The Resy Guide to Outdoor Dining in Miami

Plenty of places offer outdoor seating. How many of them offer outdoor spritz bars? Perhaps only Rosemary’s, where we head for a garden seat to savor focaccia with sea salt and rosemary, Sicilian-style chopped salad, and orecchiette with broccoli rabe and housemade sausage. And, of course, a Rosemary’s spritz with Aperitivo Cappelletti, prosecco, rosemary and orange peel.

With its manti dumplings on the list of Miami’s must-eat dishes, stylish, 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 baked feta with tomatoes and smoked chili flakes, beef souvlaki, lamb chops with orzo pilaf and other dishes that pair excellently with cold, pink wine.

The riverfront patio of this Allapattah oasis is an ideal perch for lunch, brunch or dinner, but consider coming for its Sunset Hour menu. From 3 to 6 p.m. weekdays, enjoy $10 signature cocktails, like the From Capri with Spice (vodka, ginger, jalapeño), and a selection of bar bites, including margarita pizzas, spaghetti and lamb meatballs for $10 each and charcuterie boards for $15. A deal and a view? Yes please.

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. At lunch, a selection of salatim like onion tahini, za’atar 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 Carbone than it is to get an indoor spot, and the people-watching is pretty prime whether you’re inside or out. Still, the 50-person patio with its lush greenery and rattan ceiling fans provides a pretty perfect backdrop to enjoy your spicy rigatoni and lobster fra diavolo. Keep the negronis flowing.

Brisket-queso Frito pies and mole-dusted smoked chicken wings and Korean-style rib tips and frozen pomegranate margaritas. You’re eating this inside? Not a chance. 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 airy outdoor setting in the Design District. The three-course lunch menu changes seasonally and includes the pastry team’s housemade breads. Start with a green goddess-dressed salad or cobia ceviche, consider Faroe Island salmon with an herb coulis and trout roe, and leave room for one of the almost-too-pretty-to-eat desserts.

You can’t miss the gorgeous views of Biscayne Bay whether you sit inside or on the patio at Amara, but the closer to the water the better, right? Start with smoked fish dip and a shareable plate of empanadas alongside a chilled cocktail — or go super-chilled with a frozen mojito or Singapore sling — before moving onto mains. It’s a Michael Schwartz restaurant, so anything off the wood-fired grill is going to be, well, fire. Skirt steak and local catch of the day? Sold.

Take in sea views from the serene patio of this high-end Greek import from New York, nestled in the Acqualina Resort in Sunny Isles Beach. Stay classic: Greek salad, halloumi or saganaki, and then fresh fish of your choice — flown in daily from around the world and sourced locally as well — either charcoal-grilled and deboned or cooked whole in a salt crust. Savor it all with a Santorini martini: cucumber gin and vodka, grapefruit liqueur, and basil.

Book a courtyard table at chef Thomas Keller’s Bouchon to serve as your perch as you work your way through traditional French fare like onion soup, seafood plateaus and croque madames at lunch, Lyonnaise salad, steak frites and seared foie gras at dinner. Don’t feel like commiting to a full bottle from the deep wine list? Bouchon’s selection of Coravin pours gets you 5 ounces of some standout reds, whites and even sparklers, like nonvintage Ruinart Champagne rosé.   

Motek’s kosher-style, all-day brunch menu runs the Mediterranean gamut from labneh- and feta-topped pita to crispy chicken schnitzel on challah to flaky Yemenite pancakes with tahini and grated tomato. The restaurant’s sizable indoor-outdoor space in the South of Fifth nabe makes a convenient jump-off for a day on the sand or a meandering stroll through South Beach.