10 Moments That Defined the Last Decade of Dining in Miami
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Resy turns 10 years old this summer, and we’re celebrating with a cross-country series of special experiences. A lot has happened in the last 10 years, to say the least, and to mark the occasion, we’re reflecting on some of the major dining events that have shaped the dining world over the past decade.
It’s hard to imagine that just 10 years ago in Miami, you couldn’t eat lomo saltado fried rice for dinner in Kendall and chase it with salted butter crepes for dessert in Hialeah. You couldn’t throw a stick almost anywhere in Doral, Brickell or Wynwood and have it land on a food hall. You couldn’t dine at a Michelin-starred restaurant, a Thomas Keller restaurant or a farm-to-table Indian restaurant.
In many ways, Miami’s dining scene has transformed for the better over the past decade: rising in national prominence, propping up independent chefs and restaurateurs who hold their own against heavyweight out-of-town restaurant groups, and bringing home coveted awards and recognition.
Here’s a look at 10 moments — openings, awards and other milestones — that helped define dining in Miami over the past 10 years:
No. 1
Zak the Baker Opens in Wynwood
— 2014 —
Before Zak Stern opened his namesake bakery and café, his crazy-good sourdough loaves could only be found at top restaurants like Michy’s and the occasional farmers market. Zak’s bread shifted from elusive to ubiquitous with the opening of his own space, which paved the way for a robust baked-goods scene that now includes the likes of Madruga, Caracas, and El Bagel.
No. 2
Finka Table & Tap Opens in Kendall
— 2014 —
People thought Eileen Andrade was taking the biggest if-you-build-it-they-will-come risk when, at age 25, she opened a 230-seat Peruvian-Cuban-Korean fusion restaurant in Miami’s far southwest suburbs. But she knew: Suburbanites crave good food and big flavors just as much as people in high-rise condos and hotels do. Not only does Finka remain packed daily a decade into its run, Andrade’s leap of faith in Kendall opened the door for other neighborhood restaurants to thrive from Doral to Homestead, including her own suburban expansions: Amelia’s 1931 and Barbakoa by Finka.
No. 3
Alter Opens in Wynwood
— 2015 —
Fresh off a four-star Miami Herald review for his cooking at Jean-Georges Vongerichten’s J&G Grill at the St. Regis Bal Harbour, Brad Kilgore opened his own place, Alter, serving a 15-course progressive American tasting menu. The accolades poured in: four more stars from the Herald, best new restaurant from Esquire, and Beard nominations for Kilgore. Alter did not survive the coronavirus pandemic, but Kilgore continues to create in Miami and beyond, including his new Pizza Freak Co. frozen pizza line, which he often incorporates into his Italian-Japanese fusion flavors at Oise. And the art of Alter lives on through chefs like Maria Teresa Gallina and Nico Martinez, former Alter sous chefs who recently opened the cozy and cheffy Recoveco in South Miami.
No. 4
La Fresa Francesa Opens in Hialeah
— 2015 —
When French-born Benoit Rablat and Hialeah-raised Sandy Sanchez opened their first restaurant together, they could have taken an easier route — franchise a burger joint, say, or get jobs working F&B at a beach hotel — than cooking foie gras with guava and veal-stuffed quail in a strip mall space wedged between a medical rehab and an insurance shop. Sanchez’s hospitality and Rablat’s cooking are as comforting as a warm hug, and their talents have made La Fresa Francesa survive and soar over the past nine years. In 2019 the pair opened SilverLake Bistro in Normandy Isles, showcasing California-inspired dishes with Rablat’s French flair, and further cementing their place among Miami’s mom-and-pop restaurant pioneers.
No. 5
Le Zoo Opens in Bal Harbour
— 2015 —
Philadelphia restaurateur Stephen Starr had a trio of South Florida restaurants — Makoto, Steak 954 and the now-closed Continental — when he opened the bustling 200-seat French brasserie Le Zoo at the posh Bal Harbour Shops. The success of Starr’s mini-empire here (to which he’s since added Pastis in Wynwood and El Vez in Fort Lauderdale) was instrumental in attracting other big-name restaurant players, from Cote and Carbone to Blue Ribbon and Red Rooster, to town.
No. 6
Ghee Opens in Kendall
— 2017 —
Niven Patel’s first restaurant brought groundbreaking Indian cuisine to Miami, where nothing like it had existed. Ghee also ushered in a true farm-to-table connection between Miami chefs and their restaurants, with Patel growing many ingredients on his Homestead farm. Patel is one of several Miami chefs who have worked in the kitchens of Michael Schwartz (Michael’s Genuine Food & Drink) and gone on to create their own success, including Sam Gorenstein (Abbalé), Hedy Goldsmith, Michael Beltran and Devin Braddock (Ariete Hospitality Group), Josh Elliott (Brother’s Keeper) and Dallas Wynne (The Butcher’s Club).
No. 7
Food Halls Arrive
— 2017 —
1-800-Lucky heralded the start of the food hall era in South Florida. Other multi-concept culinary destinations soon followed: La Centrale (closed) in 2018; Time Out Market (closed), Citadel, and Lincoln Eatery in 2019; Doral Yard in 2020; Shoma Bazaar in 2022; and Julia & Henry’s in 2023 among them.
Resy at 10
No. 8
Thomas Keller Arrives
— 2018 —
Until the Michelin Guide finally came to Florida in 2022 (see below), Thomas Keller opening The Surf Club in Surfside was the biggest splash on Miami’s fine-dining scene in years. Classics like beef Wellington and lobster thermidor are cooked with Keller’s famed precision and are served surrounded by a bygone era’s glamor — at today’s luxury prices. Keller followed up his initial hit with a new outpost of Bouchon Bistro in Coral Gables in 2023.
No. 9
Michelin Arrives
— 2022 —
Despite years of high-caliber cooking, Miami chefs and restaurants still weren’t getting the kind of national and international attention — major awards, foodie magazine covers, deep-pocketed investors — they deserved. The Michelin Guide changed that when it began awarding stars in Florida (Miami, Tampa and Orlando) three years ago. With 11 Miami restaurants receiving stars that first year — including Boia De, Los Félix, and Le Jardinier — and another 19 getting Bib Gourmands, the momentum in Miami’s restaurant scene has only revved up since Michelin’s arrival.
No. 10
Valerie Chang Wins a Beard Award
— 2024 —
After Michael Schwartz won the James Beard Foundation Award for Best Chef: South in 2010, Miami chefs endured a 14-year drought in claiming a Beard victory. Valerie Chang of Maty’s, sibling restaurant of the new Itamae AO run by her brother, Nando Chang, said it all in a moving, no-notes speech when she accepted her medal for Best Chef: South in Chicago last month: “Miami, finally we won! We got something for Miami!” In Chang’s win, Miami won.
Evan S. Benn is senior director of special projects and communications at The Philadelphia Inquirer and former food editor and restaurant critic of The Miami Herald. He wrote Resy’s Guide to the Miami Hospitality Industry Hangouts. Follow him on Instagram and Twitter. Follow Resy, too.
