A guide to Brickell's best restaurants, from glam rooftops to waterfront gems

Zeru demonstrates the Spaniards’ unrivaled ability to elevate simple ingredients and transform them into very special dishes. The concept arrives via Mexico City, and here, corporate chef and partner Israel Aretxiga tapped the inventive and talented Gabriela Guitrón Ramírez to run the kitchen in a very chic space at the bottom of the AKA Hotel. In a city where Spanish food is plentiful, Zeru stands out, both with dishes you’ve seen before, like the Galician octopus, and those that will be entirely new, including a truly mind-blowing manchego cheese fondant.

Technically, La Mar’s head chef is Peru’s famed Gastón Acurio, but the guy actually cooking day-to-day back there is the talented Diego Oka, who’s constantly experimenting with new recipes. For sure, order the ceviche, done up in semi-traditional and quite original ways, plated with the precision of a gallery artist. From there, Peruvian classics like lomo saltado and chaufa get remastered with new ingredients, right down to anticucheros (that’s often beef hearts, mind you) made of grilled vegetables. All this gets served up in a dining room and outdoor patio with Miami’s best skyline view, the waters of Biscayne Bay lapping up just right there.

Chef Aaron Brooks’ seasonally driven, farm-to-table menu is filled with dishes made from ingredients he sources locally and spices with herbs grown in the restaurant’s garden. In keeping with the wholesome vibe, Edge serves lightened-up versions of various meat dishes available on the menu, focusing on smaller cuts and veggie sides. On Fridays, nine-to-fivers in the Brickell area flock to the outdoor patio for drinks in the beautiful garden.

Enjoy sophisticated Niçoise cuisine at this upscale French import. Despite the white tablecloths and double-digit price tags, LPM is warm, welcoming and surprisingly low-key. It's true that the restaurant caters to more refined palates, but it's also a haven for potato lovers. Case in point: There are fries and then there are the pomme frites served at LPM. Soaked, baked and fried, the labor-intensive spuds take hours to make, and it shows through in taste and texture.

This financial district stalwart has survived recessions and land acquisitions, satiating the local business crowd with the freshest oysters around since 2003. The River Oyster Bar’s sleek, contemporary space is as timeless as its classic seafood menu, featuring staples like crab cakes, whole roasted fish and Florida lobster. Few Miami specials beat the daily happy hour: half-priced oysters, bar snacks like duck tacos and lamb meatballs and deals on drinks every day from 4:30 to 7pm.

Osaka, the internationally renowned eatery from Lima, makes it obvious why there’s such an appetite locally for Nikkei cuisine, the Peruvian-Japanese trend. Its approachable up-market dining room has something to do with it, but mostly it's an exhaustive menu that runs the gamut from strictly sushi and seafood to traditional anticuchos and coal-fired meats dressed in spicy pepper sauces.

Major Food Group brings the joie de vivre to Brickell with its supper club steakhouse. There are several rooms, each one strewn with various animal prints and more vibey than the next. As is true of most (if not all) of the MFG restaurants, Dirty French delivers on more than ambiance with a menu of well-executed French classics like duck à l'orange and fresh innovations, including giant grilled oysters bourguignon and a mushroom millefeuille. The steady soundtrack of throwback hits and top-notch bar program conspire to keep you dancing in your seat all night long.

Okeydokey occupies a can’t-miss spot on the western edge of Brickell, its sideways “OK” sign like a beacon on the 15,000-square-foot, three-story building. Inside, the concept feels familiar, food-hall-ish, but here there’s an option for table service from the six food vendors, and a DJ booth upstairs turns the scene into more of a party. As far as the food, highlights include pizzas and pasta from Dal Plin and pretty much everything from Jaffa, like the shakshuka and cauliflower. Early in the night, it’s ideal for a night out with the kids, while later it’ll feel less like a food hall and very much like a night out. 

New York export Sushi by Bou is like omakase for those in a hurry, serving up some of the freshest and most creative cuts of fish in town in less time than it’ll probably take you to get here. The options are a 30- or 60-minute meal, with as many as 17 courses, ranging from $60 to $100. It all happens in a handsome space with just 12 seats at the sushi counter and a lounge-y area next to it for those waiting their turn. It’ll often feel rushed, but those who seriously dig on sushi, and don’t have a lot of time, will find pure joy in the blowtorch-heavy sushi prep. 

Novikov is a total scene in the way that only a trendy Miami restaurant can be. But don’t let the beautiful crowd keep you from Novikov’s sushi—it’s as good as the people-watching. A must for birthdays and celebrations, Novikov scores high both in the food and atmosphere categories. Zero in on the Pekin duck and any of the assorted dim-sum options.

