This new waterfront Mediterranean spot in Miami offers bay views and space for your boat

There’s a new spot for dining and drinking on the water — and you can even bring your boat.

Yaya Coastal Cuisine, now open in the former space of the Italian restaurant Antica Mare just off 79th Street, is the brainchild of Miami hospitality entrepreneur Angel Febres, known for the Wynwood hot spot Racket, the Asian restaurant Drunken Dragon and the former speakeasy-style bar Foxhole on Miami Beach.

Febres, a longtime boating enthusiast, hopes the restaurant, which is now open at 7999 NE Bayshore Ct., will draw members of the boating community as well as diners looking for Mediterranean cuisine and a great view.

“We wanted to create a dining experience that not only tantalizes the taste buds but also transports our guests to a coastal paradise,” he said in a statement.

The restaurant’s culinary team is led by executive chef Todd Zimmer, former executive chef for Prime 112 in Miami Beach. Fitting with its waterfront location, the menu will included plenty of seafood options, including crudo and grilled head-on prawns, a Maine lobster cobb salad, a whole Spanish dorade and seafood aguachile cooked in leche de Tigre.

There’s also hot mezze on the menu — think crispy zucchini and eggplant and flaming saganaki (fried cheese) — and entrees like bone-in ribeye with salsa verde, rack of lamb and swordfish Milanesa.

The cocktail program includes special drinks like the Mediterranean Martini with olive oil washed vodka with red bell pepper juice, basil simple syrup and lemon juice and the Honeydew Cooler with vodka, creme de banana, lime juice and coconut water.

The restaurant can seat 110 indoors in its light, airy yet charmingly rustic interior, designed by Miami’s Saladino Design Studios. There’s a full bar as well and 80 seats outside on the terrace, with a view of the bay.

There’s also a view of the boats belonging to the restaurant’s private membership club. Yaya Club offers 14 dockage spots in front of the restaurant, so you can pull up in style if you’re a member (most of us, we realize, will be coming from the parking lot).

Members also get access to elegant private dining room that is also available for special occasions or business meetings.

Yaya

Where: 7999 NE Bayshore Court, Miami

Hours: 5:30 p.m.-miidnight Monday-Thursday; 5:30 p.m.-1 a.m. Friday-Saturday; 5 p.m.-midnight Sunday

Reservations: Resy

More information: yayamiami.com or 305-967-8020

This story was originally published August 22, 2024 at 4:30 AM.