Whether you’re planning to ring in the New Year with a sumptuous feast that’ll put you in a food coma by 12:01 am, or you’re just looking to line your stomach before the hours of all-night drinking that will follow, here are five suggestions for places to get a great meal on New Year’s Eve.
1
Area Code 55
If you are unfamiliar with the Brazilian restaurant style known as rodizio, you haven’t lived the greatest joy of a carnivore and you are in for quite the TREAT. On New Year’s Eve, Area Code 55 will be hosting a party to usher in 2015 with dancing and a lot of meat. From 9 pm until midnight, you can enjoy an all-you can-eat meal served by men circling the room with beautiful cuts of meat on skewers. Does that sound like a dream to you? Well, it can be all yours for $125 per person, which allows you to gorge yourself on all this food, enjoy an open bar, dessert, party favors and DJ for dancing the dinner off. Check the full menu here.
16375 Biscayne Blvd
North Miami Beach FL 33160
305-947-6202
2
Casa Juancho
Casa Juancho has been voted one of the most authentic Spanish eating experiences in South Florida by many national magazines, and they’ve got the goods to back it up. They like to keep up with the holidays and they will be celebrating with a special menu for La Gran Fiesta de Noche Vieja. The night will begin with assorted canapés, ham, chorizo and salchichon. You should get ready to really indulge with a menu of lobster, paella, and filet mignon, ending with hot chocolate and churros at 1:00 am before you continue the evening (if you can). Call 305-642-2452 for full menu and reservations.
2436 S.W. 8th Street
Miami, FL 33135
305-642-2452
3
Toro Toro
This one is on the pricey side, but acclaimed chef Ricardo Sandoval’s Pan-Latin steakhouse and lodge has been garnering rave reviews since it opened in 2013, and the meal is worth it. This year will be a little different at Toro Toro; Chef Eric Do will have an unlimited rodizio selection of carved meats circling the room along with some special appetizers crafted for the last day of 2014. The experience starts at $225 per person, and you can check out the full menu here.
InterContinental Miami
100 Chopin Plaza, Miami FL 33131
305-372-4710
4
Xixon
The people are good-looking, the place is cozy, and the food is delicious. Xixon has been voted best Spanish restaurant in the city by the Miami New Times, and it tends to be perpetually packed for dinner so be sure to make reservations for New Year’s Eve. The night will begin with some appetizers of iberico ham, cheeses, scallops with a glass of sparkling cava. You also will have your choice of a bevy of seafoods, meats and desserts. We’ve got in in good authority that their wine cellar has an automated wine dispensing machine–the ball is in your court now. The NYE dinner begins at $90 per person. Check the full menu here.
2101 Southwest 22nd Street, Miami, FL 33145
(305) 854-9350
5
Porfirio's
The Miami outpost of Mexico City hotspot Porfirio opened over the summer, and has gotten lots of hype for its high-end take on Mexican cuisine (and its extensive menu of mezcal cocktails). The digs aren’t too bad either — the dining room looks like a cathedral, with its lofted ceilings and outdoor terrace. Ring in the New Year here at one of two seatings; the first priced at $95, begins at 6 p.m., and the second, priced at $150, starts at 9 p.m. For full menu and reservations, call (786) 216-7675.
850 Commerce Street, Miami Beach, FL 33139
(786) 216-7675