The Resy Hit List: Where In Miami You’ll Want to Eat Right Now

Just a few doors down from its Michelin-starred sibling, Walrus Rodeo shouldn’t be underestimated. Boia De’s rowdy little sister restaurant has carved its own spot in Miami’s dining scene. Known for wood-fired fare, Walrus Rodeo is bold and offbeat, with pops of color, retro details, and a lively open kitchen anchored by an imported pizza oven from Naples, Italy. The menu revolves around that roaring oven, turning out pies and vegetable-forward dishes with a smoky edge. Think charred cabbage with burnt garlic gastrique, mustard green lasagna, and standout pizzas that are both playful and expertly prepared.

Stepping into Mutra’s dining room feels deeply personal. Named after chef-owner Raz Shabtai’s grandmother, the restaurant centers around an open kitchen with a wraparound chef’s counter, where the aroma of warm spices and bubbling stews lures you in. The menu delivers on updated takes on ancient Middle Eastern cuisine, drawing from the flavors of the multicultural melting pot that is Jerusalem, where Shabtai grew up. Each dish feels like a love letter to his homeland, and that personal touch resonates, which might be why it was recently the first strictly kosher retaurant to receive a Michelin star. Its kosher status is rarely mentioned, of course, as Shabtai’s talents are the focus. So trust your intuition (or a friendly server), and keep an eye out for Shabtai behind the counter, perhaps sharing how many days it took to bake the Yemeni bread from scratch.

For old-school Spanish food, head to this four-story spot on Coral Way. It has a little bit of everything under one roof: tapas, paella, grilled seafood, a terrace, a deli market, and a serious Spanish wine cellar that makes browsing bottles part of the fun. Look for classic tapas — boquerones, manchego or a plate of jamón — and a whole assortment of paellas or shareable plates like whole grilled dorada if the table wants something more substantial. Xixón works best when you bring a group, order for the table, drink Rioja, and let the meal last a while. Save room for churros con chocolate or crema Catalana, then stop by the market on the way out for Spanish pantry goods you did not plan on buying.

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Pao, in the Faena Hotel, is the dinner pick that actually keeps up with the dining room. Set under a glowing golden dome with Damien Hirst’s unicorn holding court in the center, the Miami Beach restaurant could get by on spectacle alone, but Paul Qui’s menu gives you more to talk about than the decor. The food moves through Filipino, Japanese, Spanish, and French influences with plenty of smoke and sweet-savory turns: pan de sal (Filipino salt bread) with wagyu fat butter, hamachi kinilaw crudo with peach and chili oil, fried chicken thighs with banana ketchup, and the signature Unicorn, a dish of sea urchin and grilled sweet corn pudding. Charcoal shows up often, including tableside moments where meats are cooked over a Japanese binchotan grill. Go for a dressed-up Faena night, especially on weekends when live music adds to the glow.

Dinner at Palma is a bit of a gamble — in the best way possible. Chef Juan Camilo Liscano, who trained in Michelin-starred kitchens across Europe and the U.S., brings those techniques home to Miami, using them to showcase local farms and ingredients. The tasting menu changes monthly, so we can’t tell you exactly what’s coming beyond the signature sweet plantain brioche and butter served mid-meal, but expect compact, ingredient-focused plates that range from inventive to knockout-delicious. Their unexpected pairings might not always sound like they should make sense — but that’s exactly what makes this experience so satisfying. The nine-course menu runs $115, though you can also cautiously dip into this culinary adventure on your own terms with new à la carte options.

Nearly two decades in, this Kendall favorite still feels like its own little wine-country world, with warm wood, copper accents, and the kind of menu built for birthdays, anniversaries, family dinners, and regulars who already know what they’re ordering. Chef Adrianne Calvo’s “maximum flavor” approach shows up in dishes that go big without feeling gimmicky: the 24-hour braised short rib, brown sugar salmon, and the Tuesday-only French onion soup blanketed in cheese and splashed with Cognac. Expect steaks, seafood, pastas, wine, and enough comfort to make the drive feel worthwhile even if you’re coming from across town.

The three-story import from Madrid turns dinner into a full itinerary: a jungle-toned dining room with live bands and an open kitchen, a second-floor lounge with a sushi counter and DJs, and a rooftop peacock bar that keeps the night moving. The menu matches the maximalist setting with Latin American flavors, Nikkei touches, grilled meats, seafood, and plenty of tableside drama. Start with something bright and refreshing, like the ceviche Amazónico with corvina, sweet plantain, avocado, leche de tigre and crispy cassava, or head upstairs for sushi and raw fish. The fried frog legs with spiced mango dressing might be the sleeper order, while picanha or black cod with tamarind glaze can anchor the meal. This isn’t where you go to disappear into a quiet booth. Get dressed up, bring a group, and treat dinner as the opening act.

Midorie is what high-end sushi looks like in its most everyday form. The 79th Street spot comes from the same family as Hiyakawa and Michelin-starred Ogawa, but this is where you go when you want the fish quality without the full splurge. Fresh seafood is flown in daily from Tokyo’s Toyosu Market, then turned into donburi bowls, hand rolls, nigiri, and omakase-style platters in a fast-casual setting. The Midorie Bowl is the easy favorite, layered with salmon, tuna, blue crab, tobiko, shiitake, seaweed salad, and yuzu avocado. For something closer to a streamlined omakase, the $100 chef’s selection of nigiri and a maki roll is the move. It gives you the pleasure of a serious sushi spread without committing to the whole special-occasion production.

