Latest news with #Aguasal
Eater
10-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Eater
Miami's Newest Restaurant Openings, June 2025
Having trouble keeping up with all the new establishments popping up? Here are some noteworthy restaurants opening around Miami this June. Located inside the Orcidea Hotel, Donatella offers classic Italian fare such as polipo al Insalata, carpaccio gambero rosso, rigatoni nduja, and black truffle cacio e pepe. Dishes are made with fresh ingredients and feature artisanal pastas. The Empanadas, founded in Key Biscayne, opened its sixth location in South Miami. Choose from 25 different empanadas ranging from standards like beef and chicken to sweet varieties filled with apple pie or Nutella and brownie. There are also vegan choices, so everyone can enjoy empanadas. Celebrity chef and humanitarian, José Andrés, opened Aguasal and Bar Centro at the Andaz Miami Beach Hotel. Aguasal, named for agua salada, the Spanish term for saltwater, is a restaurant celebrating coastal Mediterranean fare. Dishes include mussels saganaki with feta and chives; roasted cauliflower with tahini, sesame seeds, ground coriander, pomegranate, and puffed quinoa; and a whole snapper. Fans of chef Andrés will be familiar with Bar Centro, an indoor-outdoor bar with ocean views. Enjoy a key lime pie daiquiri and snack on Spanish tapas and sandwiches. Macchialina's Michael Pirolo, along with managing partners Jennifer Chaefsky and Jacqueline Pirolo, have opened Fluke, a combination cocktail lounge and seafood spot inside the former Macchialina space. As the name implies, martinis are the house drink, paired with seafood selections from a rotating menu of raw and fried items and crudos. There's also a great burger, rosemary-dusted, hand-cut fries, and a selection of natural, biodynamic wines. Stop in for the Lucky $7 Martini Happy Hour from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m., featuring a selection of martinis for seven bucks. Francesco, a Coral Gables favorite for Peruvian cuisine, has reopened after a seven-year hiatus. The restaurant, which attracted celebrities such as Gloria Estefan and Pitbull, recently reopened at a new location on Miracle Mile. Dishes include a cannelloni stuffed with chicken stew, a New York strip with gnocchi, and a catch of the day. If you're seeking romance, 'Wednesdate' nights offer live music, starting at 7 p.m. Located inside a former Lutheran church, Jay's may be one of Fort Lauderdale's most unique venues. With stained glass windows, arched windows, and vaulted ceilings, you might just exclaim, 'holy cow' (pun intended) when your steak arrives. Expect seafood towers, steaks, and sides – plus a prime rib trolley, where your meat gets wheeled to you and serviced tableside. Jay's trades its restaurant persona after hours for a late-night speakeasy. If that's not swanky enough, Jay's offers a membership club with exclusive benefits for $800 per quarter. Mai Sushi & Tapas Bar, a Japanese-Vietnamese sushi and tapas bar located in Coral Gables, offers a diverse selection of sushi, sashimi, and hot and cold tapas in a modern, funky setting. Find a large choice of rolls, including the Crunchy Coral Gables with tuna, white fish, salmon, avocado, fried garlic, eel sauce, spicy mayo, and tempura flakes. Also, take a look at the skewers and dumplings. Buenos Aires-based Niño Gordo has opened a branch in Wynwood, offering Asian fusion cuisine that melds Japanese, Korean, and Southeast Asian flavors with Argentine grilling techniques. Award-winning bar consultant Christine Wiseman heads the cocktail program. The flagship location has earned the #34 spot in Latin America's 50 Best list. St. Augustine's Odd Birds Cocktail Lounge and Kitchen pops up in Little Havana for an open-ended run inside Pocho's Express. The lounge offers cocktails made with Latin American spirits and fresh fruits. Inter Miami fans should check out the Don't Mess with Messi, made with Fernet Branca and pineberry sage syrup. Food is provided in-house by Colombian restaurant Sanpocho. Direct from Guadalajara, Sala de Despecho ('Heartbreak Room' in English) knows that bad dates are a universal experience. The restaurant invites you to eat tacos, drink mezcal, and sing your heart out — literally — with a version of drunken karaoke. If you're looking for a place guaranteed not to be filled with bridal shower parties on a Saturday night, this is the right place. New York City's Serafina expands its Florida outreach