It’s been a delicious year for Miami, with new and old spots receiving wide recognition for their culinary offerings, like the Michelin Guide, World’s 50 Best Bars and more. And with just a couple of days left until 2024, the city’s restaurants are continuing to deliver. Esquire recently released its list of “The 50 Best New Restaurants in America” for 2023, and two Miami eateries made the cut.
The list was compiled by food writers Kevin Sintumuang, Jeff Gordinier, Joshua David Stein And Omar Mamoon. The group traveled across the nation over the past year, trying over 200 new dining establishments from coast to coast.
The best new restaurants include Italian standout Erba in Coral Gables and Maty’s, a Peruvian spot in Midtown — both of which opened this year. Read on to learn about each of the Miami inclusions, in no particular order:
Erba
A collaboration between Chef Niven Patel and Mohamed Alkassar, this Coral Gables restaurant is known for its bold interiors, ambient music and Italian fare. Well, the menu is their take on Italian food with a Florida twist, with dishes such as mafaldine with Bahamian conch instead of clams, and a tiramisu featuring a hint of tres leches. Just like his other restaurants, Patel picks ingredients from his Homestead farm, Rancho Patel.
📍 227 S Dixie Hwy, Coral Gables, FL 33133
Maty’s
Named after her grandmother, Maty, Chef Valerie Chang of Itamae pays homage to her Peruvian roots at this outstanding Midtown restaurant. You can expect traditional Peruvian fare inspired by her family and infused with bold flavors. Sintumuang highlights her ceviches and tiraditos, writing that they’re like “going from a 3D theater to a 4D one, where objects fly at you, the seats rumble, mist fills the air, and for those brief moments you are in another reality.” Other standouts include the ocean trout, kanpachi, choclo and Wagyu oxtail saltado.
📍 3255 NE 1st Ave, Miami, FL 33137