The 10 Restaurants That Defined Miami Dining in 2024
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We asked our contributors to the Resy Hit List to share their top dining experiences in their cities this year — to choose 10 restaurants that define the state of great dining right now. Welcome back our Best of The Hit List for 2024.
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Let’s deal with the unmistakable culinary trends in Miami this year: Italian restaurants (again) and smashburgers (finally!). But the restaurants that defined dining in Miami in 2024 go well beyond both, and underscore just how much we keep growing as an exceptional city for eating.
For one thing, this was the year that affirmed our favorite drinking spots can also double as great restaurants. (See: ViceVersa, a modern aperitivo bar that so happens to be one of our favorite new Italian spots, and Tâm Tâm, where the Vietnamese food is designed to go hand-in-hand with the drinks).
We were also reminded that when one door closes, another door opens — though not always immediately, thanks to the city’s habits with commercial projects and permitting. So, we’re thankful that 2024 finally brought to fruition the eagerly awaited evolution of two beloved local restaurants — namely Itamae AO and Sunny’s — and trust us when we say they were triumphant returns.
Without further ado, here are 10 of the Miami restaurants that defined our dining scene this year.
1. Tâm Tâm Downtown Miami
This high-flying destination has shown Miami how vibrant Vietnamese cuisine can be, beyond pho and bánh mì. But to the surprise of the team behind Tâm Tâm — self-taught chef Tam Pham and his husband Harrison Ramhofer — they’ve also ended up proving it on a national stage. There’s no denying this was Tâm Tâm’s breakout year, with accolades from Bon Appetit to Michelin, and something tells us this is only the start. Pham and Harrison Ramhofer (the GM and sommelier) were inspired by the quán nhậu of Saigon — lively taverns where the food facilitates drinking (much like a Japanese izakaya). So you’ll find shareable plates like crispy fish sauce chicken wings and tamarind-glazed pork ribs, alongside warm-weather wines and frozen mai tais that are a match for Miami’s tropical climate (much like Vietnam’s). Perhaps what we love most is how perfectly Tâm Tâm fits with Miami’s energy: From the diner-style counter seating to the ventanita window, the colorful space nods to the Cuban cafe that preceded it in the space, while showing us what the future looks like.
2. Itamae AO Midtown
Omakases have become manifest in Miami, but none are like Itamae AO. Melding Japanese techniques with Peruvian influences, the multi-course tasting menu features dry-aged fish, sashimi, and nigiri, alongside Peruvian bites that honor chef Nando Chang’s family heritage. True, we were left waiting for Itamae’s return for longer than we would’ve liked, but this more intimate and interactive iteration delivered everything we’d hoped for. Itamae’s story has always been one of evolution: starting out as a food hall sushi stand before transforming into a full-service Nikkei restaurant widely considered one of Miami’s best. This new version, with just 10 seats, a sort of full circle given the location right next to sister restaurant Maty’s. Fittingly, Maty’s is where AO guests check in before they begin their Nikkei-style journey; it feels like the Changs’ visions have come together beautifully.
3. Recoveco South Miami
Here’s the restaurant that refuses to be pinned down. The menu isn’t bound by cultural borders or a defined category of cuisine, which you’d think might limit its appeal. But that allowed chef-owners Nicolas Martinez and Teresa Gallina to dare to go where few in Miami have. There are surprisingly few choices on the brief menu (some arguably divisive), but every dish is a revelation. Grass-fed beef tongue, or a plate of heritage chicken served with its feet still attached, might not be for everyone, but the duo has found ingenious ways to make both simultaneously approachable and inexplicably delicious — to the point where they’re attracting guests from all over. Recoveco delivers meals that will challenge you and linger in your memory, which is what great restaurants should do.
4. Gramps Getaway Key Biscayne
These days, when you hear about a new waterfront opening, you’d probably picture another fla$$$$hy Mediterranean spot. So we thank the team at Gramps for delivering the chill waterfront destination we’ve all desired — the kind of place that feels like Miami before it became Miami. Especially in the wake of Shuckers’ closure this fall (already replaced by a high-end hotel and restaurant), it truly fills a void for no-frills waterfront dining and drinking. Here, under a thatched tiki hut with a view of Biscayne Bay, the beer is cheap, the frozen cocktails are potent, and the throwback tunes make you forget what’s going on with the rest of the world beyond your dock. And not only can you get bar bites like smoked fish dip, conch fritters, and watermelon salad, but Lazy Oyster also has a pop-up stand, where you can order shucked and chargrilled oysters and lobster rolls.
Find more info here or call 305-465-2482.
