The Best New Restaurants in Miami, July 2026

If you’ve made your way through the Miami Essential 38, check out the Miami Heatmap. Here are 24 of the best right now.

Don’t see your favorite new place on the list? Shoot us a message on the tip line.

New to the map this month: Buccan, Buccan Sandwich Shop, Peche Mignon, Stand, and Vilebrequin La Plage. Meanwhile, Ukiah, Yue Chinese, Las’ Lap, San Lorenzo, and Midorie graduate from the new restaurant category. More often than not, Eater’s local tipsters, readers, friends, and family have one question: Where should I eat in Miami right now?

If you’ve made your way through the Miami Essential 38, check out the Miami Heatmap. Here are 24 of the best right now.

Don’t see your favorite new place on the list? Shoot us a message on the tip line.

New to the map this month: Buccan, Buccan Sandwich Shop, Peche Mignon, Stand, and Vilebrequin La Plage. Meanwhile, Ukiah, Yue Chinese, Las’ Lap, San Lorenzo, and Midorie graduate from the new restaurant category.

Emelina

A team with a Michelin-starred pedigree has opened a Cuban omakase in West Palm Beach, and it’s as intriguing as it sounds. Restaurateur Alvaro Perez-Miranda, owner of Michelin-starred Ogawa in Little River, and chefs Osmel González and Camila Salazar, formerly of Michelin-starred Entre Nos, have opened Emelina’s.

The intimate, 16-seat restaurant offers a 10-course tasting menu for $275 that lovingly imagines what Cuban cuisine could be if its native chefs were allowed freedom of creativity and access to the finest ingredients. This imaginative take on Cuban food sources fresh Floridian seafood and produce, utilizing classic omotenashi service for an evening of culinary intention.

Slim’s

Restaurateur Stephen Starr outdid himself with Slim’s, his steakhouse at the Bal Harbour Shops.

The restaurant is a nod to 1930s Hollywood glamor, with a feel that’s more Bette Davis than TikTok influencer. Get cozy in one of the leather banquettes and enjoy a meal that walks the line between decadence and comfort: Think a classic wedge or Caesar, an upscale version of pigs in a blanket, and a filet mignon with all the steakhouse sides.

Since Slim’s is located in the center of Miami’s toniest shopping, there’s a special midday menu perfect for refreshing yourself after exercising those credit card-swiping muscles. Don’t forget to save room for the pink Champagne cake for dessert.

Ezio’s

The team behind New York pizza sensation Roberta’s has opened Ezio’s in the quieter, northern part of Miami Beach.

The restaurant started as a pop-up inside Roberta’s in Williamsburg before opening in Miami Beach. The Italian steakhouse serves dry-aged steaks with traditional sides and pastas. A 16 oz. bone-in ribeye pairs nicely with spaghettini with Littleneck clams.

Everything can be “zhuzh’ed up” with caviar or oysters. Cocktails are classic, and there’s a thoughtful mocktail menu, as well.

Fooq’s

When David Foulquier opened his teeny Persian restaurant, Fooq’s, in 2015, Miamians were instantly enchanted by the colorful room and delicious food, including a fragrant tahdig.

Now, after years of work, Foulquier has unveiled his new, upscale version of Fooq’s. The restaurant offers Persian favorites such as pide and kebabs, alongside steakhouse fare, topping out at a $250 40 oz. porterhouse. Your best bet is the $95 per person “Fooq’s Feast” that includes a protein of your choice, salad, za’atar bread, dips, and that tahdig you’ve been yearning for all these years.

Bar Bucce

Macchialiana’s Michael Pirolo and team recently opened Bar Bucce, a combination Italian market, restaurant, and pizzeria in Little River.

The casual cafe offers pizza pies, salumi, and antipasti (with a few dinner-only grilled items). During lunch only, pizza slices, arancini, and stromboli are on the menu.

Wines, cocktails, and beers (including a house exclusive by J. Wakefield) are available.

Pizza Tropical

For years, Pizza Tropical provided the good drinkers at Gramps Bar with carbs and cheese to sate their hunger.

The bright red-and-yellow pizza ventanita was more than a place to get a slice — it was a part of Miami’s fabric. When it closed this past December (just prior to Gramp’s closure), loyal customers left flowers in memorial.

Thankfully, owners Adam Gersten and Frank Pinello have revived Pizza Tropical, moving it to Miami’s Upper Eastside neighborhood. There’s nothing fancy here, just good pizza by the pie and by the slice, including the divisive Hawaiian with ham, roasted pineapple, and fresh pineapple.

The new location is next door to Karma Car Wash, so you can grab a few slices while your car gets a much needed glow up.

Pluma

Fried chicken might be on everyone’s guilty pleasures list, but that’s no excuse to eat bad chicken, especially now that Pluma is here. The menu is simple, with chicken that’s fried to order in beef tallow and comes as tenders or in a sandwich.

There’s also a smashbird — a smashed chicken sandwich. Pair your sandwich with crispy beef tallow fries and a fresh-squeezed lemonade, and take home a jar of beef tallow moisturizer while you’re at it.

