How to Dine Like an Insider at The Citadel, Miami’s Reservable, Globetrotting Rooftop Food Hall
Food halls bestow the freedom to choose without the obligation of committing to only one specific dish or cuisine. You don’t have to settle for just one.
This is the glory of The Citadel.
Here, the fun is in curating a spread of shareable dishes from around the globe with drinks from the bar, all while overlooking Miami’s skyline and breaking bread with friends from the rooftop, where you can make a Resy.
Lil’ Laos
Lil’ Laos features Laotian cuisine’s balance of sour, sweet, fermented, and spicy. To start your Citadel food journey, order the papaya salad, or tum mak hoong. It’s a blend of the shredded raw fruit, chiles, grape tomatoes, green beans, and housemade padaek, or fermented fish sauce. The generous serving tempts you to slurp it up while your palate sings in happiness. Other items on the menu to check out include the massaman curry, tapioca dumplings, and crispy coconut rice.
Yuzu
While it’s known for its ramen, Yuzu also offers a variety of snacks to nosh on. If you’re craving something warm and filling, definitely order one of the hearty ramens or mazemen (noodles sans broth). But if you’re looking for a selection of smaller bites, the variety of gyoza, bao, and sandos are shareable and just as delightful. The pork chashu baos are warm fluffy clouds that hug two slices of crispy pork belly topped with pickles and scallions. The tonkatsu sauce gives the dish hints of vinegar and sweetness.
The Shores Fish Market
The Shores Fish Market is an easy blend of Florida seafood and northeast flair. Here, oysters, Maine lobster, crab cakes, and clam chowder share the menu with Florida ceviche, South Florida grouper, and the local catch of the day. Owned by the same couple behind Lil’ Laos, this market celebrates seafood in a variety of forms. Be transported to New England with the hearty clam chowder with its spoonfuls of clams and potatoes and the buttery lobster roll. Pro tip: the star on the menu is its Maryland crab cake that’s mostly meaty crab with only hints of breadcrumbs and served with a creamy horseradish dipping sauce.
Borti Pasta Bar
A stickler against menu modifications, Borti Pasta Bar is the pasta expert that makes its Italian specialties from scratch. To start your carb load, appetizers include bruschetta and garlic bread. Further down the menu, all the fan favorites are present including a family recipe for Bolognese, rigatoni alla vodka, and lasagna. The carbonara is made as it should be without cream and simply with egg, pecorino cheese, and Italian guanciale while the cacio e pepe is simple but far from basic and made with the distinctly rich tellicherry peppercorns. Make sure to order yours with bucatini and thank us later.
Manjay
Heading south to the Caribbean, Manjay is serving up classics like mofongo, conch fritters, and toofay. It also has customizable bowls with savory proteins like Creole-style slow-braised pork, jerk shrimp, and vegan coconut curry. Their popular jerk chicken bowl is a sizable portion of lightly breaded and deep-fried chicken that’s been tossed in the housemade jerk sauce. Choose two sides like crispy plantains served with pikliz and long grain rice with red beans. For those looking for something meat-free, order the vegan roti topped with mixed vegetables in a coconut curry sauce. If you find yourself hungry in Wynwood, Manjay expanded into its own brick-and-mortar restaurant on Fifth Avenue earlier this year.
United States Burger Service (USBS)
Embracing simple, well-made products, United States Burger Service (USBS) insists its patties don’t need lettuce, tomato or onion complements. Savor the smash burgers that come as a single or double; if you want to zhuzh them up, order the Smoke Signal with bacon. The droll item names continue with its collection of off-menu specials like the King Charles in Chard topped with roast beef, bacon braised Swiss chard, and mushy peas. Make sure to order a side of fries.
Frice Cream
Saving room for dessert is an art form and if you’ve perfected it you will be rewarded with Frice Cream. Created by two young chefs, this isn’t your typical ice cream parlor. Everything here is housemade and the ice cream is made with a traditional French custard base. While you can find vanilla here, flavors tend to be intriguing … thus decision-making is quite difficult. Choose from options like the pineapple Thai basil sorbet, funfetti cake batter, or pumpkin cheesecake brownie. There are also nostalgic banana splits, hot fudge sundaes, root beer floats, and sugary goodness ice cream sandwiches.
But that’s not all! If you’re craving Neapolitan pies, head to Ash! Pizza Parlor. For fresh and flavorful poké, Poke-San is it. Maki-San specializes in quality sushi from rolls to sashimi and nigiri. When you’ve had your fill, browse the market downstairs, where you’ll find a slew of local rotating artists’ creations, from jewelry and accessories to home goods and swimwear.
Book reservations at The Citadel, exclusively at Resy.