5. ViceVersa Downtown Miami
What happens when a Roman bartender falls in love with Miami? You get a modern Italian aperitivo bar with South Florida appeal — the type of place where you can start the night or keep it going. Whether you’re grabbing after-dinner drinks and dessert (incredible house-spun gelato!), meeting up with friends over cocktails and bites for aperitivo hour (think raw crudos and neo-Neapolitan-style pizza), or heck, you want a whole damn meal, menu options here are manifest. (Don’t even get us started on the off-menu weekly burger special that packs the house.) Acclaimed bartender Valentino Longo had long admired Jaguar Sun and knew he wanted to partner with the founders on the food for his first solo venture. What none of us knew was that Jaguar would close shortly after ViceVersa opened, leaving the latter to step in as everyone’s favorite Downtown drinking destination. Luckily, the story doesn’t end there, and that leads us to our next entry …
6. Sunny’s Little River
Team Jaguar Sun tried not to break our hearts too deeply when they announced their closing. It was actually all for a greater good, and that greater good was Sunny’s — which has become an already quintessential Miami restaurant thanks to its pandemic-era history as a beloved pop-up. The now-permanent Sunny’s is a modern take on a white-tablecloth steakhouse with a menu of wood-fired meats and steakhouse classics alongside everything we would’ve missed from the Jaguar Sun folks: impeccable cocktails, raw bar selections, and yes, epic housemade pastas. Eating here feels like a celebration of our favorite parts of living in South Florida — al fresco dining under the shade of a majestic banyan tree, a glamorous new indoor dining space adorned with golden palms, and some of the most satisfying eats and drinks in town.
7. Los Félix Miami Coconut Grove
Among the first local restaurants to earn a Michelin Green Star, Los Félix has planted a flag on sustainable sourcing (the other one was planted by sister restaurant Krüs Kitchen). Honoring Mesoamerican traditions, the restaurant spotlights one of the most essential ingredients in indigenous cooking — heirloom corn — and more importantly, the methods by which it’s grown. Their goal is to foster the philosophy behind Milpa farming, an ancient Mesoamerican agricultural practice. Los Félix also sources only large local fish species that are at least 30 to 40 pounds, so as not to disrupt the ocean’s ecosystem by removing still-growing specimens. They’re typically spearfished or line-caught and bought whole, so the chefs can use all of it. And it doesn’t end there: the restaurant exclusively uses grass-fed or -finished meats, lamb and heritage pork, and has eliminated seed oils by using an alternative cooking oil made from sugarcane.
8. Cowy Burger Wynwood
If videos of smashburgers took over your social media feed this year, you’re not alone. But in the few months since it’s opened, Cowy’s gourmet specimens have quickly risen to the top of Miami’s list (yes, there’s a whole list now). In fact, Cowy won this year’s South Beach Wine & Food Festival Burger Bash before they even had a brick-and-mortar. Here, the smashed patties are extra crispy and paper-thin , which is why they’ll ask if you want to make it a double — making their burger the perfect base for creative and indulgent toppings. The signature Cowy Burger is topped with American cheese and loaded to the brim with sweet caramelized onions, chunky bacon jam, and a secret Cowy sauce, while the surprising sweet-and-savory Cabrito uses chorizo sausage (perhaps a nod to a local Cuban specialty, the frita burger), goat cheese, sweet potato strings, and hot honey. Order yourself a burger with a side of waffle fries, take your table number and a seat, and enjoy Miami entering its smashburger era.
Find more info here.
9. Otto and Pepe Wynwood
Pasta bars may have been the trend we didn’t see coming (considering two excellent ones opened up within a block of each other this fall). But we love how Otto & Pepe delivered multiple concepts in one — combining the focal point of a 28-seat bar where you can watch the chefs work their magic with an intimate enoteca stocked with shelves of natural wines curated by Miami wine veteran Karina Iglesias. The menu eschews meat entrees in favor of four main categories: red sauce pasta, white sauce pasta, more pasta, and not pasta (namely the appetizers). With such a dedicated focus, and the kitchen helmed by a Michelin-starred Italian chef, it’s no surprise the plates are so good.
10. Chateau ZZ’s Brickell
With eight venues and counting (Carbone Vino is set to debut in Coconut Grove this winter), we’d be remiss not to acknowledge the footprint of Major Food Group, whose restaurants have taken over Miami in the last four years. But we were thrilled that 2024 brought a concept that was made for Miami. A Mexican restaurant inside of a historic French chateau, Chateau ZZ’s is the kind of surprising mashup that only the group behind spots like Carbone and Dirty French could conjure up. Our favorite aspect: Its opening finally allowed this historic building (formerly a private residence known as Petit Douy) to be open to the public. The venue, inspired by a monastery in Douy, France, is dreamy, with a solarium that serves as a sunlit dining area and lush gardens. White tuxedoed servers top off the experience, as they bring your housemade tostadas topped with caviar or wagyu, and your choice of Mexican spirits from their 1,000-plus bottle Tequila and mezcal collection.
Explore our picks from coast to coast:
Lyssa Goldberg is a Miami-based freelance writer and content strategist. She loves telling stories about food, wellness, and travel, and you can find her byline in Parade, The Points Guy, U.S. News & World Report, American Way, Mashable, Time Out, and more. Follow her on Instagram. Follow Resy, too.
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