AUTHOR BIO: Eric Barton is editor of The Adventurist and a freelance journalist who has reviewed restaurants for more than two decades. Email him here.
Brickell Key has always been more of eye candy than a destination. Since La Mar closed last year, most everyone goes to this little man-made island just off downtown Miami for the jogging path, where the views of the skyline are downright stunning.
But a new expat from Dallas is promising to become a new headliner. The Mexican, a contemporary Mexican restaurant, is slated to open on Brickell Key in April. The concept comes from a Dallas flagship that has built a reputation for pairing refined cooking with chic design, and the Miami location is being positioned as the first step in the brand’s expansion into South Florida.
Brickell Key needs that kind of ambition right now. La Mar left the island after the Mandarin Oriental Miami began its big renovation in May of 2025, and the neighborhood has been living without an obvious answer to the question of where to go for dinner without crossing the bridge to Brickell.
The restaurant is owned by Roberto González Alcalá, who is also president of Intelectiva Restaurant Group, and he frames the move as an extension of what worked in Dallas rather than a reinvention for Miami. The Mexican Miami spans more than 10,000 square feet and seats more than 330 across indoor and outdoor spaces on the waterfront.
Architect Paulina Morán conceived the design as Mexican art–driven, with much of the art, furniture, and materials sourced from Monterrey, González Alcalá’s hometown. The entry is floor-to-ceiling golden double doors that open into a tequila gallery lined with hundreds of bottles, followed by a central bar and dining room framed by limestone archways, geometric tile flooring, and floor-to-ceiling windows looking out at Biscayne Bay and the Brickell skyline. There’s two private dining rooms, plus a second waterfront bar outside, covered patio seating, and a lower terrace that steps down toward the water.
Barbacoa de arrachera
The kitchen is aiming for Northern Mexican tradition filtered through modern technique and premium sourcing. There’s barbacoa de arrachera (slow-cooked skirt steak), ribeye aguachile with avocado, radish, and dried piquín chile, and lobster elote with Maine lobster, roasted corn, Mexican crema, and Oaxacan cheese.
Roasted cauliflower
There are also vegetable-forward dishes like roasted cauliflower with truffle and habanero ash, a Wagyu Spinalis steak, and a Miami-exclusive Tuna Tomahawk tied to local purveyors and coastal influences. The cocktail list leans beyond classics with drinks like Mujeres Divinas (hibiscus and damiana) and reserve margaritas built on ultra-aged tequilas.
Wagyu spinalis steak
Dinner service is scheduled for Monday through Wednesday and Sunday from 5–10 p.m., and Thursday through Saturday from 5–11 p.m. The bar opens daily at 4 p.m., and reservations are expected to be available on OpenTable starting March 15.
If the island is going to have one restaurant that matters, The Mexican is clearly applying for the job, in gold doors and 10,000 square feet.
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