Friday night – Sunny Isles style
There is a new buzz about Sunny Isles Beach and much of it relates to the emerging restaurant/bar/hotel lounge/pool party scene that is slowly developing in the city. So last Friday, the VisitSunnyIslesBeach.com team embarked on what you might call a ‘typical’ night out – cocktails, casual dinner and then a little partying. It is something we do pretty regularly, with variations in terms of location, but last week just seemed to typify what we like about our neighbourhood and so we thought we would share it with you.
We kicked off with cocktails at Sole on the Ocean – 17315 Collins Avenue, Sunny Isles Beach, FL 33160, tel 305.935.4777 A coastal residential condo development, the Sole now has a bar and grill by the small pool which has a pleasant view of the ocean and beach. Nothing amazing in terms of design or ambiance but a pretty cool and chilled out spot to just kick back after work.
It’s early days for this event, which seeks to become a regular part of the Sunny Isles scene, but the 40 or so people hanging out around the pool, a young, fashionable crowd, created a casual and fun atmosphere helped by two for one cocktails from 6pm – 8pm – we tried the South Beach Lemonade (orange and raspberry vodkas, sweet & sour mix, lemonade, grenadine and a Blue Curacao) and the Watermelon Quencher ( Grey Goose Vodka, fresh watermelon juice and sweet & sour mix) – both hit the mark.
The mood was also lifted by the tunes of DJ Tamara Sky – best known for featuring in Playboy and being crowned Miss Bikini Puerto Rico, but besides being as sexy as you would imagine from such labels, she also happens to play just the right kind of progressive house music – perfect for that time of the evening. Keep your eye out for her next time she is in the area – she’s candy for the ear as well as the eye.
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We skipped on the offer of sliders, shrimps or mini turkey-burgers from the grill because we were heading off for dinner. Now, let’s not have any misunderstanding here – we love a gourmet experience, we like to eat well and to try out new chefs and new recipes. But on Friday we weren’t looking for that kind of dinner – we were just looking for something to eat while continuing our drinks and stepping up the atmosphere a little. And there really isn’t a busier spot in Sunny Isles at 9pm on a Friday night than the Porterhouse (17004 Collins Ave, FL 33160-3642 tel (305) 949-7757).
A plate of beef carpaccio got the thumbs up from the Italian in our party, the quesadilla was tasty and the baby back ribs met the approval of the XXX-L carnivore. Sure, it isn’t going to be the dinner of your lifetime but it did the trick for our hungry gang enjoying the Coronas on the terrace outside.
The Porterhouse was packed — we got the last avaliable table outside and inside was standing room only. There was live music and DJ to follow later – the right kind of mid-evening buzz and the cool thing about the Porterhouse is that you really do find the perfect Sunny Isles ethnic and social mix drinking there.
Just across the road is the Newport Beachside Hotel and Resort 16701 Collins Avenue, Miami Beach, Florida 33160, Phone 305.949.1300 since its renovation last year has successfully become a fixture in the Sunny Isles nightlife scene thanks to Kitchen 305 – a tastefully furnished eatery which turns into a cool lounge after eleven with music and live events. Last Friday saw Russian DJ Indigo on the sounds and inevitably that attracted a good crowd of Russians to the bar but the DJ and the theme changes weekly. The entertainment also included a body-art exhibition featuring GES Models and the party really warmed up after the three girls strutted their stuff.
The 305 at Newport really is a lounge rather than a club but the place doesn’t really warm up until well after midnight. We left around two and headed home by foot – because if you live in Sunny Isles you never need a cab for a night out.
If you don’t live in Sunny Isles and spend your socialising time down South Beach – all we can say is this – our Friday night was without any cover charges, without automatic 18 percent service charge, had no lines, no fake ‘red carpets’, no aggressive men on the door, no crazy price-hike on the drinks because there is a DJ playing tunes and no-one telling you if you were cool enough to come in.
Sure, Sunny Isles still has a long way to go before many people start going out of their way to actually visit the area for a night but as our Friday showed – casual, beachside socialising doesn’t have to have an attitude.
I was a visiting from the UK last week and think Fridy night in sunny isles beach is Florida’s best kept secret. There were no silly drinks prices or pretentiousness just good honest service. It’s encouraging to stay in a place that despite the doom and gloom of the economy really feels to be on the up.
As a famous governor says “I’ll be back!”
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