Sondre Kasin. Photo by Gary He.
As New Yorkers flocked to Florida over the last year—many with one-way tickets—a number of brand name restaurants made the trip south as well.
In late 2020, Marcus Samuelsson opened another branch of his hit Harlem restaurant Red Rooster in the Overtown neighborhood. Then came the new outposts of Major Food Group’s Carbone, Altamarea Group’s Osteria Morini, and the announcement that Keith McNally and Stephen Starr are bringing the Meatpacking District icon Pastis to the city.
New York’s influence on Miami’s drinking scene was inevitable, says Sondre Kasin, head bartender for Cote Korean Steakhouse, one of the more recent transplants that opened in Miami’s Design District earlier this year. “Where Miami used to be focused on tropical flavors and juice-driven cocktails,” he says, there is a noticeable shift towards menus with more elevated classics prepared with high-end ingredients.