Restaurant in Miami, United States
Matador Room
440ptsHotel dining that actually earns its price.
About Matador Room
Ranked #551 in North America by Opinionated About Dining (2025), Matador Room is one of Miami Beach's more credible hotel restaurants — a Latin menu built on Florida seafood, a terrace with ocean views, and late dinner service Friday and Saturday until 11 pm. Book two to three weeks ahead for weekend evenings; walk-ins are not a reliable strategy here.
Should You Book Matador Room?
If you are weighing Matador Room against the crop of hotel restaurants along Collins Avenue, stop there. Most hotel dining rooms on Miami Beach trade on location rather than food. Matador Room is a meaningful exception: ranked #551 on Opinionated About Dining's Leading Restaurants in North America in 2025 (up from #470 in 2024), it earns its place through a shareable Latin menu anchored in locally sourced Florida seafood and produce, not through proximity to the pool. For a special occasion dinner — or a late Friday or Saturday night out that runs until 11 pm — it is one of the more defensible choices on the Beach.
The Experience
The atmosphere here is the first thing that works in Matador Room's favour. The main oval dining room is built around a sunken seating area beneath a restored white chandelier, a deliberate nod to the bullring at Plaza de Toros. The energy reads as glamorous but unstuffy: think 1950s supper club proportions with enough buzz to suit a celebration without the noise level that kills conversation. On the outdoor Matador Terrace, a custom pergola covered in bougainvillea frames ocean and pool views , the better seat for a warm evening, and one of the few outdoor dining spaces in Miami Beach that feels designed rather than improvised. The indoor bar carries a series of photographs by French photographer Lucien Clergue, which gives it more visual substance than the standard hotel bar.
The format suits special occasions particularly well. The menu is built for sharing , Latin-leaning dishes with Florida sourcing , which means a table of two or four can move through several courses without committing to a fixed tasting format. Brunch runs Saturday and Sunday from 10 am to 3 pm; dinner runs nightly from 6 pm, with Friday and Saturday service extending to 11 pm. If you want Miami Beach dining that goes later than the standard 10 pm close, Friday and Saturday dinner here are among your better options in this category.
Culinary concept carries Jean-Georges Vongerichten's name , a chef with multiple James Beard Awards and a global portfolio that includes reference-point restaurants in cities like New York. Florida-born chef de cuisine Jeremy Ford executes the day-to-day kitchen, grounding the menu in regional produce. The result is a programme that references the region's fish, vegetables, and fruit without leaning into the kind of heavy Latin tropes that date quickly. For comparable Latin-leaning ambition elsewhere, ITAMAE in Miami offers a tighter Peruvian focus, while Chica in Las Vegas is the closest structural parallel in a hotel setting.
Booking and Timing
Reservations are strongly recommended , walk-in availability exists but is not something to rely on, particularly Thursday through Saturday. Book at least two to three weeks ahead for weekend dinner; Friday and Saturday at 11 pm close are the most competitive slots. The Google rating sits at 4.4 across 726 reviews, which for a hotel restaurant in a high-traffic market is a reliable signal of consistent execution rather than outlier performance. If you are planning around a specific Miami trip, build the reservation before you book your flight. For broader context on where Matador Room fits in Miami's dining scene, see our full Miami restaurants guide.
Know Before You Go
- Address: The Miami Beach EDITION, 2901 Collins Ave, Miami Beach, FL 33140
- Hours: Monday–Thursday 6–10 pm | Friday 6–11 pm | Saturday 10 am–3 pm, 6–11 pm | Sunday 10 am–3 pm, 6–10 pm
- Booking: Reservations strongly recommended; 2–3 weeks ahead minimum for weekend dinner
- Booking difficulty: Hard , particularly Thursday through Saturday evenings
- Chef: Jean-Georges Vongerichten (concept); Jeremy Ford (chef de cuisine)
- Recognition: Opinionated About Dining Leading Restaurants in North America , #551 (2025), #470 (2024), Recommended (2023)
- Google rating: 4.4 (726 reviews)
- Cuisine: Latin, with Florida-sourced seafood and produce
- Good for: Special occasions, date nights, late dinner Friday/Saturday, brunch weekends
- Hotel context: Located within The Miami Beach EDITION , hotel bar and terrace also accessible to non-hotel guests
How It Compares
Compare Matador Room
| Venue | Awards | Price | Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Matador Room | Matador Room is an updated take on the glamorous supper clubs of the 1950s.; Opinionated About Dining Top Restaurants in North America Ranked #551 (2025); **Our Inspector's Highlights Like a sampling of Matador's sophisticated cuisine, the spaces inside the restaurant are varied and distinct, from a main dining room reminiscent of bygone supper clubs to a very lovely and verdant outdoor terrace.The elegant indoor bar showcases a series of photographs by famed French photographer Lucien Clergue (he majestically captures the art and beauty of working matadors).Upon entering the main oval-shaped dining room, you'll want to take a moment to marvel at the massive restored white chandelier suspended over a sunken seating space (an homage to the Plaza de Toros bullring).The lush green-encased Matador Terrace gives way to ocean and poolside views. Set beneath a custom pergola covered with gorgeous climbing bougainvillea, you can perch here for a candle-lit dinner or a casual brunch and take in the picturesque setting and soft sea breeze.Upscale but never stuffy, the highly shareable menu features the region's bounty of seasonal, locally sourced fish, vegetables and fruit.