The A Pasta Bar sign hung over West Avenue in Sunset Harbour for nearly two years before the doors opened. That was long enough for neighbors to stop noticing it. When the restaurant finally opened on October 21 in the former Sushi Garage space, it came with a menu its owners had reworked for Sunset Harbour.
Several other operators from outside Florida made the same choice this fall. A Pasta Bar came from New York. José Andrés' group, based in Washington, brought back its Bazaar concept, and Gordon Ramsay is reopening his South of Fifth restaurant under a new name. All three adjusted their menus for Miami Beach diners.
Sunset Harbour Got a Pasta Bar Rebuilt Around Its Own Habits
A Pasta Bar is the first expansion of the New York restaurant since its SoHo debut nearly a decade ago. The Miami Beach space covers 4,700 square feet at 1784 West Ave. It has a backlit marble pasta bar, a freestanding open kitchen and a 17-seat chef's counter.
Miami New Times described Sunset Harbour as "practically the land of Pilates studios, healthy cafés and people who live in workout clothes." Co-owner Andrea Pedrazzoli told the paper the menu changes were deliberate: "Here, the pasta will remain the star of the show, but it was very clear since day one that we needed to make the menu more complete if we wanted to address the crowd here in Sunset Harbour."
He calls the result "A Pasta Bar 2.0." It adds more proteins, seafood and crudos, along with protein-enriched, whole-wheat, vegan and gluten-free pastas. The team spent six months developing those alternative pastas. Pedrazzoli explained why to New Times: "It's easy to put a gluten-free pasta on the menu. It's very hard to make that gluten-free pasta as good as the regular pasta."
The dish he recommends most is one New York doesn't serve. It's a Miami-exclusive saffron tagliatelle with demi-glace, finished tableside with bone marrow. The Miami menu also includes whole sea bream, ribeye, and a cotoletta stuffed with Fontina and prosciutto.
The daily schedule shows the same intent. Aperitivo runs from 5 to 7 p.m. every day, with Italian cocktails, spritzes and rotating tramezzini. Pedrazzoli told New Times this is partly a nod to the daily happy hour that drew crowds when Sushi Garage held the space. "We want A Pasta Bar to be a restaurant that you can come two, three times a week," he said. A restaurant hoping for guests two or three times a week is counting on its neighbors, not on visitors.
The Bazaar Came Back With a Tribute to Versailles
Bazaar Meat by José Andrés opened October 22 at Andaz Miami Beach, 4041 Collins Ave. It has its own entrance on Collins Avenue. Long-time Miami Beach diners will know the backstory. The Bazaar opened at SLS South Beach in June 2012, and New Times reported its March 2023 closing as the end of a decade-long run.
Andrés presents the return as a homecoming with changes. In a statement quoted by the Miami Herald, he said:
"Miami has always been one of the most exciting food cities in America, and for 11 incredible years we celebrated the spirit of Miami at The Bazaar in South Beach. With Bazaar Meat at Andaz Miami Beach, we're bringing back the joy of The Bazaar in a new way, with new surprises."
One of those changes is the Cubano "air bread," which the Herald describes as a tribute to the Cuban restaurant Versailles. It is made with ibérico secreto, Swiss cheese espuma and Dijon. The restaurant's own menu also lists a "Colada Cubana" made with foie gras, coffee and an air crouton. Bazaar Meat already has restaurants in Las Vegas, Washington, New York and Chicago, so Miami Beach is its fifth location. A Cuban-coffee foie gras dish only makes sense here.
The rest of the menu centers on open-fire cooking and dry-aged steaks, plus snacks like oxtail croquetas and a Hokkaido sea urchin cone. The whole suckling pig must be ordered 24 hours ahead. If you can't decide, there are two tasting menus, at $150 and $225. Bazaar Meat is the third José Andrés Group concept at the Andaz, after Aguasal and Bar Centro opened there in 2025. That makes the resort the group's main base on the island.
Ramsay Put the Reason Into Words
Gordon Ramsay's version of this story comes with a history at 119 Washington Ave. Lucky Cat opened there in February 2024 with Japanese and Korean dishes and a robata grill. It closed in August 2025 after the team announced what it called a "seasonal pause." The space is scheduled to reopen as Lucky Cat Steak on November 25. The restaurant's site lists the same date and offers a reservation waitlist.
Ramsay's statement, quoted by Miami New Times, says plainly what the other two openings showed through their menus: "Opening Lucky Cat in 2024 showed me that this city doesn't always want a concept designed somewhere else; it deserves a restaurant created specifically for Miami."
The 152-seat room now puts beef first, finishing USDA Prime, Texas Akaushi, Japanese A5 Miyazaki and Australian Blackmore wagyu over the robata. According to Community Newspapers, the specifically Miami touches include:
- "GFP," which swaps prawns for the chicken in Gordon's Fried Chicken
- Wagyu bulgogi tacos and black cod croquettes, which the team describes as Miami influences
- Mango and papaya used across the menu
- An "Okinawa" margarita with kumquat, Thai basil and salted shiso air
- The Lucky Negroni, where guests roll dice to choose from six gins, six bitters and six vermouths
Executive head chef Michael Howells said the team wanted "to bring the spirit of Lucky Cat to Miami Beach, while ensuring that the city influenced the food in a meaningful way." Time Out Miami reported dinner service Wednesday through Saturday, with a late-night lounge also planned.
The Same Season, Two Long-Running Rooms Closed
While these out-of-town operators were adjusting their menus, two restaurants that had built their followings on the island announced their closings on Instagram on the same day, September 30, Miami New Times reported.
Tropezón had been at 512 Española Way since 2021. It was the first restaurant from Randy Alonso and Chris Hudnall, the duo behind Lost Boy Dry Goods downtown. It was known for a gin program with more than 20 house-infused gins, and it served its last dinner on Saturday, October 3. Its farewell thanked guests and staff "for all the memories over the last five years."
Farther north at the Carillon Miami Wellness Resort, 6801 Collins Ave., Tambourine Room by Tristan Brandt closed that same night, a little under four years after its December 2022 opening. It held one star in the 2026 Michelin Guide, and its name honored the hotel's original Tambourine Room lounge, which opened in 1958. "Tonight, the curtain closes," its farewell began. Neither restaurant gave a reason for closing.
Between them, the two rooms had served Miami Beach for roughly nine years. In the same weeks, two outside operators opened and a third set its date, and each pointed to Miami Beach diners as the reason it changed its menu.
Where Each Miami-Only Dish Lives
To try the menu items that exist only on Miami Beach, here is the route from south to north:
- Lucky Cat Steak, 119 Washington Ave., South of Fifth. Prawn GFP and the dice-roll Lucky Negroni. Scheduled to open November 25, with a waitlist at luckycatsteak.com.
- A Pasta Bar, 1784 West Ave., Sunset Harbour. Saffron tagliatelle with bone marrow, finished tableside. Open 5 to 11 p.m. daily, with aperitivo from 5 to 7 p.m.
- Bazaar Meat by José Andrés, Andaz Miami Beach, 4041 Collins Ave. Cubano air bread and the Colada Cubana. Hours and reservations are at thebazaar.com.
At the south end of Collins, The Scapegoat at 100 Collins Ave. is also worth a stop. The bar got an '80s-inspired makeover this fall, New Times reported, including hunter-green walls, lower tables and a revised cocktail list.
The team at Noah Heller follows openings like these because the corner a restaurant chooses often reflects how a neighborhood is changing. If you're spending the season on Miami Beach or thinking about a place near Sunset Harbour or South of Fifth, we're glad to share what we're seeing on the ground. Ask about VIP Access to hear about new opportunities early.
