Where To Celebrate New Year's Eve 2014 In Miami

Let's be honest: New Year's Eve in Miami is a pretty spectacular place to be. For those looking to celebrate in one of the city's top restaurants, the search is over; we've broken down the premium menus and unique offerings within the city by region, so you can ring in the New Year in the most delicious and sensational way possible.

Note: Unless otherwise noted, prices do not include beverages, tax, or gratuity. Please verify the menu and pricing when making your reservations, which are required for all the below listings.

Miami Beach

The Bazaar by José Andrés at SLS South Beach is offering a special New Year's Eve menu in the restaurant's chic Blanca dining room. The first seating begins at 6 p.m. and will feature a 15-course prix fixe tasting menu, which will include a caviar course, a Champagne toast, and discounted admission to Hyde Beach's New Year's Eve party, all for $175 per person. The second seating, priced at $350 per person and starting at 9:30 p.m., includes an 18-course prix fixe tasting menu, a Dom Pérignon Champagne toast, access to your table for the remainder of the evening, and discounted admission to Hyde Beach's party. Reservations can be made by emailing Jimmy.

A perennial New Year's Eve favorite, Bianca at The Delano is set to host an extravagant four-course dinner to help partygoers ring in the New Year in style. The evening's delights include king crab freddo; a chilled seafood piatto with colossal stone crab, Maine lobster, and Martha's Vineyard honeysuckle oysters; a decadent d'Alba white truffle cappellacci; and carne e pesce with aged Kobe ribeye. The dinner seating begins at 9:30 p.m. and costs $625 per person. Those wishing to take their New Year's Eve experience to the next level can purchase a special dinner and party package that also includes tickets to see J. Cole live poolside at the Delano Beach Club for $700 per person. 

One of Sobe's hottest boutique hotels, The Gale South Beach, and its restaurant, Dolce Italian, will offer two special (and affordable) prix fixe menus, beginning with a first seating from 6 to 8 p.m. Priced at $85, options include grilled octopus, Dolce meatballs, veal spezzatino, and Chilean sea bass with leeks. A second seating from 9:30 p.m. to midnight will be priced at $165 per person and will feature similar offerings with additions such as ravioli do zucca, gnocchi with lamb ragu, and grilled ribeye. Dolce is also offering an endless buffet at $150 per person.

New York chef Andrew Carmellini's South Beach outpost, The Dutch at The W South Beach, will ring in 2015 with a five-course prix fixe menu featuring Florida stone crab claws, white truffle risotto, Beef Wellington, and seafood curry. The early seating will take place from 7:00 to 7:45 p.m. and will be priced at $165 per person, while the late seating will take place from 8:30 to 9:45 p.m., is priced at $250 per person, and includes a Champagne toast.

Arguably Miami's most famous Steakhouse, The Forge, will offer two seatings for dinner this New Year's Eve. The first, from 6 to 8 p.m., is $95 per person, while the second starts at 8 p.m. and is $350 per seat. Menu items include "The Forge" chopped salad, Eggs in a Hole with Osetra caviar and quail egg, white truffle risotto, foie gras torchon, butter poached lobster, and Creekstone Farms filet mignon. The second seating will also include a bottle of Champagne and access to the dance floor with a DJ.

The new darling from the Pubbelly team, L'Echon Brasserie, is going back to the 1950s with a black and white French theme. Guests will enjoy tableside Champagne cart service and a specially designed caviar three-course menu that will be available for two seatings; 7:00 p.m. ($75) and 9:30 p.m. ($95), with a $45 optional wine pairing. The restaurant will also be offering the a la carte menu and a Champagne toast at midnight.

The current talk of the town is Ian Schrager's newly opened Marriott Hotel, The Edition. Schrager smartly tapped the one and only Jean-Georges Vongerichten to run the hotels' two restaurants. The more upscale of the two — Matador Room — will be offering two seatings for New Year's Eve, both served while a live Cuban band entertains guests. The first, from 6:00 to 7:30 p.m. is an à la carte menu with items such as peekytoe crab and corn fritters, black grouper tacos, and caramelized sea scallops. The second seating, from 9 to 11 p.m., will be a prix fixed menu set at $300 per person. It includes sponsored cocktails, a Champagne toast at midnight, and delicacies such as raw shaved Florida red snapper with green chile dressing, caramelized foie gras, and Wagyu beef tenderloin.

As an added bonus, diners will receive discounted admission to the hotel's "Basement Miami" club, which features a bowling alley, ice skating rink, and a major lineup of DJs for the special festivities.

If upscale Mexican is your thing, Porfirio's is your place. The first seating, priced at $95, begins at 6 p.m. and the second seating, priced at $150, starts at 9 p.m. Look for a mix of dishes such as oysters au gratin with mezcal, Caribbean lobster tail with Brie cheese, and shrimp chipotle enchiladas. Setting the mood for the big night will be Porfirio's resident DJ and a jumbo screen to watch the New Year's celebration ball drop.

The Shore Club, one of South Beach's classic hotspots, is offering a special New Year's Eve celebration at their Italian restaurant, Terrazza. For $225, each guest can delight in a delicious antipasto appetizer to share featuring imported cheese and charcuterie; choice of Shore Club chopped or truffle Burrata and heirloom grape tomato salads; choice of entrée, including a 16-ounce center bone-in prime filet and half butter poached lobster, jumbo sea scallops, or duck confit foie gras ravioli; and a chef's selection of desserts.

