Sunny’s Steakhouse, a pandemic-era pop-up that broke our hearts when it said goodbye in May of 2022, is finally set to reopen as a permanent restaurant on Wednesday, October 2. The new Sunny’s will make a return to its original location in Little River after extensive renovations.
Co-owners Will Thompson and Carey Hynes closed up their beloved Downtown bar Jaguar Sun in order to focus all their energy on Sunny’s—and by all accounts, their efforts are about to pay off.
“It feels like much of what makes restaurants special has gotten lost,” says Thompson. “Sunny’s is our attempt to bring some of that magic back, in a space that’s as easy to drop into for french fries and a martini as it is for a 50th wedding anniversary.”
Reservations are currently live for the tables in the dining room and courtyard, and the bar room is exclusively for walk-ins. But if you can’t wait until next week, these photos of the new restaurant should help hold you over.
The food
As before, the new Sunny’s is a contemporary Miami steakhouse serving elevated classics with an emphasis on product sourcing, quality and handling. Chef-Partner Carey Hynes and Executive Chef Aaron Brooks lead the Sunny’s kitchen, serving up a robust raw bar and wood-fired proteins prepared over a live oak fire visible from the dining room.
In perhaps the biggest evolution from the residency days, Sunny’s menu will now include a pasta section, including many of our Jaguar Sun favorites, like the rigatoni with spicy pork sugo and the corn agnolotti. New pastas include a duck lasagna and chitarra with mushroom and sherry.
The space
Visitors of the Sunny’s pop-up will be relieved to learn that the team worked with New York-based interior designer Amy Butchko of The Springs Collective to retain the immensely charming outdoor brick courtyard and its magical banyan tree. They also broke ground to build a new, modern indoor and outdoor restaurant around it.
The vibe outside is still industrial but fancied up a bit with upholstered seating and white tablecloths. Inside, you’ll find many nods to Palm Beach Regency and mid-century modernism, plus a new 50-seat private dining room with a Hermann Herzog-inspired mural and bifold doors that fully open to the bustling vibes outside.
The drinks
Conceived and helmed by lauded beverage industry alum Will Thompson, Sunny’s of course boasts a stellar beverage program. For the new restaurant, he’s composed a fresh menu of signature cocktails along with a “pick-your-path” martini menu, reminiscent of Sunny’s old days, and large format cocktail options.
A handful of favorites from Jaguar Sun made the move to Sunny’s, including the iconic Green Ghoul. On the wine side, Director of Operations Matt Whitney flexes his sommelier expertise across a substantial list that spans classic regions such as Burgundy, Bordeaux and Napa Valley to more adventurous and obscure regions like Baden, Swartland and the Canary Islands.
A generous no- and low-ABV cocktail selection, coffee and tea service and a notable dessert wine list beautifully round out Sunny’s extensive beverage program.