As the restaurant that helped set Miami’s omakase standard long before the format took over, Naoe is for the night when you want the city’s most serious sushi meal, served at a volume just above a whisper. The Brickell Key spot seats just five guests at a cypress counter, where chef-owner Kevin Cory prepares a three-hour menu of seafood sourced from Japan and local fishermen. Dinner starts with a composed bento before moving into nigiri brushed with Cory’s family shoyu, then finishes with a selection of tea, fruit, cake and ice cream for dessert. Sake is not a side note here either — the list comes from Cory’s family brewery in Kanazawa. Naoe can be exacting, and not always flexible, but that’s all part of an exacting experience.

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Stand is the Shingo team’s reminder that Japanese dining doesn’t always need to be a hushed omakase counter. This quick-service Coral Gables cafe comes from chef Shingo Akikuni and Kenzie Motai, who wanted to bring Miami the everyday Japanese breakfasts and lunches they grew up with. Mornings start with fluffy shio pan (buttery salt breads), and matcha drinks made with tea sourced directly from Japanese farmers. By lunch, the move is thick-cut milk bread sandos and bento boxes, all built around bread baked fresh in-house daily. The chicken katsu is crisp and juicy, while the egg-salad sandwich channels the creamy convenience-store versions travelers chase down in Japan. Don’t miss the hojicha specialty drink, made from roasted tea leaves for a nutty flavor closer to coffee.

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Sunny’s feels almost improbable in Little River: a full-blown South Florida showpiece where you least expect it. The steakhouse centers around a sprawling banyan tree and a string-lit courtyard that does more scene-setting than many of its waterfront counterparts. And best of all, the food matches the setting: Parker House rolls with honey butter, blue crab agnolotti, raw bar staples, and dry-aged steaks you’ll want to share. Yes, it has become one of the city’s toughest reservations, but the move is not limited to a prime-time table. The walk-up terrace is a smart backdoor in, especially because it has its own burger available only to guests seated there, and the indoor bar is just as useful for martinis and a less scripted night. Go for the courtyard if you can get it, but don’t overthink the backup plan.

This local outpost of one of Boston’s favorite Israeli bakery-cafés comes from Uri Scheft (he was also behind Breads in NYC), and while the chocolate babka is the obvious move here, the list of other fillings and pastries is a long one. Almond babkas, cinnamon babkas, cheese burekas, challah, sourdough, and rugelach round out the bakery case, with sandwiches and deli salads if you’re making it a proper lunch. All these goodies are baked fresh throughout the day, so there’s a chance something warm will be coming straight out of the oven when you walk in. Order whatever smells best, grab a babka for later, and accept that “later” may mean the car ride home.

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Flora Plant Kitchen has the look of a Tulum daydream, but a meal here has more bite than the name suggests. The daytime wellness cafe goes all in on soft neutrals, woven lights, greenery, and breezy patio energy, yet there’s a smoky scent of charcoal coming from the open kitchen. The menu at this MiMo spot is plant-powered in spirit, but not vegetarian by default, which means you can go fully vegetable-forward or land on meatier plates and bowls with steak, chicken, or ropa vieja. Plus, Latin flavors keep the food from feeling too health-coded, with ingredients like chimichurri, guava, mojo onions, charred corn, and bright sauces.

Macchialina is the South Beach standby you recommend when someone insists they can’t find a good dinner on the Beach. More than a decade in, this modern trattoria still runs on what made it beloved in the first place: homey handmade pastas, warm service, and Italian wines you probably haven’t seen poured anywhere else. An expanded space provides the restaurant more room to breathe, with a bigger dining room and covered patio. Begin with antipasti like gnocco fritto and whatever version of the creamy polenta is currently on offer, then dive right into all the pastas: a simple spaghetti pomodoro; hearty cavatelli with baby meatballs and porchetta; or an umami-forward tagliolini ai funghi. Wine is half the fun here, especially if you let the team steer you toward something from the all-Italian list.

Ro Steakhouse looks like the kind of high-gloss steakhouse you’d expect to find in Brickell, but the Coral Gables address keeps it from becoming a full corporate-card commitment. The room brings the drama — curved ceiling panels, stone, bronze, an illuminated bar, and enough polish for a proper night out — while the menu gives the usual steakhouse script a Mexican rewrite. Yes, there are prime cuts, big rib eyes, and large-format steaks, but the better move is to explore the enormous menu. Start with Fire & Bone Tacos, stacked with grilled steak and roasted bone marrow, then go for plates like hamachi tostadas, pistachio-crusted tuna, or the Berkshire pork chop. It’s vibey, expansive, and more flexible than most steakhouses that look this dressed up.

Bistro Ocho brings Little Havana something unexpected: polished Mexican cooking with a relaxed neighborhood feel. Chef Pancho Ibáñez was formerly chef de cuisine at Pujol in Mexico City, and the food has that same respect for masa, smoke, acid, and restraint. Start with a refreshing ceviche or tiradito. Then go for the grilled catch of the day or pork belly al pastor served with warm corn tortillas, salsa, black beans, and pineapple pico de gallo, perfect for making your own bites at the table. The bar is just as dialed in, with an agave program from Eli Martinez Bello, also formerly of Pujol. Sunday brunch is its own reason to go, especially for fresh baked concha and other Mexican pastries, the roving Mezcal cart, and dishes like caviar y huevo revuelto or chilaquiles with wagyu tenderloin.