Wynwood’s upscale makeover continues with two new luxurious restaurants

Wynwood is getting a makeover, thanks to two new luxury restaurants located in the same building.

At the downstairs restaurant, the buzz around the bar grows louder as the night unfolds, though not enough to drown out the sounds of a sultry singer and three-man combo playing in the elegant dining room. Servers bear sophisticated cocktails and sizzling steaks and weave from banquette to table, dropping off dishes and pouring wine.

Upstairs on the seventh floor, a guitarist accompanies a DJ in a studied attempt to mimic the decor’s Tulum-in-Miami vibe as lucky diners seated near the windows gaze down on Wynwood Walls. Tableside, wagyu beef short rib barbacoa is pulled apart with a flourish and served with warm tortillas, while salt-encrusted branzino is set ablaze, then peeled delicately from its salt bath.

And out on the street, where long lines for the valet increase in direct proportion to the time, Wynwood edges a little further from its humble roots toward what looks like a more glamorous future.

Lovers of craft beer and food trucks may not be happy about the gentrification of Wynwood, once known for its dive bars and colorful graffiti. But it’s happening anyway. Plans for intense and rapid residential development in the neighborhood are paving the way for luxury to enter, and now it’s here in the form of Sparrow Italia and Casa Madera.

The restaurants — both from Noble 33 hospitality group and located in the building that also houses Marriott’s Moxy Miami Wynwood — aren’t the first upscale spots to arrive. Across the street is the Austin, Texas import Uchi, which serves upscale Japanese cuisine, and, a block away is Pastis, the French bistro that’s a clone of the New York original. The neighborhood is also home to the steakhouse Ossobuco as well as the stunning new and elevated location of Chef Niven Patel’s Ghee Indian Kitchen.

But Sparrow Italia and Casa Madera, which both opened late in 2024, exude a different air: exclusive, glamorous, clubby, focused on food but also on the nightlife and entertainment aspects. And they could be signaling a turning point for Wynwood.

Mikey Tanha, who opened the restaurants with Noble 33 co-founder Tosh Berman, said that Wynwood was a logical place to continue the brand’s expansion. Noble 33 opened its first Sparrow Italia in London in 2022 and has two other Casa Madera locations in West Hollywood and Toronto. They consider Casa Madera a sister restaurant to the brand’s Mexican steakhouse concept Toca Madera, which has restaurants in West Hollywood, Scottsdale, Houston, and Las Vegas.

So far, Wynwood has proved a perfect fit, said Tanha.

“Locals love coming to Wynwood,” he said. “It’s a place geared toward creativity, a place people can escape to, and it can support businesses like Sparrow and Casa Madera, especially with tons of buildings going up.”

In a more modest way, Noble 33’s path is reminiscent of the one taken by New York-based Major Food Group, which has more than 40 restaurants around the world and moved into Miami-Dade after the pandemic with a flurry of openings including Carbone, Dirty French, Contessa, HaSalon, Chateau ZZ’s and Sadelle’s and most recently Carbone Vino in Coconut Grove.

Tanha and Berman aren’t at that level, but they do plan to open two more restaurants in Miami, a version of Toca Madera in Brickell in 2025 and Meduza Mediterrania in 2026 at 17th Street and Drexel Avenue in Miami Beach.

Noble 33 pays close attention to its menus, Tanha says. At Sparrow, primarily an Italian steakhouse, highlights include a delicious starter of wagyu carpaccio with pickled mushrooms, parmigiano, pine nuts, umami aioli and shaved black truffles and a rich pasta course of bone marrow cappelletti with braised beef cheeks, roasted bone marrow, horseradish and a Barolo wine reduction.

Premium meats are the main draw, of course, including a Calabrian-chili rubbed New York strip.

Casa Madera’s menu leans toward coastal Mexican seafood, though you can order the aforementioned wagyu beef short rib barbacoa or other premium meats. Popular seafood items include dover sole, grilled crab legs, grilled Maine lobster, salt-encrusted branzino or striped sea bass. There’s also a selection of crudo and tacos, sea bass, tiger shrimp, braised wagyu beef among them.

So far, the restaurants have been busy, Tanha said, adding that the brand’s hope is to lure locals as well as tourists.

“When we build out restaurants and go into a new space, one of our priorities is to focus on the local community,” Tanha said. “All our restaurants, with the exception of Vegas, are driven by locals, and even in Vegas we see locals in the hospitality industry come and dine there. We want the local community here.”

That’s an easy statement to make in the middle of Miami’s season, when diners are crowding into the restaurants. August, however, is a lot more ominous, with oppressive heat as well as rain, flooded streets and hurricane threats. There’s no telling yet how Sparrow Italia and Casa Madera will fare, Tanha says, but he’s confident the restaurants will be able to draw diners year-round.

“I moved from L.A.,” he said. “A lot of people like me have moved to Miami with a purpose. Miami is one of those places that feels exciting. So many people are doing exciting things. We’re excited to be here, and we want to provide the community with experiences that they haven’t seen before.”

Sparrow Italia

Where: 255 NW 25th St., Miami

Hours: 6-11 p.m. Tuesday-Thursday; 6 p.m.-midnight Friday-Saturday; closed Sunday-Monday

Reservations and more information: sparrowitalia.com or 786-322-5998

Casa Madera

Where: 255 NW 25th St. , floor 7, Miami

Hours: 6-11 p.m. Sunday, Wednesday-Thursday; 6 p.m.-midnight Friday-Saturday; closed Monday-Tuesday

Reservations and more information: www.thecasamadera.com or 786-332-6408

This story was originally published January 22, 2025 at 4:30 AM.