Every December, Miami Art Week takes over Florida’s megacity. Galleries, pop-ups, and fairs draw collectors, artists, and art lovers from around the world. Amid the whirlwind of exhibitions and installations, the city’s dining scene is not to be overlooked. Throughout the city, you’ll find a variety of culinary experiences that may just be the highlight of your festival days. We asked a few of our friends from The Andy Warhol Museum, P·P·O·W Gallery, and Art Basel Miami Beach (one of the featured shows from December 5-7) for the inside scoop on dining out. Whether you’re looking for a quick bite between fairs, a celebratory dinner, or a chic spot to unwind with friends, these handpicked restaurants are essential stops during this year’s Miami Art Week, December 2-7.
Restaurants to Visit During Miami Art Week
The Andy Warhol Museum’s Miami Restaurant Picks
Sunny’s is a modern steakhouse in Miami’s Little River neighborhood featuring a luminous courtyard under a sprawling banyan tree. The restaurant blends traditional steakhouse fare like live-oak–grilled steaks and fresh seafood with handmade pastas and creative sauces.
Under the creative direction of Chef Alain Verzeroli, Le Jardinier is a lush, Michelin‑starred French restaurant tucked into Miami’s Design District. The menu emphasizes seasonality, vegetable‑driven plates, and carefully sourced wild fish, poultry, and meat.
Transport yourself to an old-school joint with velvet banquettes, Murano-glass chandeliers, damask walls, and vintage artwork curated by Vito Schnabel. This Italian‑American restaurant boasts indulgent classics like spicy rigatoni vodka, veal parmigiana, tableside Caesar salad, lobster ravioli, and octopus pizzaiolo.
What artist wouldn’t love to sneak into this ultra-intimate, six-seat speakeasy tucked behind the Faena Theater? Menus rotate seasonally and highlight top-quality seafood flown in from Japan. The beverage program is equally thoughtful, featuring rare Japanese sake, top-shelf spirits, craft cocktails, and Champagne.
Blending French culinary techniques with Japanese ingredients, Queen’s menu features everything from Wagyu steaks and sushi to omakase. The dining room is theatrical and glamorous which the drink program enhances with premium spirits, Champagne, and Japanese sake.
Co-founded by chefs Taka Sakaeda, Jihan Lee, and Lisa Limb, Nami Nori brings a commitment to creativity, quality, and Japanese “omotenashi” (gracious hospitality). The menu centers on open-style sushi hand rolls plus Japanese-inspired small bites. You’ll also find a vegan section and signature desserts
P·P·O·W Gallery’s Miami Restaurant Picks
A garden courtyard shaded by mature trees helps this restaurant evoke a serene Aegean coastal village. Dig into authentic Greek and Turkish dishes like hummus and tarama, grilled octopus, fresh fish, seasonal vegetables, and so much more all crafted with quality, seasonal ingredients.
Handmade pastas take center stage with seasonal tagliatelle, cavatelli with porchetta and pecorino, and other soulful, Italian-meets-Miami dishes. Macchialina recently expanded into a 5,600‑square-foot space that includes a garden patio, a large open kitchen, and a bright wine room. But, it maintains the intimate, neighborhood charm it’s known for.
The menu at Puerto Sagua Restaurant reads like a tribute to home‑cooked Havana. Some of the highlights include ropa vieja, oxtail stew, grilled lobster, fried pork chunks, and crisp tostones. The restaurant’s relaxed atmosphere includes vintage booths, tiled floors, and a long counter for sharing stories.
PPOW co-founders Penny Pilkington and Wendy Olsoff have all the feelings for Joe’s Stone Crab. This legendary Miami Beach institution has been serving up succulent Florida stone crab claws since 1913. While they’re known for sweet, chilled crab claws (served with a signature mustard‑mayo dip), the menu also includes steaks, fried chicken, oysters, and creamed spinach.
This restaurant blends elevated American fare with Miami touches to make stone crab salad, suckling pig, and their famous chicken tenders. At night, the room transforms into a vibrant lounge with a custom stage, live entertainment, and bottle service.
Right inside Pérez Art Museum Miami (PAMM) is a modern, relaxed waterfront restaurant and bar located offering sweeping views of Biscayne Bay. The menu features a mix of small and larger plates, pizzas, and signature pastries as well as handcrafted cocktails and a thoughtfully curated wine list.
Art Basel Miami Beach’s Miami Restaurant Picks
This Parisian-style brasserie from Stephen Starr and Keith McNally channels the timeless spirit of its iconic NYC predecessor. French classics like onion soup, escargots, steak frites, and duck à l’orange sit alongside a raw bar, cheese selections, and a full range of cocktails, wine, and beer.
Michael’s Genuine Food & Drink is a warm, neighborhood‑style restaurant with genuine hospitality and a seasonal, farm-driven menu. Selections are mainly modern American like wood-oven roasted fish, house-made pasta, crudo, pan-roasted chicken, and vegetable-forward dishes.
Close to the Miami Beach Convention Center and usually easy to get a reservation, Blue Ribbon sushi features a mix of fresh sushi and sashimi by master chef Toshi Ueki. But if you don’t like sushi you can try cooked favorites, too. Delight in oxtail fried rice, skirt steak, and the signature Blue Ribbon fried chicken with wasabi and honey.
A romantic, garden‑style ambiance close to Grand Beach makes the perfect spot for breakfast, brunch, lunch, or dinner. The menu features Venetian‑inspired fare, including handmade pastas, wood-fired pizzas, cicchetti (small plates), and seafood, all taken up a notch by a curated wine list and signature cocktails.
Set in the courtyard of the Faena Hotel, Francis Mallmann’s kitchen combines wood‑oven grills, hanging planchas, and even ash‑cooking to elevate meats, seafood, and seasonal vegetables. Plus sip on Argentine wines (including Faena’s own) and crafted drinks that pair with the smoky cooking.
While a reservation at this restaurant can be hard to come by, it’s worth the wait. An elegant, Northern Italian dinner awaits with a table full of handmade pastas like ricotta cavatelli and lobster linguini to seafood and even pistachio ice cream for dessert. Not to mention their outdoors dining area includes gorgeous, lantern-lit courtyards.
Photo Courtesy of Mandolin Aegean Bistro
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