Here's a look at the best new and renovated venues in Miami/South Florida such as corporate event venues, party rooms, conference centers, restaurants with private rooms, unique venues, and more. These event and meeting spaces can accommodate groups large or small for winter entertaining including holiday parties, business dinners, cocktail parties, conferences, and private and corporate events.
Located in Royal Poinciana Plaza in Palm Beach, Del Frisco's Grille opened in late September. Executive chef Anthony Fusco's menu includes dishes such as kale and Brussels sprouts salad, pulled pork empanadas, plantain-crusted grouper, and prime steaks. The interior design from Glidden Spina & Partners features communal tables and an exhibition kitchen. A rich plum dominates the color palette with shades of the sunset—orange, red, and amber—used as accents. The 7,900-square-foot restaurant seats 218 and has two private dining rooms that can be used separately for 14 guests or combined for 26 guests.
Las Vegas nightclub veterans Cy Waits and Cory McCormack are importing their high-end vision with Adoré Nightclub in Miami Beach. The Collins Avenue club, set to debut in December for Art Basel, is 12,000 square feet and can hold about 1,000 on its two levels. The interiors, described as a forgotten cathedral, will have a candle-bedecked bar, engraved antique mirrors, and booths encircling the dance floor. The audiovisual equipment will provide a modern contrast, with a floor-to-ceiling LED display and a 3-D LED sphere described as a 21st-century disco ball. The club will have a Funktion One sound system and lighting and video design from SJ Lighting.
Hotel Victor South Beach finished an $8 million renovation in September that included new guest rooms and oceanfront suites, a refurbished outdoor pool and cabana area, and new boardrooms with full projector screens. Early next year, Sushi Mikasa plans to open a restaurant in the hotel. The boutique property sought a "beach house" vibe from designers Yabu Pushelberg, which also created a new modern lobby for the hotel. Another major change for the property has just started: The hotel's owners recently purchased the Versace Mansion next door with plans of relaunching it as a boutique hotel that would be an extension of Hotel Victor.
California-style garden property Sonoma House, formerly Ellenville Green Market, is now a private event and catering venue. Located near Mizner Park, the one-acre property hosts events for as many as 350 guests and features a vine-clad gazebo and other architectural features. Restaurateur Dennis Max created the catering menus in the spirit of his restaurants, Max's Grille and Max's Harvest.
The Inn on Fifth in Naples is opening a new restaurant, Avenue5, in the former McCabe’s Irish Pub space following a $2 million renovation designed by Jeffrey Beers International. The 7,000-square-foot restaurant will have a "vintage glam" vibe and seat 240 guests in the dining room and offer a bar and private dining area. It is expected to open in December.
Cool de Sac, the chain of children's entertainment centers, opened a 9,000-square-foot facility in September at the Village at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach. The family-friendly venue offers activities for children from toddlers to tweens arrayed around a central dining area. The venue offers event packages for 50 children plus parents, and the entire venue holds 472.
Celebrating local and sustainable food, Area 31 opened in downtown Miami in late September following a revamp of the space, chef, and menus. The restaurant seats 68 indoors and 60 on the terrace and accommodates 166 people indoors and 150 outside for receptions. Area 31 is named after the United Nations-designated sustainable fishing area, including the lower Atlantic, which can be viewed from the restaurant's 16th floor terrace.
Lippi, a Mediterranean-influenced restaurant, opened in September. The dining room seats 102 and has a 16-seat bar and 92-seat terrace that can be sectioned off for semiprivate events. With more than 100 small dishes on its menu, the restaurant encourages sharing of its ceviches, pastas, and grilled meats.
Michael Mina 74, an American bistro, is opening in November in the main lobby of Fontainebleau Miami Beach. Design firm AvroKO is creating the space, which will shift from a dining concept to a lounge as the evening progresses. The bar will seat 18, the dining room will seat 164, and a private dining room will seat 12.
The famed European steak house has opened a Miami outpost in Brickell, L'Entrecote de Paris, following its New York expansion a few years ago. The concept offers a fixed menu of salad, shoestring fries, and steak served with a 21-ingredient steak sauce. A bar menu has house-made quiches, a cheese platter, and pâtés. Opened in September, the brasserie-style restaurant seats 203 and has a 76-seat terrace.
