4 Newby Restaurants in Miami

1. Bakan

With tostadas that cradle cactus and octopus and queso fundido comprising product from Oaxaca and Chihuahua, Bakan isn’t your average Mexican restaurant. This latest installment from the Jaguar Hospitality Group featuring chef Oscar Del Rivero offers namesake homemade tortillas and artisanal ingredients. With dishes ranging from Alaskan king crab tacos to short rib mole, this contemporary eatery is a highlight of the Wynwood dining scene.

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW A comprehensive, 15-page list of 350 mezcals is organized by region. Try them by half-ounce sip or 2-ounce shot. 2801 NW Second Ave., Miami, 305.396.7080, bakanwynwood.com

2. Amare Ristorante

Miami is starting to see its fair share of Michelin-starred chefs around town, but that doesn’t mean we’re jaded diners who don’t appreciate their output when we taste it. To wit: chef Cosimo Cassano’s yellowfin tuna carpaccio with avocado, pear, lemon and mint, and his prize-winning pasta di Gragnano, which utilizes a 1-pound Maine lobster, datterino tomatoes from Southern Italy and Calabrian chiles. Evoking the Amalfi Coast, the restaurant practically beams with oceanic hues.

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW Look for the Classici Settimanali, a daily special dish, such as Tiella Frutti di Mare, made with black rice baked with octopus, shrimp, squid, zucchini, onion and potatoes. 1 Collins Ave., Miami Beach, 786.598.8622, amareristorante.com

3. Root & Bone

Grove Bay Hospitality Group and culinary power couple Jeff McInnis and Janine Booth (Stiltsville) have added Southern pizzazz to the fast-growing South Miami dining scene with their second successful collab. Dishes such as smashed sunchoke tostones topped with buttermilk creme fraiche, caviar and chives showcase their creativity, while their signature classics of sweet tea-brined fried chicken and gooey corn bread bring us back again and again. Add brunch and the equation sums up to awesome.

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW Spirits are on the move here—a bloody mary cart during brunch and a whiskey and bourbon cart at dinner bring the cocktails tableside. 5958 S. Dixie Highway, South Miami, 786.785.1001, rootnbone.com/miami

4. Ama

Hidden inside Kaido, chef-owner Brad Kilgore’s Japanese fusion whisky lounge, ama is short for ama-kase (a play on omakase). At only eight seats, ama takes prepaid reservations for a 16-course meal of inventive, ever-changing bites, which might offer up beef tartare hand rolls with kimchi capers and avocado or enoki mushroom with Iberico bacon and duck yolk.

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW Given the collection of whiskies on hand, opt for the vintage pairing, which includes a 1969 Suntory, a 1985 Nikka Tsukuba Expo and Kilgore’s signature 18:75 Maker's Mark Japanese-inspired custom blended bourbon. 151 NE 41st St., Miami, 786.409.5591, kaidomiami.com