Lido Restaurant at The Surf Club
Reminiscent of an elegant seaside eatery in Italy, Four Seasons Hotel at The Surf Club has given its main dining room a makeover, replacing Le Sirenuse with the Lido Restaurant, the spot’s original name from when the hotel first opened in 1930.
Once the centerpiece ballroom where the society set came to drink and dine (events were so lavish back in the day, they included elephants or hundreds of tables carved out of ice), the restaurant now spills out to the ocean-facing Lido Terrace, which overlooks one of the hotel’s three outdoor pools.
Behind the menu is chef Michael White of New York’s Marea, who adds a fresh spin to Italian coastal cuisine. The Lido Restaurant offers dining throughout the day, from breakfast and lunch on the terrace to dinner in the white-tablecloth-clad, cathedral-style dining room, which sits next to the sleek Champagne Bar, home to Miami’s largest selection of bubbly.
- The extravagant Sunday brunch on the terrace is worth lingering over. Expect a feast of family-style plates like pizza Romana and smoked salmon toast, plus mains like a tropical version of French toast with dulce de leche and candied pecans and cocktails like an Old Cuban, blended with dark rum and fresh mint.
- The well-priced wine list is easy to navigate and features a range of selections from Italy’s famous wine regions, including Umbria, Campania and Piemonte.
- Take a seat at the raw bar and indulge in Cristal champagne by the glass and a selection of freshly prepped crudos like Japanese yellowtail with fennel crema and Calabrian chili oil, plus Florida classics like stone crab claws.
- One of the signature, must-try dishes is the branzino, Mediterranean sea bass served on a bed of rainbow chard and topped with vibrant, Palermo-style tomato salsa.
- The white dining room feels bright and fresh, thanks to the cathedral ceiling, arched doorways and windows and abundant greenery.
- The kids’ menu is available all day and includes a mix of elevated plates like pasta al pomodoro with vine-ripened tomato sauce and filet mignon with housemade fries, as well as favorites like chicken fingers.
- The key difference between the lunch and dinner menus is the extensive selection of pasta and risotto offered in the evening, like the braised duck agnolotti with parsnip purée and crustacean ragu cavatelli, a Southern Italian pasta traditional of Puglia.
- The Miami restaurant has a smart-casual dress code.
