Competition, cuisine and crabs: South Beach Seafood Festival tickets now on sale

If you like seafood and sunshine, we know where you can find it in October. Well, the seafood, anyway.

Tickets are now on sale for the 13th annual South Beach Seafood Festival, which runs Oct. 22-25 in Miami Beach and includes two new dinner series, a chef showdown and a new competition for home chefs.

Valerie Roy, CMO at CI Management, which sponsors the event, said that the festival aims to offer something for every diner person who loves seafood — and that celebrating local culinary creativity is vital to the event.

“We want to find what makes your South Florida neighborhood hot spot, the best of the best and why people should travel to and from to come indulge and make memories,” she said.

Special dinners

Two new “An Evening in Miami Beach” dinners will kick off the festival, featuring four or five course dinners paired with wine and cocktails at restaurants around the city.

Oct. 22: At Prime 54 at Fontainebleau Miami Beach, Chateau Lobby, 4441 Jimmy Buffett Memorial Hwy., Miami Beach; $325. Similar event at Carbone is sold out.

Oct. 23: At Rao’s at Loews Miami Beach, 1601 Collins Ave., Miami Beach; $500. Similar events at Pubbelly Sushi and Catch Miami Beach sold out.

Other events

VIP Chef Showdown

Twenty South Florida chefs compete to create their best seafood dishes. Diners will get a chance to try the offerings and can vote on their favorite dish. Participating restaurants include Temple Street Eatery, Rusty Pelican, Sushi Maki, SuViche, Noma Beach, Zaytina, Ossobuco Miami, Meat Market and Cafe Bernie, among others.

There’s also a Tequila Herradura bartender showdown, where mixologists battle to become the champion.

7 p.m. Oct. 24, Lummus Park, 1130 Ocean Drive, Miami Beach; $175

Seafood Slam

Locally and nationally familiar names will offer samples of their dishes. Participating restaurants include Aguasal by Jose Andreas, Paya, Jarana, Pubbelly Sushi, Shuckers Sports Bar at Clevelander South Beach, American Social, Old Lisbon, CJ’s Crab Shack and more.

There will also be DJs, dancing, beach games and the Home Chef Challenge, a live culinary competition featuring local home chefs.

1 p.m. Oct. 25; Lummus Park, 1130 Ocean Drive, Miami Beach; $160

For tickets and more information for all events, visit sobeseafoodfest.com

This story was originally published September 30, 2025 at 12:22 PM.