Restaurant in Surfside, United States
Michelin-starred occasion dining that earns it.
The Surf Club Restaurant holds a 2025 Michelin star and has ranked in Opinionated About Dining's top 250 North American restaurants three years running — making it the clearest choice in Surfside for a serious occasion dinner. Chef Michael DeCicco leads the kitchen at this historic Four Seasons property. Booking is hard; plan several weeks ahead and expect $$$$ spend.
If you are planning a serious dinner in Miami Beach or Surfside — a milestone birthday, an anniversary, or a business dinner where the room needs to do some work , The Surf Club Restaurant is the right call. Under chef Michael DeCicco, it holds a Michelin star (2025) and has ranked among Opinionated About Dining's top 250 restaurants in North America three consecutive years, landing at #227 in 2024 and climbing to #234 in 2025. That sustained critical recognition is meaningful: it tells you this kitchen is not coasting on a legacy address. For a special occasion dinner on the upper end of Miami's price spectrum, this is where the evidence points.
The $$$$ price positioning puts it alongside the most expensive dining in South Florida, so arrive with expectations calibrated accordingly. If you have been once and left satisfied, the question on a return visit is how to go deeper , and that answer lives in the wine program.
At a Michelin-starred American restaurant in this price tier, the wine list is not incidental , it is structural. The Surf Club Restaurant's $$$$ pricing implies a cellar built to match the kitchen's ambitions, which means you should be treating the sommelier as a collaborator rather than an order-taker. For a return visitor, the opportunity is to move away from familiar bottles and let the program show you something. Classic American dining at this level typically organises its list around California and Burgundy anchors, with supporting depth in Champagne and Rhône; request pairings or ask specifically about what the sommelier is currently excited about rather than defaulting to the wine you already know. The list should be earning its price-tier reputation on that conversation.
If the first visit was à la carte, a second visit is the right time to consider whether a tasting menu format with wine pairings changes the value calculation. At this price point, the pairing route usually delivers more discovery per dollar than ordering bottles independently , and it gives the kitchen and wine team the chance to present the meal as they intend it, course by course.
The Surf Club itself is a Four Seasons property at 9011 Collins Ave, Surfside , a 1930s private beach club historically associated with the Rat Pack era, now operating as a hotel. That context matters for how the room feels: it carries a weight of place that newer Miami Beach restaurants do not have. For a special occasion, that ambient gravitas is an asset. The Google rating of 4.6 across 482 reviews suggests consistent execution rather than occasional brilliance, which is what you want when the dinner matters.
For a comparison within the same building, Lido Restaurant at The Surf Club offers a less formal alternative if the occasion calls for something lighter. For a different register entirely in the area, Josh's Deli is the neighbourhood reference for a no-ceremony lunch. See our full Surfside restaurants guide for the broader picture, and our Surfside hotels guide if you are planning an overnight stay around the dinner.
Booking difficulty is rated Hard. For a Michelin-starred restaurant with this level of OAD recognition, that means planning several weeks ahead minimum , do not expect to walk in or book same-week for dinner on a weekend. Friday and Saturday are the tightest windows; mid-week reservations are more accessible if the schedule allows. If you are visiting from out of town and the dinner is a priority, lock the reservation before booking the hotel.
The address at 9011 Collins Ave, Surfside puts it just north of Miami Beach proper, which means it is an easy drive or rideshare from South Beach or Bal Harbour. Valet is the expected arrival mode at a Four Seasons property. Beyond the restaurant, Surfside has bars, wine venues, and experiences worth building into a longer visit.
| Detail | The Surf Club Restaurant | Le Bernardin (NYC) | Addison (San Diego) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price tier | $$$$ | $$$$ | $$$$ |
| Michelin stars | 1 Star (2025) | 3 Stars | 1 Star |
| OAD ranking | #234 North America (2025) | Top tier | Ranked |
| Booking difficulty | Hard | Very Hard | Hard |
| Setting | Historic beach club hotel | Midtown NYC tower | Resort grounds |
| Leading for | Special occasions, return diners | Seafood-focused splurge | Tasting menu format |
For further context on the American fine dining tier this restaurant occupies, see Pearl's coverage of The French Laundry in Napa, Single Thread Farm in Healdsburg, Blue Hill at Stone Barns in Tarrytown, Providence in Los Angeles, and Addison in San Diego. For American dining at a slightly less formal register, Hilda and Jesse in San Francisco and Selby's in Atherton offer useful comparisons. And for the New Orleans end of the American fine dining spectrum, Emeril's in New Orleans is a reference point on legacy and value.
Bar seating at Michelin-starred hotel restaurants in this format is often available for walk-in or same-day bookings, and it is the most accessible way to experience the kitchen without a weeks-ahead reservation. Call ahead to confirm current bar policy, as availability changes by season and day of week. If the bar is an option, it is the right move for a solo visit or a spontaneous dinner.
Specific menu items are not confirmed in current data, so ordering advice here would be guesswork. What is confirmed: this is a Michelin-starred American kitchen with sustained OAD recognition, which means the tasting menu format , if offered , is the safest bet for experiencing the full range of the kitchen's output. Ask the server what the kitchen is currently focused on; at this price tier, the answer should be specific and useful.