• Get there with Lyft
• 5140 Biscayne Boulevard, Miami, Florida 33137, United States
• (786) 957-2444
• Visit website

Pari Pari

This 24-seat Wynwood hand roll bar might have just opened, but it’s already all over social media — and for good reason.

The tiny, modern eatery is helmed by chef Yasu Tanaka of Sushi Yasu Tanaka in the tony Design District. For those wanting the same quality in a more relaxed atmosphere, Pari Pari serves hand rolls and sashimi by the piece, so you can pick and choose your own adventure.

You can also have the chef select by ordering from the set menu at affordable prices ($23 to $39). Of course, Miamians gotta Miami, so you can add caviar bumps to any roll.

We know it’s just for the ’gram.

• Get there with Lyft
• 127 Northwest 27th Street, #105, Miami, Florida 33127, United States
• (786) 536-7134
• Visit website

Ted’s Burgers

In a city increasingly filled with hyped up restaurants from exotic faraway places like Dubai and Williamsburg, it’s nice to see a local boy make good. Miami native Ted Armas started selling his smash burgers in 2020, setting up shop outside the sorely missed J.

Wakefield Brewing in Wynwood and other places. Although there were always lines, fame hit when he was crowned the winner of the 2021 South Beach Wine & Food Festival Burger Bash.

In a full-circle moment, Armas has his own brick-and-mortar in Wynwood. Thankfully, Armas hasn’t gussied up the menu – there are still only three burgers, fries, drinks, and shakes.

Purists should order a Double American Classic: two smash patties, American cheese, ketchup, mustard, pickles, and diced onions on a Martin’s potato roll with fries. It’s the most satisfying and affordable way to spend the day in Wynwood.

Chō Funky Asian Bistro

Mo Alkassar (co-founder of Ghee) has transformed Paya into Chō, a pan-Asian restaurant that feels like you’re inside a red light sauna: Banquettes trimmed in Chinese silk, bamboo chairs, and souvenir-shop trinkets are all bathed in a warm red glow.

The menu offers a “greatest hits” of Asian dishes, some more faithful and others more reinterpretive: kung pao chicken, miso beef tartare duck fried rice, khao soi lamb neck, and more. Pair your dinner with cocktails, mocktails, or sake, all curated by Unfiltered Hospitality.

Café Fenicia

The Lebanese food at Café Fenicia is the way Miami should eat: It’s light, flavorful, and designed for walking in temperatures comparable to the surface of the sun. Bring a bunch of friends and fill the table with a bit of everything, starting with mezze like arnabeet mekleh (crispy cauliflower with tahini), muhammara, and hummus.

Then share the Fenician Mixed Grille: an assortment of beef, chicken, and kafta skewers served with toum (garlic sauce), tahina, and charred vegetables. Café Fenicia also has a good selection of vegetarian and vegan options.

• Get there with Lyft
• 1381 Northeast Miami Court, Miami, Florida 33132, United States
• (786) 622-1555
• Visit website

Wolf of Tacos at Central Fare Food Collective

The hustle is strong with Eduaro Lara. Better known as “the Wolf of Tacos,” Lara has been slinging tacos for five years.

Unlike some other chefs who work hard at their restaurant, Lara had the added burden of preparing food, schlepping it to a site, pitching a tent, and then cooking the meat. Sometimes at a brewery, sometimes at a festival, sometimes late at night outside of a club.

No matter where he went, lines formed with fans stalking his social media to find out where to get his tacos. Now, Lara has a permanent home at the Central Fare Food Collective inside the Miami Brightline station.

Here, you’ll find his tacos, which start with a nixtamalized corn tortilla stuffed with meats like carne asada, pastor, longaniza (Mexican pork sausage), and more — all served with pickled onion and lime. If that wasn’t enough, Central Fare is also home to a plethora of other homegrown “only-in-Miami” delights such as sandwiches from Josh Marcus’s Josh’s Corner Deli, chef Ryan McKeown’s cheesesteaks at Peppi’s Steaks and Hoagies, pies from Stanzione Pizza, and more.

• Get there with Lyft
• 550 Northwest 1st Avenue, STE 230-a2, Miami, Florida 33136, United States
• Visit website

Fratesi’s Pizza

Chicago tourists might crave deep-dish pizza, but the real Chicago pizza is tavern pizza. This pizza, which dates back to Prohibition days, features a super-thin, almost cracker-like crust and cheese and toppings that extend right to the edge of the pizza, creating its own frame of cheese around the perimeter of the pie.

Fratesi’s Pizza gained a loyal following by popping up at bars and restaurants around town. The restaurant just opened its first brick-and-mortar, and already it’s one of the toughest reservations to get. Persistence pays off.

Once you get your first bite of its signature Demon Pig Boy (a pizza with pepperoni and pickled hot peppers), you’ll know the wait was worth it.

• Get there with Lyft
• 69 East Flagler Street, Miami, Florida 33131, United States
• (305) 456-1155
• Visit website

Amazónico

In a sea of themed clubstaurants, Amazonico stands out for its sheer dinner-and-a spectacle vibes. It’s all here: lush indoor foliage, tableside presentations, cocktails named after monkeys and jaguars, an open kitchen, and live performances.

