Here's a look at the best new Miami/South Florida restaurants, corporate event venues, hotels, conference centers, and private and party rooms to open for events this summer. These new and renovated Miami/South Florida venues can accommodate groups large or small for private and corporate events, conferences, meetings, weddings, business dinners, teambuilding activities, cocktail parties, and more.
Chef Michelle Bernstein has opened a new restaurant in her former, beloved Michy’s space. CENA by Michy debuted in early May after a renovation that included literally raising the roof as well as moving the bar to the front of the restaurant. The exposed wooden beams, terrazzo floors, and a white color palette give the restaurant a rustic look. The interior seats 62, and another 62 can be seated on the back patio. The Mediterranean cuisine features dishes such as sweetbread tacos, roasted sunchokes with smoked almonds, and snapper Moqueca.
The Boca Raton Resort & Club, A Waldorf Astoria Resort, debuted a $30 million renovation of its historic Cloister building in November. The design from Richmond International of London drew inspiration from the building’s Spanish Colonial/Mediterranean style and incorporates materials such as rattan, mahogany, and leather in the 318 rooms and suites. The renovation is part of an extensive improvement plan that began in 2013 and upgraded the resort’s restaurants, lobby, common spaces, pool, and health club.
Kuro, a Japanese restaurant, debuted at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in March. The restaurant features an open dining room overlooking the resort’s pool, as well as a chef’s table, a sushi bar, two private dining rooms, and outside seating. The entire venue seats 240. David Mexico Design Group designed the space, which includes an entrance wall comprised of 100,000 sea shells, and chandeliers that resemble floating jellyfish.
The 235-room Aloft South Beach from Starwood opened in late May. The converted 1950s-era Art Deco motel on Collins Avenue preserves the building’s distinctive exterior architectural elements while updating the interior for modern needs. The property has 1,500 square feet of indoor meeting space as well as 5,000 feet of outdoor event space split between the ground-floor Splash pool deck and the third-floor Plunge pool deck. The hotel’s restaurant, Continental Miami, is the first Florida outpost of the Continental concept from Starr Restaurants. Guests can also gather at the W Xyz bar and Re:mix lounge.
Turnberry Isle Miami welcomed a new restaurant, Corsair by Scott Conant, in March. The menu features rustic Mediterranean dishes such as house-made pastas as well as grilled octopus, balsamic lacquered duck, and bar snacks like oyster and a chicken liver and foie gras pâté. The 5,400-square-foot space, designed by New York-based Meyer Davis Studio, includes the signature design element in its arrivals space: an illuminated wine display. Other design features include Moroccan tiles, tufted banquettes, an open kitchen, and a living-room style lounge complete with its own library. The main dining room seats 100; a private dining room separated by translucent glass sliding doors has both indoor and outdoor space and seats 38. Outside, a 1,400 square-foot terrace has custom outdoor furniture and offers views of the golf course and a newly refinished waterfall feature.
Naples Grande Beach Resort, an independent property following a conversion from Waldorf-Astoria Naples, finished an $18 million renovation in January that redesigned its 424 tower guestrooms and suites, three restaurants, beach and pool areas, and common spaces. The property, which also has 83,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor function space, was designed with a “coastal contemporary” vibe. Now the resort is undertaking a renovation of its golf course, which will include building a new, 13,500-square-foot clubhouse that is expected to be finished in early 2016.
The Peruvian restaurant Coya—already established in London—opened its first United States location in Brickell in February. The main dining room features Incan-inspired design as well as a central ceviche counter and Robata grill that nod to the Japanese influences on the country’s cuisine. The space also has a terrace landscaped with oversize plants. In addition to the restaurant, the venue also includes a Pisco bar, a members-only lounge, and a gallery of art called the Coya Collective.
Domino, a 10,000-square-foot barge, is newly available as an event space from Delta Powerboats Americas. The three-story glass and steel enclosed barge comes with a full kitchen, bathrooms, V.I.P. lounges, a bar, conference rooms, a theater room, and balconies. It can hold 221 people for reception-style events, and can be docked or can sit out on the water.
New to downtown Miami this summer is the 126-guest room Langford Hotel, a boutique property preparing to open soon. The 12-story property—once the Miami National Bank building—has been designated a historic landmark by the National Register of Historic Places. After a renovation, the hotel will include a new restaurant, PB Station, by the popular Pubbelly Restaurant Group, as well as a rooftop lounge called Pawn Broker that will hold 150 for receptions. There also will be a two-story, 1,400-square-foot penthouse.
Soho Bay—a Brazil-based chain of Japanese restaurants—opened in Miami Beach in April. The 180-seat restaurant has floor-to-ceiling glass windows that offer views of the Intracoastal Waterway. Outdoor dining on a patio is available. The menu focuses on sushi and sashimi, with a bar program featuring several varieties of sake and cocktails made with molecular science techniques.
