A Spring Awakening of Outdoor Dining and Lighter Fare

Just in time for spring celebrations, the Sunday brunch buffet is back at The Deck at Island Gardens (786.627.4949), located at 888 MacArthur Causeway on Watson Island in Miami.

The Deck is Miami’s most luxe yacht marina/outdoor lounge, and it’s a great place to make the scene and wine, dine and dance away an afternoon. Whether you arrive by sea or by land, once you’re there you’ll be mesmerized by the picturesque views of downtown Miami and Biscayne Bay – it’s one of the most breathtaking sunset views around.

Sunday brunch always finds a lively crowd enjoying a variety of stations for omelets, salads, cheese and charcuterie, as well as hot stations offering grilled skewers, paella and more. How does a truffle and pear pizza sound?

Indulge your desire for fruits de mer at the chilled seafood station; there you’ll find unlimited fresh oysters, shrimp, king crab, Maine lobster and the ceviche of the day. Satiate your craving for sweets at the dessert station with favorites such as chocolate nemesis and salted caramel mille-feuille. And those delish brunch cocktails we love? They include mimosas, Bellinis, Aperol spritzes, grapefruit spritzes, and white or red sangria.

The brunch features live music by rotating DJs, singers and bands all afternoon. Waterfront cabanas are available for a more private experience. As brunch winds down around 5 p.m., you’ll want to stay for those aforementioned sunset views with DJ Christophe Lacroix. Prices start at $75 per person, which includes one welcome mimosa or Bellini. The $135 per person package includes two hours of brunch cocktails, plus select wines and beer.

Abbalé Telavivian Kitchen (305.902.3477), from hospitality entrepreneurs Omer Horev and Sam Gorenstein, is tucked into a charming house at 864 Commerce St. in South Beach’s South of Fifth neighborhood. The restaurant’s name – Abbalé, the Hebrew word for father – honors their shared commitment to family and a shared goal that they would be “fathers” to this restaurant.

Gorenstein has been a successful chef in New York and Miami since he was in his early 20s and has two James Beard nominations under his belt. He grew up in Colombia eating the Syrian cuisine of his immigrant grandparents. His influence can be found in the Syrian and Latin flavors on the menu, while Horev’s Moroccan roots also inspired some of the dishes. Horev is known for growing Pura Vida Miami into a lifestyle brand over the last decade.

Hands down, there’s no location in Miami that feels more springlike than the restaurant’s lush outdoor bougainvillea bower, fitted with pillow-laden banquettes amid the warm breezes that waft over from nearby Biscayne Bay. The cozy café’s interior is also a flower-festooned extravaganza.

Everything is made in-house – from the arak cured salmon to the desserts. The spring menu is loaded with locally sourced vegetable and fish options, perfect for pescatarians, vegetarians and seekers of lighter options. Menu choices offer beautiful salads such as the Shuk Salad with heirloom tomatoes, Persian cucumber, radishes and Syrian olives. Mezze offerings are local fish ceviche with arak leche de tigre, grapefruit and avocado, and crunchy charred baby cauliflower with tamarind glaze and sumac. Fired meat choices include pan-roasted double-cut lamb chops and sumac-lemon chicken shashlik, a skewered meat dish.

House-made baklava with pistachio, walnuts and cardamom syrup is a dessert favorite, as is the lemon olive-oil cake with whipped labneh, pistachio and roasted strawberries.

Chef Michael Schwartz is at the helm at Amara at Paraiso (305.676.9495) at 3101 NE Seventh Ave. in Miami’s Edgewater neighborhood. Schwartz was recently named an outstanding chef semifinalist for the 2023 James Beard restaurant and chef awards. Nine Miami-based restaurants, bars and chefs made the cut – something our city can be proud of. Celebrate by booking lunch or dinner at this heavenly waterfront restaurant that offers amazing views across Biscayne Bay. Insider tip: Sunday afternoons usually rock with a hip, young crowd.

Amara at Paraiso’s concept is a blend of Latin American flavors meets South Florida’s diverse food influences. Seafood is the star of the menu, with a coastal raw bar offering fresh Florida stone crabs, Island Creek oysters, tuna carpaccio, grouper ceviche, chilled shrimp, and arepas and caviar.

Starters include spicy grilled prawns, charred octopus and scallops al ajillo. The fresh catch of the day is a local fish fillet with garlic mashed yuca. The Amara Feast is for sharing and features a whole local fish, seafood or meat parrilada from the wood grill. Save room for the dulce de leche flan with hazelnut praline or the Pavlova with coconut cream, rum pineapples and toasted coconut.

Openings

Italian restaurateur Luca d’Angelo recently opened Casa Bufala (305.397.8264) at 1874 Bay Rd. in South Beach’s Sunset Harbour neighborhood. D’Angelo was one of the founders of the area’s first Neapolitan pizzerias, the popular Fratelli La Bufala in Miami Beach. So you may think that the last thing Sunset Harbour needs is another pizzeria, but Casa Bufala expands the Fratelli La Bufala concept into a pizzeria plus trattoria with the addition of a sophisticated cocktail bar where bartenders stir up hand-crafted libations.

Outside seating in a breezeway decorated with lemon trees is reminiscent of the Amalfi Coast, with caressing breezes from the nearby bay floating through. Stepping inside the warm, welcoming atmosphere is like visiting nonna’s house.

The carefully curated menu showcases authentic Italian recipes from Naples, such as Fiori di Zucca – very lightly fried stuffed zucchini flowers with creamy lemon ricotta and aioli mint – and Vitello Tonnato, cold sliced veal with creamy tuna sauce and fried capers.

For Miami’s ultra-fabulous, the ultra-lush Queen Miami Beach, a Japanese steakhouse and lounge, recently launched in the former Paris Theater at 550 Washington Ave. in South Beach. Too cool to list a phone number, reservations must be booked at Reservations@QueenMiamiBeach.com. This famous landmark has an interesting history; it was featured on album covers and in videos by Madonna, Jennifer Lopez, U2 and Ricky Martin when South Beach was enjoying its resurgent, sizzling-hot heyday. Anyone who was anyone in the ’90s came here. Queen was created by the Mr. Hospitality team, which also runs downtown spot Marion near Mary Brickell Village.

Irene Moore is a Miami-based writer and certified sommelier whose vivid descriptions take readers through culinary cultures around the world. Her feature articles have appeared in print publications, travel guidebooks and websites in the U.S. and Europe.