round. Go ahead and get the mashed potato pizza — you know you want to, and YOLO.