When Roberto Cavalli's name is on something, you know it's not going to be boring. This year, the extravagant restaurant is hosting a Gatsby-themed party starting at $500 per person. Props will be given to guests to enjoy while they sip Champagne (a bottle of vintage Dom 2004 for every couple) and feast on items like lobster salad, beef tenderloin, and foie gras with white truffle.

For New Yorkers who like to feel at home, visit one of the city's most sophisticated Italian transplants. Il Mulino New York South Beach will host two seatings with a four-course prix fixe menu, at 7 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. Guests will enjoy dishes like ravioli ai porcini with Champagne truffle cream sauce, filetto di manzo alla Fiorentina, jumbo shrimp scampi with white wine sauce and risotto, and an assortment of desserts. The first seating is $150 per person and includes a Champagne toast. The second seating is $300 per person and will feature live entertainment, party favors, and a celebratory Champagne toast at midnight to ring in 2015. 

The landmark Fontainebleau Miami Beach houses 12 restaurants, all of which will be offering New Year's Eve special dinners. Below are the hotel's top dining options and their exclusive menus to ring in the New Year. Seatings and prices for all restaurants vary.

·         StripSteak will present four and five-course menu offerings featuring items like smoked salmon custard, seared Hudson Valley foie gras, pan-roasted Diver scallops, and a wood-grilled eight-ounce Prime filet.

·         Hakkasan, the modern Chinese classic, is offering several family-style options for diners. Sharing plates include Peking duck, steamed sea urchin shrimp dumplings, baked Chilean sea bass with wild mushrooms, wok-fried Australian Wagyu beef with black pepper sauce, and fried rice with braised scallops for the table. A five-course vegetarian menu will also be offered.

·         Scarpetta, Scott Conant's AAA Four Diamond award-winning restaurant will offer four- and five-course prix fixe menus, which include a piatti selection, "paste" served family style such as creamy polenta, and mains like grilled Dover sole or 21-day dry aged New York strip.

·         Michael Mina 74 will present a delectable four-course prix fixe menu with a choice of appetizers like duck crêpes or duo of ahi and hamachi poppers; mid-course selections including Périgord truffle risotto or soft-shell crab tempura; and mains such as A4 Wagyu beef tenderloin or truffled beurre chicken bucatini.

Midtown/Wynwood

SUGARCANE raw bar grill (from the Sushi Samba family) has created a special a la carte menu from chef Timon Balloo. Dishes include duck leg confit and foie gras "pot pie," and sweet-and-sour Maine lobster with bok choy and garlic chives.

Rising star chef Michael Shikany has created a ten-course Champagne and caviar menu that will be available at his trendy Shikany restaurant. Seatings are at 6:30, 8:30, and 10:30 p.m. and are offered at a $225, or $350 with Louis Roederer Champagne pairings. The restaurant will also be offering the a la carte menu, music by DJ Max Cassinelli, and a Champagne toast at midnight.

Downtown/Brickell/Miami River

Breathtaking riverfront hotspot Seasalt and Pepper is celebrating with a Tropicana 1950s theme and will offer arguably the most opulent and exclusive New Year's Eve option. At $750 per person, the menu will feature an amuse bouche of Kusshi oysters, followed by a decadent four-course dinner. With entertainment by Raul Paz, guests will ring in the New Year with a bottle of Dom Pérignon or Krug for two. 

In the heart of Miami's booming Brickell region, the Barcelona-inspired Perfecto is offering a well-priced prix fixe dinner at $110 per person. The menu includes delicious food items like grilled lobster salad with old mustard vinaigrette sauce, tuna sashimi with honey soy and black sesame seeds, or ox sirloin with ratée potatoes (as well as a free glass of cava to welcome 2015).

New Brickell favorite Tamarina has created an "Italian Prosperity Feast" for New Year's Eve, divided into two seatings. First seating at 7 p.m. will feature the fixed menu for $95 or $130 with expertly paired wines, while the second seating at 9 p.m. will also feature the fixed menu for $95 or $150 with the paired wines and a New Year's Eve open bar package. The feast itself includes a seafood platter with various frutti di mare, big eye tuna crudo, a lobster salad with sage and honey yogurt, house made pumpkin torelli topped with black caviar, and seared branzino. The music of DJ Pierre Zonzon will accompany the food and drink.

Db Bistro Moderne Miami, Daniel Boulud's interpretation of the new generation of Parisian bistro, will feature two wallet-friendly and delicious options. The three-course menu, served from 5:30 to 7 p.m., offers a "Share & Taste" seafood and charcuterie platter for $75 per person. The Gala dinner, from 8:30 to 10:30 p.m., is a five-course menu with Champagne at midnight, party favors, and a live DJ, set at $195 per person.

Broward

If you want to avoid the hoopla (and expense) of Miami, some great offerings lie just slightly north. The Big Time Restaurant Group eateries — Big City Tavern, City Oyster & Sushi Bar, and City Cellar Wine Bar & Grill — are offering their full à la carte menus, plus a selection of delicious holiday specials. On New Year's Day, each of the restaurants will offer brunch with their endless mimosas and Bloody Marys. Highlights across the Big Time restaurants include Lobster Bisque with black truffle crème, housemade fresh duck ravioli, bronzini pan roasted with cannellini beans, and "Acquerello" wild mushroom risotto.