11 July 17-23, 2025 miaminewtimes.com | browardpalmbeach.com NEW TIMES | CONTENTS | LETTERS | NEWS | NIGHT+DAY | CULTURE | CAFE | MUSIC | PLAN YOUR WEDDINGS | CORPORATE EVENTS SOCIAL EVENTS Dream Event VIEW OUR EVENT SPACES WWW.THERUSTYPELICAN.COM at 3201 RICKENBACKER CWY, KEY BISCAYNE, FL 33149 | 305.361.3818 BE SOCIAL WITH US! /RUSTYPELICANMIAMI ▼ DESIGN DISTRICT POUR ONE OUT Tablé by Bachour has quietly closed. The French restaurant at 180 NE 40th St. appears to have served its last meal in late May when the final Yelp reviews were posted. The space, which opened in March 2023 in a former Prada showroom, is now shuttered, with paper covering the windows and doors. Google searches and OpenTable both show the restaurant as permanently closed, with the Miami Herald first reporting the news. Winner of New Times’ Best Restaurant Design District/Midtown 2024, the closure marks a wave of chef-driven restaurant clo- sures this summer across Miami. Chef Antonio Bachour opened Tablé as his take on refined French dining. The Insta- gram-famous Puerto Rico-born pastry chef, who runs the Michelin Bib Gourmand-recog- nized Bachour bakery-café in Coral Gables, designed the 70-seat restaurant to feel like a Parisian brasserie. When Tablé opened, Bachour told New Times it was “the restaurant I always dreamed to have.” The space included a glassed-in bakery where diners could watch pastries being made, a market area with grab- and-go items, and a 16-seat bar. Tablé served breakfast, lunch, dinner, and weekend brunch. Breakfast included items like demi baguettes with ham and gruyere. Dinner brought caviar and chips alongside the French-focused entrees. The kitchen turned out dishes like king crab cakes, lobster frites, and whole roasted chicken for two. The pastry program featured eight petit ga- teaux options, including the “Rocher” with gianduja mousse and the “Exotic” with coco- nut and passionfruit. Bachour’s Coral Gables location remains open and continues to earn its Michelin Bib Gourmand recognition. That spot focuses on counter-service pastries, sandwiches, and café fare rather than full-service dining. Miami’s dining scene is shedding restaurants this summer, with closures hitting everywhere from South Beach to Miami Shores. Tablé joins the permanent shutdowns alongside MiMo fixture Ms. Cheezious, which closed after nearly a decade, and Michelin- starred EntreNos in Miami Shores, though that one was always planned as a limited pop-up. Other spots have hit “temporary” pauses instead of calling it quits. Longtime South Beach favorite Byblos announced a tempo- rary closure last week, joining MiMo’s Ensenada, Coconut Grove’s Sereia, and Torno Subito, Massimo Bottura’s rooftop Italian res- taurant at Julia & Henry’s, which are all tak- ing summer breaks. But if they truly plan to reopen after the summer season wraps are still waiting to be seen. OLEE FOWLER ▼ KENDALL TOP TRUCK Not all of Miami’s best meals come with white tablecloths or oceanfront views. Some- times, the most unforgettable bite is handed to you from a truck window, served on a pa- per plate, and devoured standing up. This year, one unassuming Miami food truck has quietly earned national recognition. Known to its regulars for blistered crusts, pil- lowy dough, and flavors straight out of Na- ples, it’s now getting love on a much bigger stage. Yelp released its 2025 list of the Top 100 Food Trucks in the U.S., and a Miami fa- vorite made the cut. The list cele- brates the most beloved rolling kitchens in the country, from smoky Texas BBQ rigs to bao bun buses in California. But the one putting Miami on the map this year isn’t slinging brisket or dumplings. Instead, it’s slinging wood-fired, hand-tossed, Nea- politan-style pies made with dough that fer- ments for days and ingredients that taste like they’ve been flown in from Italy. Acqua e Farina landed at no. 35. The Kendall-based truck is run by Ciro Esposito, a Naples-born pizza maker who has worked in kitchens across Italy, New York, and Miami. | TASTE TEST | ▼ Café Tablé by Bachour photo Chef Antonio Bachour opened the Miami Design District restaurant with hopes it would feel like a “Parisian brasserie.” ACQUA E FARINA STANDS AS PROOF THAT SOME OF MIAMI’S BEST BITES ARE STILL FOUND CURBSIDE.
