10 New Miami/South Florida Venues for 2019 Summer Entertaining and Events

The Art Deco-meets-Mediterranean Revival Lennox Hotel Miami Beach unveils a $100 million renovation this summer. The Collins Avenue hotel’s conference room, the Patagonia Boardroom, is equipped with a Polycom Trio smart conference phone and EagleEye IV camera, and seats 12 people. The upgraded pool area and pergola-covered pool bar are suited for cocktail-driven events. In a nod to sustainability, the hotel’s 119 guest rooms feature upcycled furnishings and materials, Nosh Markt products, and William Roam vegan body care.

Virgin Trains USA (formerly Brightline), which connects Miami, Fort Lauderdale, and West Palm Beach, is now home to La Estación American Brasserie at its downtown Miami station. Juvia Group’s new full-service bistro is located within the Central Fare food hub. The 10,000-square-foot restaurant houses eight private dining rooms and seating spaces that can accommodate parties of as many as 200 people with a variety of group-dining level packages. The spaces include the chef’s table, the meeting-friendly Burgundy Room, and the kitchen-adjacent Red Room.

Myles Restaurant Group—the company behind South of Fifth staples such as Prime 112, Prime Fish, Prime Italian, and Prime Hotel—has opened Prime Private, a 6,000-square-foot private dining room and restaurant featuring dishes from each of its concepts. The interior boasts a 20-seat bar and 200-seat space, as well as audiovisual built-in screens and LCD projectors.

Rooftops are a hot commodity in South Florida, and Hotel Victor has introduced a renovated rooftop overlooking the world-famous Ocean Drive. The 2,350-square-foot rooftop terrace and bar is a convertible, tent-friendly deck that holds 150 guests. Overall, the hotel offers 4,000 square feet of outdoor event space.

Swarm Event Agency’s 18,000-square-foot GroWynwood presented by Cerveza Patagonia opened in April. The eco-conscious outdoor venue is visible streetside thanks to its music-festival style arch covering: There, shipping-containers have been converted into bars, performance spaces, and pop-ups. Behind the socially-centered arch is a gravel-paved backyard lounge area. Overall the venue can hold 500 for reception-style events. Its green initiatives include a Garnish Garden, tree planting partnerships, and on-site recycling bins.

Touted as a “mobility marketplace,” the Arsenale in the Miami Design District is part store and part collector’s gallery. If it has an engine and it moves, the venue sells and displays it: Boats, classic cars, decked out bikes, and even a few planes are on the floor for purchase. The showroom’s walls feature art devoted to all things movement or machine-driven. The Miami outpost is the concept’s first stateside foray, with sister shops in Paris, Dubai, and Macau. The venue holds about 200 people for reception-style events.

The new year brought a new look and feel to Solé Miami, a Noble House Resort in Sunny Isles. The renovation included a fresh lobby design, remapped pool area, updated rooms, and a new restaurant, BaleenKitchen. The 4,200-square-foot oceanfront eatery features indoor and outdoor dining with water views and an outdoor patio space. The restaurant sits just atop the meeting rooms and spaces, making for an easy transition for multi-space events. The property offers 6,500 square feet of indoor event space including a ballroom called the West Wing that measures 1,850 square feet and seats 130 guests for banquets or holds 150 for receptions.

Fort Lauderdale welcomed the Dalmar this spring. Part of Marriott International’s Tribute Portfolio, the trendy hotel carries five food and beverage concepts, including the city’s highest rooftop, Sparrow, on the 25th floor. Sparrow is backed by famed cocktail creators Death & Co, and provides both city and ocean views. The hotel has 14,000 square feet of total indoor and outdoor event space, with its 9,000 square feet of indoor event space on the fourth and fifth floors for groups of as many as 300 attendees. For wellness event seekers, the property also boasts an infinity pool, garden area, and the adjacent yoga studio Yoga Joint.

Michael Schwartz, the James Beard Award-winning chef-restaurateur and Miami food maestro, opened Tigertail & Mary in Coconut Grove in May. Arquitectonica and Meyer Davis Studio tapped into the Grove’s lush landscaping for design inspiration, using soft golds, blues, and neutrals in the dining room, where floor-to-ceiling windows open up to outdoor foliage. The restaurant offers seating for 120, including a bar area, private dining room, and covered patio.  The menu muses on vegetables that are grilled, charred, or plated fresh alongside hearty pastas and shareable plates, as well as cocktail creations by the award-winning BarLab team. A grab-and-go cafe is slated to open by this fall.

Development along the Miami River continues with the opening of Riverside later this summer. Situated on 5th Street and South Miami Avenue in Brickell, its footprint spans 120,000 square feet on an indoor and outdoor site and will feature restaurants, a Miami River Brewery taproom, open lounge spaces, and a beer garden. A main covered bar will anchor the venue while the food spots line the perimeter: Among the planned eateries are AWA, an Asian cuisine concept and new locations of Le Chick, Old Lisbon, and Morgan’s.