Serena

Serena Moxy South Beach

MIAMI

Words: Eleanor Howard Photography: © Michael Kleinberg

IN A BITE Owner: Lightstone Operator: Coyo Taco Group Architecture: Kobi Karp Architecture Interior Design: Saladino Design Studios Head Chef: Scott Linquist F&B Director: John Eldridge Head Bartender: Christian Rubio Head Sommelier: John Eldridge www.serenamiami.com

Lighting up Miami’s Art Deco district is the newly opened Moxy South Beach. Marking a new chapter for hospitality in Miami Beach, the 202-key, eight-storey hotel celebrates the city’s cosmopolitan culture and breezy outdoor living, as well as blending the glamour of Mid-Century Havana with the artistry of contemporary Mexico City.

Moxy’s first resort-style outpost offers a diverse culinary line-up that spans six new dining and drinking venues, all operated by the founders of Miami’s Coyo Taco and 1-800-Lucky. One of the first to make its debut is Serena, an open-air restaurant and bar designed Saladino Design Studios.

Located on a vibrant, planted terrace on the second floor, Serena channels the enchanting rooftop and patio restaurants of Oaxaca and Mexico City. Inspired by the brightly hued works of the great Modernist architect Luis Barragán, Serena’s garden-like outdoor dining area is a vibrant mosaic in bold shades of pink, orange, coral and blue, with fun and eclectic seating arrangements of plush sofas, banquettes, swinging bar stools, cushioned wrought-iron chairs and ceramic-tile tabletops. A domed cast-iron canopy strung with twinkling lights and fragrant bougainvillea evokes the indigenous markets of Michoacán, Tepoztlán, and other Mexican locales.

An outdoor kitchen – featuring a large circular stone mill and a traditional comal – enables diners to watch Chef Scott Linquist and his team make nixtamal (corn) by grinding and shaping it by hand into fresh tortillas before cooking on a comal. Serena is one of the few establishments in Miami to follow this detailed process to produce dishes such as Uni and Crab Tostadas and Squash Blossom Quesadillas.

Creative cocktails devised by acclaimed mixologist Christian Rubio, along with beers and wines, are prepared in the greenhouse-like bar with glass garage-style doors that open to warm beach breezes. Inside, the lounge has blue-painted beam ceilings and mosaic tiles reminiscent of an antique fountain.