What are the best Miami food experiences?

In Miami, there’s nothing more satisfying than a day spent at the beach followed by fine dining. Of course, the restaurant you choose, depending on the type of cuisine you desire, is up to you but we’ve got some suggestions. Azul, Wish, The Capital Grille and Michy’s all fit the bill for the most unforgettable food experiences in the city — and they all have something uniquely Miami to offer.

1. Azul, located inside the Mandarin Oriental, Miami, continues to dominate the city’s fine-dining scene with chef Jacob Anaya at the helm and sommelier Cynthia Betancourt supervising the more than 700-bottle wine program. Anaya's menu is heavily influenced by the bounty of fresh ingredients in Florida, as evidenced in dishes like his cobia crudo with sweet peppers, roasted tomato, Castelvetrano olives, agrumato powder, local citrus and almond.

2. The Capital Grille continues to rule the power-broker scene downtown. Brassy appointments, massive chairs and endless walls of mahogany scream masculinity. The purely professional service, along with the perfectly cooked steaks — the 22-ounce delmonico and porterhouse-style veal chop are signatures — and succulent seafood, both raw and cooked, are the draw for dealmakers throughout South Florida.

3. Chef-owner Michelle Bernstein created Michy’s, an orange-and-white, 60-seat, Upper East Side, shabby-chic charmer, with her husband, David Martinez, in 2006 after a charismatic stint at Azul. Here, Bernstein blends classical French training with neo-Spanish and Latin American influences. Dishes range from foie gras mousse with peach marmalade and brioche crisps and jamón-and-blue cheese croquetas with fig marmalade for appetizers to “short ribs falling off the bone” and steak frites (with both béarnaise and au poivre sauces for dipping) for the main event.

4. Wish, which was designed by famous designer Todd Oldham, features only a few striped booths and skinny bistro tables, complementing a curvy Art Deco bar. Known for its assortment of outdoor tables in the umbrella-shaded garden, Wish offers a multitude of technically proficient and ingredient-intense dishes, such as pan-seared diver scallops with squash, Brussels sprouts, pancetta and maple syrup. Also quite crafty are the desserts — try the vanilla pot de crème, topped with chopped, fresh oranges and pink peppercorns. It’s refreshing and delicious.