All About Sunny’s, a Modern Miami Steakhouse From the Jaguar Sun Team

It’s a modern steakhouse with an old soul.

Walking into this evolution of Sunny’s, the space feels simultaneously lived-in and somehow of-the-moment – an instant classic. There’s a sense that it’s already been around for 50 years and seen countless birthday dinners and wedding proposals, or like the kind of establishment that may have a wine list as thick as a phonebook.

Inhabiting the original Lot 6 location, the restaurant’s beloved outdoor brick courtyard is still anchored by its majestic banyan tree, while a new structure houses indoor seating and a regal bar. Antique light fixtures glitter, hand-carved woodwork gives a sense of gravitas, and a Hermann Herzog-inspired mural brings 19th-century elegance to the social media era.

Owner Will Thompson sees it as the culmination of a five-year effort to get to this point. “This feels like a restaurant that’s been trying to be here for a long time,” he explains. “It feels like the version of Miami that feels good to me.” With the previous residency, the Sunny’s team was preoccupied with building and breaking down an entire restaurant every day. “Sitting outside under the trees is the best thing in the world,” says Thompson. “But now we have this dining room and a full kitchen that will allow this space to operate a year-round restaurant.”

And what a restaurant. It’s the kind of steakhouse that revels in dinner theater – there are tables clad in crisp white linens, attentive servers, and cocktails presented in ice-filled buckets festooned with silver elephants (that’s the Fino Martini Service, by the way, which can be ordered as a group serve filled with iced shakers of gin, clarified passionfruit, and fino sherry). But there’s also room for walk-ins by the bar and a sense that you’ve stumbled onto a local watering hole where the servers and the regulars don’t stand on ceremony. The lighting isn’t particularly easy for snapping photos with your phone, but it’s very flattering in person.

Steak is the star, but there are pastas, too.

The team here is as solid as they come. Co-owners Thompson and Carey Hynes tapped former Four Seasons chef Aaron Brooks as Executive Chef, while Director of Operations Matt Whitney leans on his sommelier skills in putting together an approachable wine list.

The result is a menu that nails the fundamentals of classic steakhouse fare – start off light with raw bar delicacies like shrimp cocktail and platters of oysters, before shifting to heartier dishes of  American and Australian wagyu cuts dry-aged on the premises. Steakhouse sauces span the traditional like Béarnaise, Périgourdine, and potato butter, to lighter and brighter offerings like pineapple hot sauce, XO, and a rosé vinegar-spiked bone marrow vinaigrette. Sunny’s famous USDA prime hanger steak makes a comeback (priced at $38) and there are dishes of black cod in mussel broth and spice crusted duck breast for those not in the mood for meat.

All steak cuts are prepared over a live oak fire visible to dining room patrons, something newcomer Brooks is most excited about. “The equipment we have to play with is a chef’s dream,” says Brooks. “The wood-fired hearth is the showpiece and such an amazing place to cook. Our dry-aging and butchery program is extensive, using only the best proteins. The flavor from cooking our fish and meats over this live fire is a real treat.”

And for those that miss the pastas from Jaguar Sun, this menu now has a pasta section, featuring the rigatoni with spicy pork sugo and corn agnolotti along with new pastas rounding out the menu. Don’t miss the duck lasagna, or the chitarra with mushroom and sherry.

Can you do dinner here for less than $100? Why, yes you can.

At first glance, the menu prices at Sunny’s (as with many steakhouses) enter special occasion territory – like the 30-ounce Australian wagyu steak that goes for $260 – but there are ways to navigate the menu and still have an elegant night out that aren’t too hard on your wallet.

“This needs to be a restaurant that is of and for Miami,” says Thompson. “We’re thinking about the folks that live here and we take our pricing very seriously, and we hold on to space for walk-ins. This is meant to feel very fair – it’s open to everyone.”

For casual affairs, start things off with the Parker House rolls paired with the silky chicken liver mousse with starfruit mostarda ($17), a dish Brooks says points to the kitchen’s emphasis on seasonality. “The starfruits are at their peak right now, so using them as a preserve in this dish is a real winner, balancing the richness of the pâté,” says Brooks. The excellent pastas are in the $20 range,  or you could order the $32 rotisserie chicken or 10-ounce hanger steak with a side of potatoes and go home blissfully satisfied.

“Not everyone needs an adventurous cocktail,” says Thompson, who admits he likes a cold Miller-Lite on occasion. “If someone came here for steak and potatoes and a beer – they can do that, and we’re proud of that.”

What if you just want cocktails?

Two bars, one indoors and a less formal bar outdoors, are set up to easily facilitate a pre-drink situation, and could easily be destinations in themselves.

Impeccably crafted classic and house cocktails abound here, with a “pick-your-path” Martini menu, reminiscent of Sunny’s original residency days, and large format cocktail options. Longtime fans of the group will be happy to know that a handful of cocktail favorites from Jaguar Sun have made the move to Sunny’s, including the iconic Green Ghoul made with tequila, mezcal and poblano cucumber. Other signature cocktails include the Mangonada, made with frozen fancy mango margarita and strawberry-campari chamoy, and the Circus Permit, made with mezcal, lulo, elderflower, and gran classico bitters.

“We can run a hundred different nights for a hundred different tables,” says Thompson. “The rules here are, go to your friend’s house for a cocktail party or a dinner party. Whatever you’re here for – we want to deliver on that.”