with a new location at Miami Worldcenter. The restaurant at Aventura Mall offers wood-fired pizzas, pastas, and standard Italian red sauce fare. Skinny Louie won the 2025 South Beach Wine & Food Festival's Burger Bash for its 100% Angus beef smash burgers. The concise menu offers those burgers in a few iterations (and an Impossible version), fries, and shakes. This simple strategy has proven effective, with Skinny Louie branching out into Coral Gables, and expanding to Danie Beach, Aventura, South Miami, West Palm Beach, and New York City soon. Japanese cuisine and American smokehouse barbecue marry at Ukiah. Chef Michael Lewis brings his Asheville restaurant to Fort Lauderdale, where diners can enjoy sushi, sashimi, dumplings, and more, with a river view. The star of the show is Lewis's smoked platters. Diners can choose from a smoked half chicken, Carolina pork shoulder, brisket, or pastrami short rib — each served with pickled vegetables, kimchi, and toasted rye bread — and large enough for sharing. This much-loved Italian restaurant closed last year, only to reopen recently across the street from its original location in the Farinelli space, which Strada owner Javier Uribe also owns. The new Strada in the Grove effectively merges both spots, offering classic Italian dishes with Farinelli's wood-fired pizzas. See More:
Miami Herald
29-05-2025
- Miami Herald
Ocean views and a taste of the sea: José Andrés opens a new restaurant on Miami Beach
A new restaurant and a new cocktail concept from Chef José Andrés' hospitality group are now open at a new Miami Beach hotel. The Andaz Miami Beach from the Hyatt Lifestyle Group, formerly The Confidante Hotel, opened earlier this month and is now home to the Mediterranean restaurant Aguasal (named for agua salada, which is Spanish for saltwater) and Bar Centro, an all-day spot for small bites and drinks. Fittingly, Aguasal is inspired by the sea, according to Andrés, who says the restaurant 'brings with it the flavors of both the Mediterranean coast and Florida's abundant produce.' Aguasal, which serves breakfast and dinner, is located on the ground floor of the hotel, with indoor and outdoor dining and oceanfront views. Expect teak and woven furniture, stone floors, and lush tropical greenery. Breakfast is what you might expect: eggs, pancakes and French toast, while the dinner menu leans to seafood. Highlights include chilled seafood like kumamoto oysters with harissa mignonette and Meyer lemon, stone crab and pink gulf shrimp as well as dishes like mussels Saganaki with feta cheese, chives and lemon. There's also a fried whole snapper and cobia with lemon-butter sauce, dill, braised fennel and trout roe. You'll also find such vegetable dishes as grilled leeks with stracciatella, sumac, hazelnuts and brown butter breadcrumbs and roasted cauliflower with tahini, sesame seeds, ground coriander, pomegranate and puffed quinoa. Meat lovers can try the hanger steak with a marash rub, harissa roasted carrots and potatoes. On the upper lobby level, Bar Centro features ocean views and is all about the cocktails like the house specialty, a Key lime pie daiquiri, although you can order small bites like croquetas, a new take on a classic Caesar salad or four-cheese grilled cheese. There's caviar service as well. Aguasal and Bar Centro won't be the only dining concepts at the Andaz. In 2026, The Bazaar by José Andrés will open at the hotel, drawing on Andrés' Spanish heritage and featuring some of his most popular signature dishes. The hospitality group also operates Zaytina, a Mediterranean restaurant at the Ritz Carlton, South Beach. The Andaz Miami Beach is the first hotel in Florida for the brand and sprawls across 25,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor space. It's a Michelin Guide-recommended hotel. Amar Lalvani, president and creative director of Hyatt's Lifestyle Group, said the Andaz and the José Andrés group were a perfect match. 'Our close collaboration with José and his talented team will bring some very special experiences to the Andaz Miami Beach,' he said. 'The combination of the freshest local ingredients and bold flavors with global influences aligns perfectly with what Andaz is all about.' Aguasal Where: Andaz Miami Beach, 4041 Collins Ave, Miami Beach Hours: 7-11 a.m. breakfast daily; dinner 6-10 p.m. Monday-Friday, 6-11 p.m. Friday-Saturday. Bar Centro Hours: Noon-10 noon-11 p.m. Friday Saturday More information: @aguasalmiamibeach or @barcentrobyjose
