10 New Venues in Miami/South Florida for Summer Entertaining and Events

The Diplomat Beach Resort, the 1,000-room oceanfront resort in Hollywood, unveiled a slate of new food and beverage spots this spring as part of a $100 million renovation. New to the property are: Point Royal, a coastal American concept from chef Geoffrey Zakarian; Monkitail, an izakaya eatery from chef Michael Schulson; Diplomat Prime, a 1950s-inspired steak house; Playa, a beachfront restaurant and bar with Latin cuisine; Portico Beer & Wine Garden, with views of the Intercoastal Waterway; and five other concepts offering casual fare, desserts, cocktails, and more. Diplomat Prime, Monkitail, and Point Royal all offer private dining. The property, part of Curio Collection by Hilton, has redesigned its guest rooms and added other upgrades, including new poolside cabanas designed by fashion designer Trina Turk. Overall, the resort has 209,000 square feet of meeting and function space.

More than five years after its groundbreaking, the $305 million Phillip and Patricia Frost Museum of Science opened in May in Downtown Miami’s Museum Park. The new 250,000-square-foot location, which is seeking LEED certification, can hold events in several of its indoor and outdoor spaces. The centerpiece is a three-level aquarium with a dramatic 30-foot oculus lens. Each level of the aquarium can be rented separately or used together. Other spaces include a 250-seat planetarium, a “living roof” with two terraces planted with native vegetation and urban gardens, a conference suite, an outdoor plaza, and multiple galleries. Entire museum buyouts also are available.

Following a renovation of the historic Surf Club, the Four Seasons Hotel at the Surf Club, opened in March in the North Beaches area of Miami Beach. Originally designed by Russell T. Pancoast, the new iteration features three additional buildings from architect Richard Meier and interiors from Parisian architect Joseph Dirand. The luxury property has 77 guest rooms and three pools, a 15,000-square-foot spa, and Le Sirenuse Restaurant and Champagne Bar, which is the first location of the restaurant to open outside of its home in Positano, Italy. The property also includes a 900-foot stretch of beach and nine acres of landscaped seaside gardens.

The upscale move theater CMX opened in Brickell City Centre in April and is available for corporate event rental. The first U.S. location from parent company Cinemex offers oversize upholstered reclining seats with personal storage compartments and an LED light. The complex includes 10 theaters covering a total of 35,759 square feet, along with a lounge and bar. Its theaters tout audiovisual technology from Meyer Sound Laboratories, and one of the rooms is equipped with Dolby Atmos technology. There is in-seat dining from servers it calls “ninjas” for their stealth service. Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises helped develop the menu, which includes items such as Cuban egg rolls, fresh tuna crudo, and margherita pizza.

A new spa at the Ritz-Carlton, South Beach, opened in March. The 16,000-square-foot space includes 14 treatment rooms, relaxation pods with zero-gravity chairs, men’s and women’s locker rooms, a fitness center with Technogym equipment, and more. Destination-specific treatments include the Rhythm Massage, which is set to the rhythms of salsa, flamenco, and Spanish guitar and incorporates mojito—or piña colada-scented—oils.

River Yacht Club debuted a new culinary concept, the Japanese restaurant Dashi, in March. The standalone venue within the yacht club seats 80 and features an interior design that mixes Japanese style with the club’s nautical concept. Menu items include ocean scallops served with Russian osetra caviar and yuzu, spicy seafood udon, and sushi and sashimi. Its bar includes a selection of Japanese whiskeys and sakes along with specialty cocktails. Overall, the venue can hold 2,000 guests for a reception-style event or seat 800 throughout its outdoor and indoor spaces.

Lightkeepers, a new restaurant at the Ritz-Carlton Key Biscayne, Miami, opened in March. Named after the people who maintained Florida’s lighthouses in the 1800s, the eatery serves locally sourced coastal cuisine. The dining room features an open kitchen, a raw bar, cream-colored leather booths, and wood tables with brass trim. Several dishes are prepared in a Josper, a charcoal oven imported from Spain, including whole branzino and a petit filet. The main dining area seats 75 guests or can be split into two sections that each seat 35. There is also a back dining area that seats 55.

Recording artists Emilio and Gloria Estefan in March opened their latest restaurant, a fine-dining Cuban concept called Estefan Kitchen, in Miami's Design District. Featuring live music and servers and bartenders who perform, the eatery serves its take on Cuban classics such as empanadas, vaca frita, and paella. Interiors from Michele Gonzalez-Vidal of V3 Architectural Group are intended to evoke 1950s Havana, including Art Deco touches. The space seats 200 and includes a dining room as well as an outdoor bar and café.

The restaurant chain City Works opened a location in the Miami-Dade county city of Doral in March, boasting a selection of some 90 craft beers. Its elevated bar food includes dishes such as duck confit nachos and smoked barbecue ribs. The 8,000-square-foot space includes a private dining room that seats 16 or holds 20 for receptions; the main dining room holds 60 for receptions. Outdoor dining is available on a patio. Amenities include audiovisual equipment such as 16 65-inch HDTVs.

Combining nautical design and a tribute to Colonial America, the craft cocktail bar Nancy opened in Little Havana in April. The bar was named after a Colonial-era supply ship in the spice trade in the Caribbean, and features an oversize Betsy Ross American flag on its back wall. It’s equipped to accommodate live music and has audiovisual equipment that includes a movie screen with a digital projector. For buyouts, the venue can hold 250 guests; for smaller events, it has a semiprivate V.I.P. Captain’s Quarters space.