area 31

there’s no denying that the magic city has its fair share of bars with a view. the thing about these views, is that they often come with a hefty price tag, and with drinks going all the way up to $18 a pop, drinking with a vista ends up being a luxury that not of of us can enjoy on a regular basis. fortunately, there's an exception: area 31 . the rooftop bar at the epic hotel offers some of the  most stunning views of the city, with panoramic views into the heart of brickell, downtown and the bay, as well as amazing drink specials. i discovered this place last year as i was getting out yoga at exhale, the gym at the epic. upon seeing the sunset view, i decided to stick around to enjoy some prosecco as the sky turned into a pink-orange streaked work of art over the glittering waters of biscayne bay, and man... it was stunning! what’s also awesome about this place is their  happy hour, which offers half off drinks mon-thurs from 5 to 8 pm, and their friday   "beat the clock" deal, with drinks priced by the hour from 5 pm to 11 pm .foodis also included on this menu, so you can get delicious bar bites like parmesan black pepper fries or goat cheese croquettes for as little as $5.  now, when it comes to the best days to go, you have to stick to fridays if you want a local experience.  come on these days around 8 pm, and you'll find all the 30 something brickellites getting their drinks on after work, warming up for a long night of partying in miami. or you can go any other day if your thing is the view, just keep in mind that the vibe will be more on the touristy side. after all, this place is located on top of a hotel!  

upmarket restaurant overlooking the water in miami. the view of the city is amazing and the staff are good. we had a set menu and thefoodwas nicely cooked .

quite good but wanted a little bit better!. went to area 31 for christmas eve dinner. had high hopes, which for the most part were met with lovely interior, great view, tasty cocktails and good food. the 2 main issues with our experience were a loud kitchen (it is an open kitchen design) and some of ourfoodchoices just simply weren't that good. the parmesan truffle fries and the ravioli entree were sub par. that said, everything else we ordered was very good: ceviche, pork collar entree, crispy fish collar. the spicy pickle cocktail was very nice. would certainly try it again as it may have just been one of those nights and it really is a cool setting. overall it gets a solid b+ ...mostly because the 2 dishes mentioned above were not that great.

area 31′s executive chef michael reidt has created a lunch menu that is light and uncomplicated where as all of our choices paired well with the champagne. this particular lunch had quite a bit going for it with regards to thefoodand the champagne but the view from the 16th floor of the epic certainly pulled the entire experience full circle.

the dankness. i was a little worried after the "rock shrimp" ceviche, being unconvinced that it was actually rock shrimp. however, my companions were into it, as well as the delicious seafoodfry, also on the happy hour. my favorite flavor bananza was the watermelon soup, lurking with smoked grapes, and i mean smoked. so dank. i love this place. the fact that they actually pay attention to where they source their seafoodand produce makes thefoodeven that much more delicious.

very satisfying. as guests of the epic hotel we ate here twice during our stay for lunch. both times the service was impeccable. view from balcony is pretty nice.foodis fresh, and unique without being too weird. had various soups, fish taco, steak special, mahi special - everything was good. it's a hotel restaurant, so a bit overpriced, but not horribly so.

beware! i had dinner here recently with four friends, all of whom are experienced travellers and have dined in very fine restaurants all over the world. this place was so pretentious and phony chic (well, it is miami) and i felt like we had been robbed. service was immature, slow, and inappropriate. example: our waiter "congratulated" each of us, one by one, for our "excellent choices" when we ordered- i don't need a 20 something kid to approve of my choices! (we were all 40-50 age range). i could give a list about the poor service but won't. thefoodis all served in tapa size portions- i understand the art of creatively pairing ingredients but just know that you will be paying around $30 a plate for about two or three bites of food! and no, i do not judgefoodquality by its portion size. maybe this place gets great reviews from people who have never had a really nice meal, or from people who feel better about themselves after throwing away money and later telling their friends how cool they are (again, this is miami). the views outside on the balcony are nice, and i'm glad so many were wowed by this place but my advice is think twice- this place is pretending to be something that it is not

greatfoodwith a view. very goodfoodwith a great view of the miami skyline. dishes are small so order a few,

great ambiance, less than stellar food. prices are very fair, butfoodis far from stellar. the ambiance and the view, however, are great. great to see and be seen.

according to the new york times travel section, this restaurant is considered as one of the “six reasons forfoodlovers to visit miami.”

the views are spectacular and thefoodis light and fresh. chef john won the iron fork competition sponsored by new times and miami downtown.

excellent food. went for brunch, thevplace was empty but thefoodwas very good. stick to the seafood. service was ok.

service sucks. excellent food, but unfortunately the experience was soured by the incompetent service. basic service means bringing thefoodordered. our waiter failed there, perhaps because he didn't write anything down. a good trick if it works, but unbelievably stupid if it doesn't. the mistake was then compounded by the arrogant claim that thefoodbrought was thefoodordered. a mistake that was made twice! ultimately a chef had to confirm that thefoodbrought was not what was ordered, and the consolation? free dessert. no thanks. how about basic service standards? there are a lot of restaurants closing in this economy, and a lot of good waiters available. a restaurant of this caliber should not be hamstrung by incompetent waiters.