The Leftovers Awards 2025: The Winners
Miami ate. Miami drank. Here’s what won.
Miami had a year. Openings that over delivered. Closings that hurt. Plenty of meals we will not bring up again. For the first Leftovers Awards, we handed it to subscribers. You voted. We debated. Reader votes counted for 70% of the final results, and our editors handled the remaining 30%.
The winners cover seven different categories in Miami dining, from the restaurant worth crossing the causeway for to the neighborhood spot you keep returning to. Here are the 2025 Leftovers Awards winners.
Most Instagrammable: Amazónico
Amazónico is the rare place that looks better than it photographs, three floors of rainforest fantasy in the middle of Brickell. Between the lounge energy, rooftop skyline views, and jungle-glass cocktails, it has stayed in Miami’s feed since day one. @amazonico.mia // 800 Brickell Ave., Brickell
Bar of the Year: Panamericano
Panamericano nails the balance Miami usually misses, serious cocktails with a little theater — without turning the whole night into a gimmick. The menu travels the Americas, and the doorbell entry keeps it feeling like a little mysterious even if you’ve been before. @panamericanobar // 900 S. Miami Ave., Second Floor, Brickell
Best Hidden Gem: Taco Time & More
Taco Time and More sits in the back of a Sweetwater strip mall, family-run by Isa and Chris Flores, and worth the detour. Crispy carnitas, birria with spicy consommé, and the pressed South Beach Burrito keep it in repeat rotation. @tacotimeandmore // 10314 W. Flagler St., Sweetwater
Best Neighborhood Restaurant: The Grape Ape
The Grape Ape fills a gap South Miami has needed for years, a wine-driven neighborhood spot you can hit up on a random Tuesday and not blow your bank account. Giorgio Rapicavoli’s food menu keeps it dinner-worthy and a spot nice enough to impress friends, and the wine list is priced to encourage a second glass. @thegrapeapemiami // 7400 SW 57th Ct., South Miami
Saddest Closure: Sugarcane
Sugarcane helped put Midtown on the dining map in the early 2010s, then became the default reservation for big groups and easy wins for dinners with out-of-towners. It also launched Timon Balloo, so the loss felt personal for a lot of Miami.
Chef of the Year: Jeffrey Budnechky, Apocalypse BBQ
Jeffrey Budnechky turned a pandemic-era 22-inch Weber into a Kendall barbecue operation people plan their weekends around. In 2025, Apocalypse leveled up again, expanding its BBQ footprint and making LaLa’s Burgers permanent after its pop-up run. @apocalypsebbq // 8695 SW 124th Ave., Miami
Restaurant of the Year: Las’ Lap
Las’ Lap delivered what South Beach so often promises and fails to follow through on: a restaurant people actually want to return to. With Kwame Onwuachi overseeing the kitchen, the escovitch crab claws, oxtail Cuban, charred dorade, and a rum program built for a long night make it the full package. @laslapmiami // The Daydrift Hotel, 2216 Park Ave., Miami Beach