12 Miami Restaurant Openings to Get Excited About This Fall

Get ready to fill your dinner calendar.

Casa Mariano
Photo courtesy of Sushi | Bar
Photo courtesy of Sushi | Bar

Say what you will about spring, fall is really the time for rebirth. It’s the start of a new school year. Football is back. And Miami gets its first bumper crop of phenomenal new restaurants since the snowbirds left in May. This fall is lining up to be especially exciting, with not one but two new omakase counters gracing our city, plus the return of Brad Kilgore and a new venture from Michelin-starred Jeremy Ford. Did we mention John Martin’s was coming back? So get ready, South Florida, and loosen your seatbelts. This fall is gonna be one delicious ride.

Address: 253 Miracle Mile, Coral Gables
Estimated opening: Fall
Fresh on the heels of Fox’s grand comeback, this fall welcomes the return of another beloved bygone bar when John Martin’s reopens its doors in its original location on Miracle Mile. It’ll maintain much of the same Irish charm of the old spot, but this time the operation is led by the people who brought us The Wharf and Black Market. No word on if the legendary burger will be back, but for those who’ve missed bellying up for a pint after work, the wait won’t be long. Now if only someone could bring back The Tavern.

Photo courtesy of Casa Bufala

Address: 1874 Bay Road, Miami Beach
Estimated opening: November
While it seems like Neapolitan pizzerias have been popping up in Miami almost as fast as people minting NFTs, the OG pie makers at Fratelli La Bufala are reclaiming their turf with a new kitchen in Sunset Harbour. FLB’s founder launches a new Italian Italian restaurant and pizzeria, which promises a menu of staple dishes set among colorful artwork.

Photo courtesy of Soho House

Address: 105 - 107 NE 25th St., Miami
Estimated opening: Late 2022
The boho chic members-only Soho House opens its second Miami location, setting up shop on the border of Wynwood and Edgewater. The new club will be centered around a sprawling outdoor pool, with a restaurant, outdoor dining terrace, cottage bar, and dance club all within a short walk of the water. It’ll offer two different memberships too. One gets you into the Miami Pool Club, the other scores you entry to every Soho House in the world.

Photo courtesy of Sushi | Bar

Address: 1435 Drexel Ave., Miami Beach
Estimated opening: Now open
If you thought we couldn’t squeeze any more omakase spots into Miami, clearly you’ve underestimated this city’s appetite for single serve sushi. This omakase den and speakeasy comes to the ground floor of the Esme Hotel via Montecito, California and Austin. Executive chef Amberly Ouimette will be plating up 17-course adventures during two nightly seatings of a dozen guests each. As omakases do, the menu will be constantly changing, but regular dishes will include Aged Bluefin Akamai with dehydrated red miso and everything bagel spice; Hokkaido Scallop with white truffle salt, shaved black truffle, and spherified truffle caviar; and Kanpachi with pineapple, passionfruit, shishito vinaigrette, and shaved coconut.

Eleventh Street Pizza
Eleventh Street Pizza

Address: 9025 SW 72nd Place, Kendall
Estimated opening: Fall 2022
The downtown Brooklyn-style pizza hit that quickly cemented its place among the city’s best will soon be far easier to score for suburbanites. The place that brought us the Carmine Cheese Pizza and the Pepperoni and Hot Honey will set up shop in Downtown Dadeland later this year, saving Kendallites the journey up US-1. The new shop won’t keep quite the late night hours of the flagship store, though—since E11even won’t exactly be across the street.

Antonio Bachour
Antonio Bachour

Address: 810 NE 40th St. #102, Miami
Estimated opening: October
It only reasons that South Florida’s finest patisserie would make its way to the tony Design District. Much like Antonio Bachour’s eponymous Gables original, the new Design District digs will have a glassed-in bakery where you can watch the man work his magic. Beyond baked goods, Table will offer a French, brasserie-style menu with a small bar and outdoor dining area. It’ll also have a large grab-and-go section featuring prepared sandwiches and sliced-to-order jamon serrano, if a leisurely, Paris-style lunch isn’t in the cards.