Yes , this is one of the cleaner calls in South Florida for a milestone dinner. The combination of a Michelin star, a historic Four Seasons setting, and a 4.6 Google rating across nearly 500 reviews gives you a high floor on the evening. The room carries occasion weight that newer Miami restaurants have not yet earned. Budget accordingly: $$$$ means a full dinner for two with wine will land well above $300.
Possible, but not the format's natural strength. A Michelin-starred hotel restaurant at this price point is primarily built for table dining. If solo, ask specifically about counter or bar seating when booking , it changes the experience significantly and may also ease the booking timeline. For solo dining in Surfside at a lower price point, Josh's Deli is a more natural fit.
Within the same building, Lido Restaurant at The Surf Club is the lower-formality option on the same Four Seasons property. For a neighbourhood casual option, Josh's Deli is the local reference. For a broader view of where to eat in the area, see our full Surfside restaurants guide. If you are open to the wider Miami-to-Bal-Harbour corridor, the options expand considerably at every price tier.
At $$$$ with a current Michelin star and three consecutive years of OAD recognition, the price is justified , but only if the format matches your expectations. This is not a casual splurge dinner; it is a structured fine dining experience in a hotel setting. If you want that format in South Florida, the evidence supports booking here over most alternatives. If you want a more relaxed atmosphere for similar spend, look elsewhere in the region.
For a return visit, yes. If the first dinner was à la carte, the tasting menu route is the logical next step , it is where a Michelin-starred kitchen at this price tier typically shows its clearest thinking, and where wine pairing adds the most value. Specific menu formats and pricing are not confirmed in current data, so confirm the current structure when booking.
Hotel fine dining restaurants at this level typically have private dining options for groups, but specific capacity and private room details are not confirmed in current data. For groups of six or more, contact the restaurant directly well in advance , this is a hard-to-book venue even for standard tables, and group reservations require more lead time. Confirmed phone number is not available in current data; book through the Four Seasons Surf Club directly.
| Venue | Cuisine | Awards | Booking Difficulty | Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Surf Club Restaurant | American | Opinionated About Dining Top Restaurants in North America Ranked #234 (2025); Michelin 1 Star (2025); Opinionated About Dining Top Restaurants in North America Ranked #227 (2024); Opinionated About Dining Top Restaurants in North America Highly Recommended (2023) | Hard | — |
| Le Bernardin | French, Seafood | Michelin 3 Star, World's 50 Best | Unknown | — |
| Atomix | Modern Korean, Korean | Michelin 2 Star, World's 50 Best | Unknown | — |
| Lazy Bear | Progressive American, Contemporary | Michelin 2 Star, World's 50 Best | Unknown | — |
| Alinea | Progressive American, Creative | Michelin 3 Star, World's 50 Best | Unknown | — |
| Atelier Crenn | Modern French, Contemporary | Michelin 3 Star, World's 50 Best | Unknown | — |
How The Surf Club Restaurant stacks up against the competition.
Bar seating is not confirmed in available venue data, but at a Michelin-starred $$$$ property like this one, counter or lounge options can offer a lower-commitment entry point. Call ahead or check directly with the Four Seasons Surfside property at 9011 Collins Ave to confirm current bar dining availability before making the trip.
Specific menu items are not listed in current venue data, so dish-level recommendations here would be guesswork. What the Michelin star and consecutive OAD Top 250 rankings (2024 and 2025) signal is consistency in the kitchen under chef Michael DeCicco — a reliable indicator that the core menu, whatever its current form, is being executed at a high level. Ask the service team what is running well on the night.
Yes — this is one of the cleaner calls in the Miami area for milestone dining. A Michelin star, back-to-back OAD Top 250 placements, and a Four Seasons setting on Collins Ave give you the room, the service infrastructure, and the kitchen credibility that special occasions require. Book several weeks out; this is rated Hard to get into.
Possible, but the $$$$ price range and Michelin-starred format make this a harder sell for solo visits than a counter-service omakase or a bar-focused spot. If solo fine dining is the goal, confirm whether bar or counter seating is available — that format typically makes a solo visit feel intentional rather than awkward at this price tier.
Surfside itself has limited direct competition at this level, which is part of why The Surf Club holds its position. For Michelin-calibre American fine dining in the broader Miami area, the comparison set expands — but few match the combination of OAD Top 250 ranking and resort-scale setting that this address offers. If you want a different format at similar spend, look at Miami's broader $$$$ tier.
At $$$$ with a Michelin star and a top-250 OAD ranking in both 2024 and 2025, the credentials are there to justify the spend — provided you are booking for a format that suits you. This is a sit-down, occasion-oriented American restaurant in a Four Seasons property; if that is what you need, the price is defensible. If you want casual beachside dining, it is not the right tool.
Tasting menu specifics are not in the current venue data, so format and pricing can change here. At a Michelin-starred $$$$ American restaurant with consistent OAD recognition under chef Michael DeCicco, a tasting menu — if offered — would typically represent the kitchen's strongest case. Verify current menu formats directly with the restaurant before booking around that expectation. Check the venue's official channels for the latest details.
Keep this venue in your Pearl passport, rate it after you visit, and track it alongside every other place you collect.