** **Things to Know Vongerichten may be the culinary tour-de-force (he’s won numerous James Beard Awards and oversees myriad restaurants worldwide) behind the concept at Matador, but it’s Florida-born chef de cuisine Jeremy Ford who makes Vongerichten’s grand vision come to life.Reservations are highly recommended at this Miami restaurant.** **Treatments:** The Food You'll want to start with both the much-lauded sweet pea guacamole served with warm crunchy tortillas, and the warm marinated olives with poblano and mint pesto.Tasty larger options include dishes like pan-seared Florida cobia with glazed artichokes, and the roasted dry-aged ribeye (it’s perfect for two).There’s also a few inventive pizzas up for offer (think umami-spiked black truffle with fontina cheese), as well as some really good tacos (chipotle chicken, glazed short rib).Lighter seafood dishes are also popular — choose from options like raw shaved Florida red snapper with green chile dressing, and spicy shrimp in "Agua Diablo" with bananas and almonds. **Amenities:** 2901 Collins Avenue, Miami Beach, Florida 33140; Opinionated About Dining Top Restaurants in North America Ranked #470 (2024); Opinionated About Dining Top Restaurants in North America Recommended (2023) | — | |
| Cote Miami | Michelin 1 Star | $$$ | — |
| Ariete | Michelin 1 Star | $$$$ | — |
| Boia De | Michelin 1 Star | $$$ | — |
| Stubborn Seed | Michelin 1 Star | $$$$ | — |
| Los Fuegos by Francis Mallmann | $$$$ | — |
What to weigh when choosing between Matador Room and alternatives.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Matador Room good for a special occasion?
Yes, with some caveats. The oval dining room, restored chandelier, and supper club staging give it genuine occasion weight without tipping into stuffy territory. The Matador Terrace is the call for a more relaxed but still impressive setting. Ranked #551 in Opinionated About Dining's Top Restaurants in North America (2025), it has the credentials to back the experience. If the occasion calls for a private room rather than a shared dining room, confirm availability when booking.
What should I order at Matador Room?
Start with the sweet pea guacamole with warm tortillas and the marinated olives with poblano and mint pesto — both are highlighted by the inspector as the right opening moves. For mains, the pan-seared Florida cobia and the dry-aged ribeye (sized for two) are the headline dishes. The black truffle and fontina pizza and the chipotle chicken or glazed short rib tacos round out the menu if you want to share across formats. Lighter eaters should look at the raw shaved Florida red snapper or spicy shrimp in Agua Diablo.
Can Matador Room accommodate groups?
The restaurant has varied spaces — the main oval dining room, an indoor bar, and the outdoor Matador Terrace — so there is physical capacity for different group sizes. Reservations are strongly recommended for any group, particularly Thursday through Saturday when the room fills. check the venue's official channels to confirm private dining or large-party arrangements before booking online.
What should I wear to Matador Room?
The venue's own descriptor is 'upscale but never stuffy,' which points toward polished casual: think well-put-together rather than black-tie. Miami Beach norms skew fashion-forward, and the supper club setting rewards a level of effort. Overly casual beachwear would feel out of place in the main dining room; the terrace is slightly more relaxed.
Is lunch or dinner better at Matador Room?
Dinner is the main event here — the supper club concept and full Latin menu are built around it, and the terrace at night with candles and sea breeze is a different experience from daytime. Brunch runs Saturday and Sunday 10am–3pm and is worth considering if you want a lower-pressure entry point to the space, but the full scope of the kitchen and atmosphere shows up at dinner.
What are alternatives to Matador Room in Miami?
For a different take on serious cooking in Miami, Boia De (Opa-Locka neighbourhood) offers a chef-driven, intimate format at a smaller scale, while Stubborn Seed in South Beach brings tasting-menu ambition. Ariete in Coconut Grove is a strong local alternative for ingredient-led cooking without the hotel setting. Cote Miami fits if you want Korean barbecue at a high price point rather than Latin. Los Fuegos by Francis Mallmann at Faena is the closest comparable in terms of hotel restaurant prestige and Latin culinary direction, making it the most direct cross-shop.
Can I eat at the bar at Matador Room?
The restaurant has an indoor bar that displays photographs by French photographer Lucien Clergue, and bar seating is part of the space. Whether full dinner service is available at the bar specifically is worth confirming when you book, particularly on busier Thursday-to-Saturday nights when walk-in capacity tightens across the whole venue.
Hours
- Monday
- 6–10 pm
- Tuesday
- 6–10 pm
- Wednesday
- 6–10 pm
- Thursday
- 6–10 pm
- Friday
- 6–11 pm
- Saturday
- 10 am–3 pm, 6–11 pm
- Sunday
- 10 am–3 pm, 6–10 pm
Recognized By
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