A stellar dining experience includes amazing drinks, too—which is why Wine Spectator has just released its 2024 Restaurant Awards list, honoring the world’s best restaurants for wine.
Launched in 1981, the awards are divided into three tiers: The Award of Excellence, the Best of Award of Excellence and the Grand Award. This year, 2,150, 1,531 and 96 restaurants received awards from more than 75 countries in each respective category.
In Miami, dozens of spots made the cut, including several new recipients. Barcelona Wine Bar, Bouchon Bistro, Mastro's Ocean Club, Pastis and Queen Miami Beach were the new additions to the Best of Award of Excellence winners. This distinction is for places offering 350 or more selections, and are “destinations for serious wine lovers, showing a deep commitment to wine, both in the cellar and through their service team,” according to the criteria.
First-time winners of the Award of Excellence were Baoli, Casa Vigil Miami, Contessa Miami, Delilah, Osaka and Zaytinya. These restaurants offer wine lists of at least 90 selections and “deliver sufficient choice to satisfy discerning wine lovers.”
In total, the city and surrounding suburbs are home to 48 restaurants with award-winning wine programs. The Spanish restaurant Casa Juancho in Little Havana has the longest-running award-winning wine program, retaining its Best of Award of Excellence since 1996 (basically prehistoric times in Miami).
Although Miami does not have any Grand Award restaurants, four new spots from across the globe joined Wine Spectator's most distinguished club: Grasing’s in Carmel-by-the-Sea, CA, Lazy Bear in San Francisco, CA, Le Bistro de l’Hôtel in Beaune, France and The Yeatman in Porto, Portugal.
Read up on the full list of Miami winners, and for even more great vino in the Magic City, peruse our guide to the best wine bars in Miami.