Holiday tables
Christmas reservations, NYE parties, Key Biscayne listings, Navi, Sunny’s, Surf Club, Dar Rhizlane, MORE
BARS & RESTAURANTS • The Nines
Holiday cheer, bookable
The Nines are FOUND's distilled lists of Miami’s best. Additions or subtractions? Hit reply or found@itsfoundmiami.com.
Christmas, dining
Sunny’s (Little River), Christmas Eve à la carte feast, including prime rib w/ horseradish cream and au jus, Yorkshire pudding, reserve
Le Jardinier (Design District), 4-course Christmas Eve luncheon includes sea bass crudo, Angus bavette steak, passionfruit tart, $155 per, reserve
Bourbon Steak at JW Marriott Turnberry (Aventura), Christmas dinner by chef Michael Mina, w/ oysters, foie gras, New York strip, miso glazed sea bass, cherry clafoutis, $250 per, reserve
Finka Table & Tap (West Miami), tour world cuisines with chef Eileen Andrade for Christmas dinner, reserve
Boia De (Upper Eastside), annual El Bagel Christmas Day collaborative brunch, including Champagne and caviar, reserve
Japón at The Setai (South Beach, above), Christmas Eve or Christmas dinner at The Setai’s newest restaurant; special à la carte items like herb-roasted lamb chop, duck confit, reserve
Ahu Mar at Dua (Brickell), wood-fired lobster, tomahawk steak, or branzino for Christmas Eve or Christmas dinner, reserve
The Strand Bar & Grill at Carillon (North Beach), à la carte Christmas brunch, from deviled eggs to panettone French toast, bottomless mimosa option, reserve
Queen (South Beach), save room for dessert on Christmas Eve or Christmas with special gluten-free raspberry, shiso, vanilla Christmas yule log cake, reserve
New Year’s Eve, dinner & fêtes
Fontainebleau (Mid Beach), Calvin Harris poolside, dinner at Hakkasan, more, from $199-$300, reserve
Faena (Mid Beach, above), poolside ball at Tree of Life, dinner at Los Fuegos, Pao, fireworks, more, from $395-$850, reserve
Giselle at E11EVEN (Downtown), seatings at 6p ($200 per) or 8p ($350 per) at flashy restaurant on rooftop of notorious 24/7 ultra-club; Cardi B headlines downstairs, reserve
Sexy Fish (Brickell), beneath the octopus at clubby high-flying seafood restaurant; dinner gives way to dancing, from $149, reserve
Ball & Chain (Little Havana), Tito Puente Jr. headlines with live DJs, salsa dancing, Cuban food, cocktails, no cover, reserve
R House (Wynwood), Diamond Heist-themed party, drag show & dinner, from $20, tickets
Casadonna (Edgewater), Tao and Groot groups take New Year’s with prix fixe dinner with premium upgrades like dry-aged tomahawk and crab legs, from $145, reserve
We Belong Here (Downtown), indie EDM festival takes over Historic Alfred I. DuPont Building; lineup includes Benjamin Lloyd, Calussa, Mojave Grey, from $80, tickets
Delilah (Brickell), prime views of downtown’s fireworks, prix fixe dinner, from $200, reserve
MIAMI RESTAURANT LINKS: Top-grossing Chicago steakhouse Maple & Ash coming to Worldcenter early next year • Ghee Indian Kitchen’s new Wynwood outpost opens tomorrow • Pandemic pop-up Fratesi’s Pizza scores permanent home downtown • Christmas bars make the spirit bright • What drink trends should we leave behind in 2024?
REAL ESTATE • First Mover
Four properties for sale in Key Biscayne that came to market in the last 30 days.
→ 605 Ocean Dr #4L (Key Biscayne) • 3BR/3.1BA, 1772 SF condo • Ask: $2.325M • in The Sands with partial ocean view • Days on market: 17 • Annual taxes: $8299 • Agent: Rene Iglesias, One Sotheby’s.
→ 100 Hampton Ln (Key Biscayne) • 5BR/5.1BA, 3518 SF house • Ask: $6.995M • newly built with 4 en-suites • Days on market: 13 • Annual taxes: $22,632 • Agent: Magdalena Tomasino, Engel & Völkers.
→ 545 Sabal Palm Dr. (Key Biscayne) • 5BR/4.1BA, 4166 SF house • Ask: $8.9M • 2K square feet of entertaining spaces • Days on market: 16 • Annual taxes: $47,179 • Agent: Audrey Ross, Compass.
