The Surf Club Restaurant by Thomas Keller

The story

Crafted with passion, served with love

A Legend of Leisure, Reimagined

The Surf Club has long held a mythic place in Miami's social history — the kind of place that inspired the quip, "When I die, I don't want to go to heaven; I want to go to The Surf Club." When Thomas Keller chose this storied Collins Avenue address for his first Florida restaurant, the fit was inevitable. The Surf Club Restaurant by Thomas Keller carries that legacy forward, honoring decades of grand parties and good times through a classic Continental cuisine carefully interpreted for today's guests.

The Kitchen and the Team

Keller himself needs little introduction. The only American-born chef to hold multiple three-star Michelin ratings, and the first American male chef designated a Chevalier of the French Legion of Honor, he has built a restaurant group defined by exceptionally high standards and genuine collaboration. At The Surf Club Restaurant, those standards are upheld daily by Chef de Cuisine Daniel Donado, who joined Keller's team in 2020 and has risen through the ranks over nearly five years. Raised in Colombia and Florida, Donado brings a personal story rooted in the belief that cooking is an act of nurturing — a philosophy that shows in the care given to every plate.

Pastry Chef Nii-Ayi Evans, trained across some of Europe's most demanding kitchens — from The Dorchester and Le Jules Verne at the Eiffel Tower to Claridge's — oversees all desserts, bread, and viennoiserie. General Manager George Totari leads the dining room with the kind of gracious, attentive service the property has always demanded.

The Menu: Recognizable, Classic, Impeccably Executed

The à la carte menu reads like a love letter to the Continental dining room at its peak. Signature dishes include Maine Lobster Thermidor, Prime Beef Short Rib Wellington with Sauce Périgourdine, True Ribeye™ Steak, Roasted Crystal Valley Farms Chicken for Two, and a tableside Classic Caesar Salad. From the sea, Dover Sole Meunière — wild-caught off the coast of Brittany — arrives to serve two. The Lemon Meringue Tart and Coconut Cake close the meal on a note as classic as everything that preceded it.

Bar snacks — deviled eggs, French onion dip with kettle chips, candied Hobbs' applewood smoked bacon — nod to the cocktail culture that defined the original Surf Club, making the experience feel thoroughly nostalgic yet entirely alive.

A Wine Program Worth Celebrating

The beverage program was designed by Michel Couvreux, Beverage Director for the Thomas Keller Restaurant Group and a veteran of Le Bernardin and Per Se, where the wine list earned Wine Spectator's Grand Award. That same depth of expertise shapes the list here, which spans major viticultural regions with a broad selection of old-world and new-world bottles. Wine Spectator recognized the program with its Best of Award of Excellence, a distinction that reflects the list's range and the sommelier team's commitment to matching great wine with great American Continental cooking.

The Setting

The ambiance evokes a bygone era without feeling frozen in it. The Surf Club Restaurant sits within the revamped Surf Club property in Surfside — just north of Miami Beach — where the atmosphere of leisure and elegance that defined the club's golden years has been thoughtfully preserved. It is a room that knows how to have fun, and a kitchen that knows how to cook.