What to Eat, See and Do During Miami Art Week

Each December, visitors from around the world descend upon South Florida for the annual Miami Art Week. Over the past few years, the region has also had an influx of new residents. An array of restaurants, boutiques and other businesses have opened alongside the community’s longtime favorites, with both the new and the old appealing as much to out-of-towners as they do to Miamians.

The restaurant scene is especially vibrant and includes excellent Caribbean, Central American and South American options. Cuban food, in particular, is a local specialty, and has been for many years.

The area has also added eateries with connections to beloved and acclaimed spots in other cities, like outposts of the New York City mainstays Rao’s, which opened a South Beach location in October; Pastis, whose gracious branch in Miami’s Wynwood neighborhood was unveiled in April; and Carbone, which has been consistently packed since it opened its Miami Beach location in 2021. There are transplants from London, too, such as Sexy Fish Miami and Novikov Miami, both of which are downtown.

Still, the Miami area — including the separate cities of Miami Beach and Miami — has a distinct energy. Here is what to eat, see and do in some of its most popular neighborhoods during Art Week.

Miami Beach

For many tourists, the South Beach neighborhood’s bustling stretches, like Ocean Drive and Lincoln Road, embody the Miami area. Locals, however, tend to gravitate toward more subdued parts of the Beach, like Sunset Harbour, about a mile northwest of Lincoln Road. Its charming businesses include row., a home décor and gift boutique that opened in September, and Consign of the Times, which has been a reliable source of gently used designer clothing and accessories for over two decades. There’s also a branch of Pura Vida Miami, a fast-casual chain with a health bent.

Elsewhere in South Beach, there’s Macchialina Taverna Rustica, a rustic and relaxed Italian restaurant; Puerto Sagua, for hearty Cuban meals; and Medium Cool Cocktail Lounge.

Watch collectors from Miami and beyond make a pilgrimage to Matthew Bain’s appointment-only atelier; New York City’s Material Good, which sells high-end pre-owned timepieces as well as jewelry, recently opened a Miami Beach space not far away.

Farther north is the Bal Harbour Shops, an open-air mall with luxury brands like Chanel, Prada and Gucci. It also houses a location of Books & Books, a cherished independent bookshop with several stores in the…