→ 50 Island Dr (Key Biscayne, above) • 5BR/4.1BA, 5338 SF house • Ask: $11.2M • waterfront looking down the canal • Days on market: 16 • Annual taxes: $28,192 • Agents: Ivan & Kari Madera, Fortune Christie’s.
MIAMI WORK AND PLAY LINKS: Post-Art Basel real estate bump: 19 deals, 2 for nearly $20M each • Miami Art Week's floating padel island to stick around until May • Next push for West Palm Beach: tech firms • The money is fine, but how ’bout a little attaboy • ‘Perks culture’ is under siege • The (mostly losing) case for holiday party plus-ones • How the internet broke gift guides.
CULTURE & LEISURE • Holiday Tenor
Kevin Hart • Arsht Center (Downtown) • Sat @ 8p • orchestra center, $269 per
Andrea Bocelli • Kaseya Center (Downtown) • Sun @ 730p • section 107, $462 per
Luis Fonsi • Hard Rock Live (Davie) • Sun @ 8p • section 115, $94 per
WORK • Thursday Routine
Morning coffee
RAZZY GHOMESHI • founder • Navi
Neighborhood you work in: Coconut Grove
It’s Thursday morning. What’s the scene at your workplace?
I like to set up at the espresso bar or one of the window bars at Navi, my neighborhood coffee and plant shop in Coconut Grove. I’ll grab my morning coffee, almost always either drip coffee or cold brew, and black. I’ll check in with our team and chat with our morning regulars, then get to work. By late morning or mid-day, I’m usually either meeting someone or taking care of something outside the shop. If I’m not in the shop, I’m usually at the office just a short walk up the street.
What’s on the agenda for today?
The shop’s full of our regulars. The energy is buzzing, it’s great. We’ve only been open for nine months. Right now, we’re focused on finalizing our seasonal drinks menu, implementing new drinks and recipes into our process. We’re also making progress on a handful of really fun holiday activations.
Any bar or restaurant plans today, tonight, this weekend?
We have a sitter tonight and even though my wife Neela and I are both pretty tired, we’re not letting a parent's night out go to waste. We’re going to check out Sunny’s in Little River. We’ve heard they did a beautiful job on the buildout and kept the famous banyan tree, so we’re super excited they’ve permanently reopened.
How about a little leisure or culture?
We recently took Rumi to the Balloon Museum in Wynwood; he was absolutely thrilled. Neela and I saw one of our favorite musical artists, Ash, at the Miami Beach Bandshell a few weeks back. Aside from that, I’m laser-focused on Heat season.
Any weekend getaways?
Surf Club at Four Seasons is a super special treat; it’s a short drive, but you feel like you left town once you’re on the property.
What was your last great vacation?
We went to Bodrum, Turkey, last summer. Wow — incredible beach, food, and our hotel, Maçcakizi, was one-of-a-kind.
What’s a recent big-ticket purchase you love?
Eight Sleep, easily the best splurge gadgety/might-end-up-in-the-back-of-your-closet thing I've ever bought. It’s changed our quality of sleep for the better in a real way.
GETAWAYS • Morocco
Marrakesh melodies
In Marrakesh, Morocco, luxury hotels offer two extremes: the super luxe Royal Mansour, or an Americanized 4.5-star hotel that’s trying too hard. The better alternative is the Dar Rhizlane, where cats roam freely and rose petals drift into the pool from the cascading flowering trees.
With only 50 suites, each designed by Ahmed Sadki and his wife Catherine, the converted bourgeois villa reflects the style of a humbler palace. Instead of room numbers, the villas bear the names of the perfumes of the Orient — Musk, Sandalwood, and Jasmine.
The lush outdoor restaurant serves a classic version of the 13-salad appetizer and goat tagine. The wines and beers — even the bottled waters — are all Moroccan. The room rates, food, and beverage prices are all reasonable.
The music at night isn’t a contrived Marrakesh show, but performers from the Berber region, who sing the classic Moroccan heartbreak melodies about lost loves, the woes of Moroccan immigrants, and grief.
I was so chill during my week at Dar Rhizlane, I read two novels and wrote a handful of posts in different cozy spots around the grounds or while sitting at the edge of the mysterious pool. –Brad Inman
→ Dar Rhizlane (Marrakesh, Morocco)• Av du Président Kennedy • king room rates from $244.
GETAWAYS LINKS: Refreshed Delano South Beach sets late 2025 reopening • Four Seasons taking over St Regis Bahia Beach in Puerto Rico next year • JetBlue plans new ‘Mini-Mint’ first class starting next year • American’s AAdvantage changes for 2025: nothing bad is good! • Royal Jordanian could begin flying to MIA in 2026 • Why family-owned hotels are the height of luxury.
ASK FOUND
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