(A long) Weekend Eats Edit No. 9
Ft. Miami, Florida
The motto of 2026 and for the rest of my life truly is, “Fuck it, book it.”
I am so behind on my Weekend Eats Edit Series because I was away every single weekend in April and have not had time to keep up with all my weekend eats. And believe me, there have been so many good eats!
My April weekends looked like this: train to Albany for Easter weekend with my family, train to Annapolis to visit my college BFF Arella, fly to FL for a Miami weekend with my friend Amanda, and lastly, train to Westerly, RI for a girls weekend with my mom and Aunt Carol. It was a fun month.
Now, I am mostly staying put this month to get everything finalized for Paris. I actually signed my lease today for my June 1 move-in. I leave in four weeks minus one day.
So to kick off the next addition to my Weekend Eats Edit series, here is everywhere we went in Miami.
Casa Faena
Amanda and I stayed at Casa Faena, the 4-star boutique hotel associated with the 5-star Faena hotel. They are right across the street from each other, so it worked out perfectly to access their beach club. Casa is across the street from the beach, and Faena is on the beach. The interior decor at Casa is truly stunning. I did have breakfast and lunch once at the hotel, and they have a solid menu.
I would definitely stay at Casa Faena again. I actually prefer a boutique hotel. And, they give you cute red and white striped towels, beach chairs, and umbrellas to take to the beach with you.
Plus, they have a cute little gelato cart in a retro car that is open on the weekends.
Menu highlight: Affogato
Faena Beach Club
Even though we were staying at their sister property, we still had to pay $150/day for the beach club at Faena, which included comfy chaises, towels, and food and drink service. They have a great food and cocktail menu.
Menu highlights: Watermelon feta salad and sweet potato fries
Vecinos
Honestly, I am still thinking about the burger on a sweet potato bun that I didn’t order, and absolutely should have ordered.
Vecinos is a super cool cas vibe. I loved the concept. It’s as if a café infused itself into a dinner place. You go to the counter, order what you want, get your number, and sit down anywhere you like inside or outside.
It’s only a five-minute walk from Casa. I ordered the Caesar salad, which was overloaded with parmesan, and obviously, the only acceptable way to eat a Caesar salad. The Gambas sautéed in garlic and olive oil was recommended to me, and they were served with this giant piece of delicious, equally crusty and soft sourdough bread. And when dipped in the olive oil was divine.
Menu highlights: The burger (apparently famous in Miami) and the caesar salad
Sexy Fish
I learned that the bathroom at Sexy Fish is viral on TikTok the hard way, so I really don’t recommend going in there. Besides, the viral bathroom mosaics Sexy Fish wins gold for the best lobster I’ve ever had. It was something in the butter they poured all over it like an umami pepper deliciousness. Paried that with some miso broccolini, and it was so good.
Menu highlight: The whole lobster
Faena’s Los Fuegos
Los Fuegos’ outdoor dining area reminded me of St. Barths Eden Rock restaurant that my cousin Hannah and went to last summer. The outside dinning overlooked the pool which was similar to Eden Rock’s outdoor dining set up.
Faena has a fire cocktail menu. I had some sort of spicy mango martini with Aperol. For dinner, I ordered an almond garlic encrusted snapper that was served with a sweet potato and butternut squash purée and an herb salad. I’ve never had an herb salad before and it was yes, a lot of herbs. Fish was super delish. Unsure about the herb salad.
For dessert we ordered a dulce de leche crêpe with burnt orange and rich vanilla gelato. It was good, but I just know the French would have made it better. They also have this really cool elephant bone statue.
Menu highlights: The cocktails
Casa Neos
Casa Neos was definitely sceney, but interesting nonetheless. It has four levels. Two of which are accessible to members only. Each floor has its own theme, like beach club, restaurant, lounge, and rooftop.
Food was good. I wasn’t that impressed. I had a caesar salad and grilled lobster. Oh, and we ordered two deserts – I sent back the first one because the baklava was way too spicy and honestly not good. But the lava cake was classic, rich, and chocolatey decadence.
Menu highlights: Lava cake
Faena Sun Bar & Nikki Beach
We went to Faena’s main inside and outside bars. The bartenders at Faena made some of the best cocktails I’ve had in a while. I had a cucumber elderflower drink one night, an insane spicy mango Aperol martini another night, and the best mango margarita I’ve ever had on a third night.
We went to Nikki Beach for a piña colada and then walked on the beach all the way from Nikki Beach to The Ritz Carlton and it was so far and so long. Was unimpressed with Nikki Beach in Miami – Nikki Beach in St. Barths is way cooler.
Menu highlights: Mango margarita and the piña colada in a fresh coconut
Café Bastille & Crema
I vote Café Bastille the best strawberry matcha I’ve had to date. It’s really beautiful and tasty. They have a great breakfast/brunch menu.
Crema is right next door to Casa and they have a really good nitro cold brew and the best orange juice I’ve ever had. So sweet. Crema is good for basic breakfast items.
Menu highlights: Strawberry Matcha and Nitro cold brew