If you want a wild, themed night in Brickell and miss the good ol’ days when restaurants had talking trees and erupting volcanoes, Amazonico is worth a trip.

Aiko & Mumu

Aiko & Mumu is a lot like most Miami inhabitants in that it’s light and casual by day, and turns into something much more electric when the lights go down.

In the afternoons, Aiko is a grab-and-go spot that offers sushi and Japanese sandwiches. Pillowy milk bread is filled with everything from savory chicken katsu or A5 wagyu to sweet strawberries and whipped cream.

In the evening, the space turns into Mumu, an immersive Asian bistro that combines Japanese and Chinese cultures and cuisine.

• Get there with Lyft
• 2770 Southwest 27th Avenue, STE 2, Miami, Florida 33133, United States
• (786) 860-5993
• Visit website

3190

You have to be a lasagna lover to appreciate 3190, the latest limited-menu restaurant by 84 Magic Hospitality, since this intimate Coconut Grove restaurant only serves the baked pasta dish. It offers lasagna ($15) served two ways: the Si Papa, a traditional Bolognese lasagna named after executive chef Giulio Rossi’s daughter’s response to an offer of his signature dish, and a vegetarian pesto version.

Save room for tiramisu for dessert.

Daniel’s Steakhouse Miami

Fort Lauderdale’s Daniel’s earned a place in the 2025 Michelin Guide for its classic steakhouse fare that incorporates local ingredients such as Florida grass-fed beef, local shrimp, and farm-fresh vegetables. Chef-partner Daniel Ganem’s Miami outpost, located in the former Fiola space, continues the “local is best” ethos with everything from sourdough from Sullivan Street Bakery to red snapper caught by Florida Keys fishermen.

H&H Bagels

Even if you’re not from New York, you likely know about H&H Bagels. These bagels have been in shows like Seinfeld and Sex and the City, and, for years, were the city’s viral bagel – before viral food was even a thing.

H&H is now expanding outside of New York, opening its first Miami-area location in Pinecrest. H&H offers a variety of bagel sandwiches, but purists in the know just want a fresh-from-the-oven bagel with a scallion schmear and some slices of Nova.

Buccan

Chef Clay Conley brings his Michelin-recognized Palm Beach restaurant to Coral Gables. Buccan has earned a devoted following since opening in Palm Beach in 2011 with globally inspired small plates, wood-fired dishes, and seasonal ingredients.

Conley is a seven-time James Beard Award nominee known for playful interpretations of classic dishes like short rib empanadas, hot dog paninis, and squid ink orecchiette with Italian sausage and conch.

Buccan Sandwich Shop

Chef Clay Conley’s beloved Palm Beach lunch spot opened next door to Buccan in Coral Gables, serving some of the best sandwiches in South Florida.

The shop is takeout only, but what this sandwich ventanita lacks in tables, it makes up for in flavor. Sandwiches include the signature beef carpaccio, Cubano 2.0, Buffalo chicken, and the Steak Bomb.The best deal is the boxed lunch for $25.25, which includes a hot or cold sandwich, chips, a pickle, a chocolate chip cookie, and a drink (choices range from a soda to housemade ginger lemonade).

This little combo is perfect for a date in a park, a boat day snack, or scarfing down while watching TV at home.

Péché Mignon

Pastry chef Sappir Zuzan’s tiny little Edgewater bakery and cafe combines French pastry techniques and Middle Eastern influences into a concise menu of pastries, brunch items, and sandwiches.

Zuzan’s tenure at a two-Michelin-starred restaurant in the South of France really shows in everything from the croissants (satisfyingly crisp on the outside, buttery on the inside) to the brioche. For brunch, the shakshuka is a must.

Stand

Chef Shingo Akikuni and partner Kenzie Motai, of Michelin-starred Shingo, have teamed up to create Stand.

This 24-seat cafe offers house-baked milk bread sandos, buttery shio pan, specialty coffee, matcha, and more. In short, you’ll get the same care and quality found in the partners’ Michelin-starred spot but as Japanese-inspired breakfast and lunch fare that’s a smaller bite for your wallet to chew on.

Vilebrequin La Plage

If you want French Riviera vibes but can’t spend the time and money to travel to Saint-Tropez, a lunch at Vilebrequin La Plage is the next best thing. The first U.S. outpost of the luxury French swimwear brand’s restaurant concept (and its fifth location worldwide) can be found on the rooftop of the Unframed hotel in South Beach.

Guests can enjoy breakfast, dinner, cocktails, and Provençal-inspired fare such as steak frites, salad nicoise, and foie gras torchon. Vilebrequin’s L’Apero hour (Tuesday to Saturday from 5 to 7 p.m.) offers select cocktails and spritzes for $14, wine and beer for $11 and under, and a generous assortment of appetizers such as shrimp cocktail, sliders, pissaladière (French “pizza” nicoise), and more – all for $14 or less.