Photo courtesy of Ogawa

Address: 7223 NW 2nd Ave., Miami
Estimated opening: November
By next year Miami should have more omakase spots than Tokyo, and this new spot in Little River is definitely doing its part. The new restaurant comes to us from Alvaro Perez Miranda, the art dealer behind much acclaimed Hayakawa and Wabi Sabi. The 12-seater will have its fish flown in from the Toyosu fish market in Japan, then Master Chef Masayuki Komatsu will select seasonal ingredients to rotate through the menu. You’ll wash it down with Suntory Whiskey and, more importantly, the East Coast’s only outpost for Suntory’s Premium Malts Beer.

Photo courtesy of Rum Room

Rum Room

Address: 2100 Washington Ave., Miami Beach
Estimated opening: November
Miami Beach history buffs should circle November on their calendars, as the oldest public building in the city reopens with a sexy new restaurant. The old Carl Fisher Clubhouse near the Convention Center will transform into the Rum Room, where 1910’s Miami meets modern cuisine. Executive chef Samantha Cruz will collaborate with various local chefs for ever-changing menus. And the 2,200 square foot restaurant and bar will accompany a 3,300 square foot event space which, among other things, will offer guests the chance to dine al fresco on a sprawling sun-soaked patio.

Photo courtesy of Puttshack

Address: 701 S Miami Ave., Miami
Estimated opening: Now open
Mini golf ain’t the old putt-putt windmill course you remember from family vacations to the Panhandle. It’s gone seriously high tech now, which you’ll learn as soon as you step into the neon-and-blacklight wonderland of Puttshack. Imagine TopGolf for putting, and you’re not far off, as this 29,000 square foot facility will boast three nine-hole courses along two levels of Brickell City Center. Of course, it wouldn’t be an upscale entertainment venue without first-rate food and plenty of drinks. And you’ll also be able to rent out event space for corporate retreats and other private celebrations.

Photo courtesy of Beauty and the Butcher

Beauty and the Butcher

Address: 6915 Red Road, Coral Gables
Estimated opening: Fall
Fresh off his Michelin star at Stubborn Seed, Jeremy Ford is absconding to the suburbs to bring his creations to the old Public Square space across from Sunset Place. The name might sound like a strange mashup of Disney animation and Sweeny Todd, but it is in fact a nod to Ford’s daughter Madelynn, to whom the restaurant is dedicated along with her sisters. No word yet on what the menu will look like, but if it’s anything like Stubborn Seed, south Coral Gables is in for a treat.

Photo courtesy of Aba

Address: Bal Harbour Shops, Bal Harbour
Estimated opening: Fall
The year-long rush of Israeli and Middle Eastern restaurants opening in Miami seems to be reaching its crest, and they’ve saved one of the best ones for last. Aba comes to us from Top Chef alum CJ Jacobson, who’s created a menu of flavors spanning Israel, Turkey, Lebanon, and Greece. You’ll see some different stuff on Aba’s menu, though, dishes like carrot and sunflower dip and shawarma-spiced skirt steak with black garlic mushroom make Jacbson’s creations stand out. The massive space will house over 240 seats, spread throughout the main dining room, covered patio, mezzanine bar, and terrace.

Address: 2217 NW Miami Ct., Miami
Estimated opening: November
Brad Kilgore gets his groove back this fall, heading up the upcoming restaurant, MaryGold's, in Wynwood’s first full-service hotel. Kilgore’s new kitchen will sit on the ground floor, serving what is described as “robust, flavorful, Floridian-inspired brasserie” food, which we can only assume means Alligator Frites and Identity Theft Nicoise. The restaurant’s cocktails will come to us from the Bar Lab team, too, and with that kind of all-star lineup we don’t really need any details to know it’s gonna be killer.

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Matt Meltzer is a Miami-based contributor for Thrillist.