Super 7: South Florida's Best New Restaurants of Spring
Meat is so back.
The best new restaurants in Miami run the gamut from a 1930s-inspired steakhouse in Bal Harbour to a fried chicken sandwich shop in Coral Gables.
Fooq’s
The original Fooq’s was an eleven-table nook near Club Space downtown, a genuine “if you know you know” spot that shuttered in 2021 and spent five years away. It came back in January in a very different form: a 14,000-square-foot former warehouse in Little River with three-story ceilings, a custom wood-fire grill, and a Persian-influenced American menu. Roel Alcudia, who ran kitchens like Mandolin and The Cypress Room back in the day (the OG’s know), just joined as Culinary Director with a brand new menu. Seems like if you haven’t been yet, there’s no better time to check it out
Pro Tip: The $95 Fooq’s Feast is the move for groups – shared dishes across the menu, and you come out well under the à la carte average.
@fooqsmiami // 150 NW 73rd St., Little River
Slim’s Steakhouse
Stephen Starr named his Bal Harbour steakhouse after the nickname Lauren Bacall’s character carries in To Have and Have Not, and inside Slim’s, that reference feels right with a space filled with checkered marble floors, brass fixtures, plush banquettes, and walls covered in murals by New Yorker illustrator Christoph Niemann. It opened in March in the original Makoto space at Bal Harbour Shops. Start with the pigs in a blanket, and the crab stuffed avocado, where they fill a half with crab salad, press it back together, and coat the outside so it arrives looking like an intact whole avocado. Steaks naturally are the star of the menu, and worth the order, alongside the Chinese Chicken salad on the lunch menu. The $100 cheesesteak, wagyu with black truffle, foie gras, and fried onions, is big enough to share and as ridiculous as it sounds.
Pro Tip: Martini lovers will have a great time here, with a whole menu dedicated to the boozy libation.
@slimsbalharbour // Bal Harbour Shops, 9700 Collins Ave., Bal Harbour
KARYU
KARYU is the U.S. debut of Tokyo’s Michelin-starred Oniku Karyu, a ten-seat omakase counter in the Design District serving wagyu-dedicated menu – think omakase, but with wagyu instead of sushi. Sushi omakase usually leaves me searching for a snack afterward; the meat course has always been my favorite part of any meal, and at KARYU, it is the entire point. The famous Beef Cutlet Sandwich made its way over from Japan with Kobe tenderloin breaded, fried, and tucked into toasted milk bread with sauce oozing from each side, is the most fun course on the menu; the Sukiyaki that closes the savory portion comes with a raw egg yolk you mix yourself at the table.
Pro Tip: Book well in advance. Only ten seats, two seatings a night.
@karyu_mia // 40 NE 41st St., Miami Design District
Fuku
You’d think the combination of a celebrity chef and a chicken sandwich would result in an exponential factor of overhype. But Fuku, David Chang’s fast casual chicken joint, gives Miracle Mile something it badly needed: An affordable, high quality, delicious lunch spot. The signature sandwich comes in at well under $15, a spicy-sweet fried chicken masterpiece that uses chicken breast for a leaner, higher-quality sandwich. Lines move quickly, the décor is a fun blend of Miami-themed apocalyptic anime, and you can easily be out the door with cross-cut fries and a drink for under $20.
Pro tip: Try the chicken smashburger. It’s all the smashburger flavors you love, without the onslaught of grease.
@fuku // 135 Miracle Mile, Coral Gables
La Traila Barbecue
When restaurants close and say they’ll be “reopening soon in a new location,” it’s about as promising as that friend who has a kid and swears they’ll still come out. La Traila is the odd spot that’s delivered on that promise, and boy are we grateful it did. Mel Rodriguez’s pit mastery continues in this full-service spot near Sunset Place, where he’s added a list of Latin-inspired items like smoked brisket empanadas and smoked beef cheek tostadas to his lineup of meats. The brisket and turkey are still the standouts, and the smoked brisket mac and cheese will ruin you on anything from a steakhouse.
Pro tip: Take a few minutes to watch the assistant pitmasters do their thing at the trailer-sized outdoor smokers. Just be prepared to change your clothes if you stand there too long.
@latrailabarbecue // 5840 SW 71st St., South Miami
Seahawk Prime
I like to think David Burke planned to name his new West Palm Beach steakhouse after whoever won the Super Bowl. And thank GOD Seattle did, because could you imagine how intolerable a place called “Patriot Prime” would have been? Colorful naming aside, Seahawk Prime is this spring’s champion of new restaurants, where Burke’s creativity is on full display in dishes like octopus with chorizo and black linguini, lobster dumplings with tomato miso, and the dry-aged beef burger on an English muffin. That’s not even getting into the big menu of pink salt aged-steaks, which you can top with everything from mozzarella ravioli to Alaskan king crab.
Pro tip: Arrive early and grab a drink at the outdoor bar. The view over the Intracoastal will calm you down from the shlep you just endured to get here.
@seahawkprimebydb // 220 Lake Shore Drive, Lake Park
Gangnam
Gangnam, for those who thought it was just a style, is the affluent, densely-populated area of Seoul known for its pretty people and abundance of yoga studios. Sound familiar? That’s why this authentic Korean spot feels right at home in Brickell, though it feels like a neighborhood strip mall restaurant - in the best possible ways. The menu is strict Korean classics: Bibimbap bowls, bulgogi steaks, kimchi, and a homemade gochujang sauce, though the Japche noodles and La Galbi beef ribs are worth branching out for.
Pro tip: Go around 8 pm and you’ll find tables of Koreans packing the place. See what they’re getting and order the same.
@gangnamkfood // 35 SE 6th St, Brickell