While you were off globetrotting on holiday vacation (or plopped comfortably in front of your TV, dodging your family), Michael Schwartz was toiling away on his new restaurant. His efforts paid off because Amara at Paraiso, the latest project from the James Beard Award-winning chef (which we told you about last summer), is finally opening for business this Thursday.
The waterfront restaurant in Miami’s Edgewater neighborhood is Schwartz’s most ambitious project to date—the prolific chef/businessman, whose portfolio of restaurants includes Fi’lia, Michael’s Genuine and a local chain of pizzerias, oversaw buildout of the 4,500-square-foot, indoor-outdoor space alongside his team and the Related Group developers.
Billed as a “love letter to Miami,” which is chef talk for food that highlights local flavors and indigenous ingredients, and celebrates the city’s melting pot of cultures, Amara’s menu is sectioned by plate size (snacks, small, medium and large) and dishes that come from its fancy Josper charcoal oven, which are served with one of six “Amara mother sauces.” Some highlights include a snack-size grilled flatbread, a grilled beef short rib and a banana-leaf-wrapped cobia. While executive chef Michael Play is in charge of food at Amara, assistant GM Maria Pottage helms the 305-inspired bar program: a rum-heavy, Latin-influenced offering with shaken cocktails, punch bowls and bottled drinks.
Though Amara’s biggest draw remains its bayfront location with deck seating as well as indoor tables with views of Biscayne Bay from behind massive floor-to-ceiling windows—for those who prefer to keep a safe distance from nature.
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