Credit: Daniel Zuliani
MIAMI
Inside MIKA: Michael White on Miami Dining, Simplicity, and His Return to the Kitchen
Written by Eric Barton | June 5, 2025
AUTHOR BIO: Eric Barton is editor of The Adventurist and a freelance journalist who splits his time between Asheville and Miami. He has reviewed restaurants for more than two decades. Email him here.
Chef Michael White is not the type to do anything halfway.
This is the guy who built Marea into one of New York’s most respected restaurants and collected six Michelin stars along the way. He doesn’t need another restaurant. But here he is anyway, opening MIKA in Coral Gables—a place he now calls home—with a menu that combines Riviera elegance with South Florida’s seafood bounty.
It’s both a greatest-hits album and a fresh debut, full of raw crudos, hand-shaped pastas, and the kind of showpiece proteins that don’t need gold leaf to stand out.
In the conversation below, we talk about the upbringing that built White, his perfect day in Miami, and the dish not to miss at MIKA.
MIKA Coral Gables, Credit Bishop Design
You grew up in Wisconsin with a family that gardened and cooked from scratch. Was there a specific moment or dish that made you realize you wanted to cook professionally?
Not at that point. I just really loved being in the kitchen with my family. As a family we were always in the kitchen, especially in the winter—baking bread with my father. I remember making braised beef, au gratin potatoes. You name it, my mom and dad always made wonderful meals.
You trained at Spiaggia and then went on to study in Italy. What’s one lesson from your time in Italy that still shows up in your kitchen today?
The hallmark of Italian food is its simplicity. It’s something I live by every day. Keep it simple and let the ingredients shine. I really look to take out what’s not necessary when we look at dishes. If it doesn’t add to the dish, we take it out.
Gnocchi
With six Michelin stars and a James Beard Award, what made you want to take on the Miami dining scene?
—It just was a natural. My customers are in NYC and Miami/Coral Gables. The Plaza in Coral Gables was the perfect spot—a community where I live as well. MIKA has been very well received so far and we couldn’t be more pleased.
Lobster burrata
Credit: Evan Sung
You’ve said that in a city like Miami, food alone isn’t enough—it’s about the whole package. How did that idea shape your approach to opening MIKA?
Great food, of course, is always the goal. But from the beginning, at MIKA, I wanted it to be about the full experience: exceptional service, a beautiful design, and consistency across the board. That last part—delivering every single time—is the real key to a restaurant’s success. Anyone can have a great night once. The challenge is doing it night after night, and that’s where the magic happens.
Mezzaluna
What’s one dish on the MIKA menu that you think best captures your cooking philosophy—and why?
Wow! That’s a tough question. The crudos, pastas, fish… these dishes are all part of my journey as a young chef working in Italy and the south of France.
When you're not in the kitchen, what do you like to do when you're in Miami? Any favorite neighborhoods or ways you unwind?
I love going to the beach, getting out on the water fishing as well, going to a Heat game, tennis, concerts. There is always something going on in this city—really my second home.