Stanzione 87 is all about traditional Neapolitan pizza, so expect fresh mozzarella on top of dough that has that classic balance between soft doughiness and structure. Each crispy pie is topped judiciously with house-made sauce and fresh toppings and beckons pizza lovers far and wide.

Hong Kong expat Hutong shows off its culinary prowess with a Peking duck that takes 24 hours to make, carved tableside and served two ways. The rest of the northern Chinese menu includes seafood items from Shanghai, a variety of noodles and rice dishes and plenty of dim sum to snack on and share with the table. Pricey Asian fare is common in Brickell, but Hutong attracts a crowd that’s more focused on the food and ambiance than the scene. Although to be fair, brunch at Hutong is both a study in upscale dim sum and a place to show off that new outfit in a room full of people also showing off that new outfit.

If the crisp-like-a-saltine crust of Lucali is your thing—and for many people, it defines good pizza—then the good news is that there’s a clone pie being put out here in Brickell. Dominic Cavagnuolo, one of the guys behind Lucali Miami, is the boss here too and made sure everything learned back from the original Brooklyn Lucali was duplicated in Brickell, right down to the big handfuls of basil that end up in a clump on the cheese pizza.

Marion’s party atmosphere picks up as the night goes on and the lights dim, so choose your own adventure: Arrive on the earlier side for shareable potions of ribeye steak, miso ginger chicken and other Asian-fusion dishes, or stroll in late for table dancing, craft cocktails and the occasional live saxophonist or flutist. Yep, that still happens.

The fine-dining chain Casa Tua, with its big-bucks restaurant on South Beach, operates a concept in Brickell City Centre that feels more like a food hall, with stations serving pasta, pizza and charcuterie. Ask for a seat in front of the pizzaiolos and you can watch the quite excellent pies get well charred in just a few seconds.

With a Michelin star already for his D.C. restaurant, perhaps it comes as little surprise to his fans that chef Juan Manuel Barrientos also earned one for his spot in Brickell. The Colombian-born Barrientos combines the fresh ingredients of farm-to-table with molecular gastronomy and some of the prettiest, and most expensive, plates in Miami.

If it’s buttered, baked or toasted, you’ll find it at Henry Hané’s popular Brickell spot. Portable sweets include verrines, like delicate dessert parfaits, and pastries that range from assorted croissants to a gooey Nutella brioche. This is the place where beautiful tarts topped with berries and other fresh fruit taste as good as they look.

Nightlife impresario David Grutman is behind this Brickell hotspot, which features a menu filled with traditional Chinese dishes such as dim sum and Peking duck that hang by the entrance. Weekday happy hour brings the opportunity to try some more innovative options, like the pastrami egg roll, as well as discounted cocktails.

This swanky, Mexico City import is your Brickell destination for stellar margaritas and the kind of traditional composed dishes you won’t find elsewhere in Miami. Cantina's carnitas are flawless, the soft-shell crab taco served in a shooter is craveable and the house-made corn tortillas are the freshest in town.

From the creators of Uruguay’s famed Parador La Huella comes Quinto, featuring South American classics cooked over an open flame. Many of its offerings are made using a parrilla, a Latin American grill traditionally used to cook meat, fish and vegetables. Signature plates include grilled provolone cheese, sweetbreads, steak milanese and squid ink rice.

It reportedly cost $20 million to dress up Sexy Fish in untold pieces of glass sea creatures, flying dramatically over an aquarium-styled dining room and splaying out in mega-colorful bathrooms. You could spend a year, or at least the better part of a lively happy hour, studying over purple octopi and bedazzled blue marlin. The dishes created by Michelin-starred chef Björn Weissgerber are similarly styled, full of greens and fried things rising up like pieces of art above mostly seafood-centric plates. Throughout it all, you’ll be both overwhelmed and not sure where to look next, but you will not leave thinking they understated any one thing at Sexy Fish.

The Pubbelly boys put a fresh spin on sushi at their foray into Japanese cuisine. Pubbelly’s gastropub pedigree means you’ll find heartier fare here too, although, still, you should not skip dipping the crab roll into drawn butter. Chef/co-owner José Mendín introduces unexpected ingredients and Latin flavors to create inventive rolls you won’t find anywhere else.

This glittering supper club pairs its delectable Asian fare with tableside cabaret-style performances and notable DJ sets. El Tucan is a scene but the entertainment at this sparkler-fueled party are always a blast.

Marabú dips into the city's Cuban heritage with a menu headlined by items cooked over charcoal. Grab a Havana-inspired drink and a Cubano with pit-roasted ham at the outdoor pergola or the expansive bar inside.