Moroccan Waterfront Supper Club Habibi Miami to Open on the Miami River

Over the past several months, Italian, Japanese, and even Peruvian restaurants have dominated Miami's dining scene. However, there's a new era of restaurants that have slowly been making their presence known in the Magic City, and they are restaurants that are inspired by the French, Italian, and Moroccan Rivieras.

Late this summer, Miami will meet Habibi Miami, a lush, French Moroccan Riviera-inspired supper club, restaurant, and nightlife destination, which will open along the Miami River. Earlier this year, Miami welcomed Riviera-inspired La Màrtola in Miami's Buena Vista neighborhood and Monte Carlo-grown restaurant Avenue 31 Café, which are two other Riviera-inspired restaurants.

The restaurant and supper club aims to channel the essence of the French Moroccan Riviera while serving bites and cocktails and adding to Miami's already bustling nightlife scene in the area. (The Miami River is notoriously home to Riviera-inspired nightlife hotspot and restaurant Kiki on the River.)

The new restaurant and supper club is the creation of Roman Jones, Ikam Rebaia, and Aris Nanos.

With nods to Moorish architecture, the design of Habibi Miami captures the aesthetics and culture of the Maghreb, the Islamic North African areas beyond Egypt, which comprises western and central North Africa. Creative director Mark Lehmkuhl of Ghosthouse Design Group worked with Love Lake Studio to create the Wes Anderson-inspired retro decor featuring a palette of pink and teal. Inhabiting a tent-like structure inspired by luxurious riads, which are rectangular gardens, Habibi Miami may be the first Moroccan Riviera-inspired nightlife restaurant in Miami.
Nevertheless, in terms of Habibi Miami's opulence and nightlife scene, the new supper club will fit right at home among Miami's club-restaurant scene (or as New Times likes to call them, "club-staurants"). With a 30-foot-long red carpet entrance, lush greenery all over, and Alhambra design elements on the outside, those walking into the restaurant are instantly prepared for opulent decor. Inside, the dining room is outfitted with crystal chandeliers, Turkish rugs, velvet booths, and silk draperies.

The restaurant has an outdoor patio where it plans to host sunset parties, as well as an indoor bar adorned with hookahs that will offer tableside hookah service with customized infusions and flavors. The bar menu at Habibi Miami draws on North African and Mediterranean ingredients, showcasing unique flavors that induce a sense of the French-Moroccan Riviera. In executing this, the beverage team will use techniques like "fat washing," which is the process of toasting seeds to pull out their oils, and then infusing the seeds by soaking them with spirits overnight. This technique is used in the "Ali Fashioned" cocktail made with peanut butter-washed Angel's Envy bourbon, Giffard's Banana & Honey, and Angostura bitters with orange aromatics. Another unique cocktail is the Moroccan margarita made with Patron blanco, Patron reposado, Cointreau, a harissa-infused pineapple reduction, lime juice, and a roasted couscous-salted rim.

Plus, nightly shows of belly dancers, contortionists, and percussionists will circle the dining room to enhance the nightlife-as-theater experience.

The food menu encompasses a variety of Middle Eastern and international shareable dishes. Some highlights include "Merguez Pigs in a Blanket," a whole roasted cauliflower with charred wild mushrooms, a lemon roasted chicken and herbed yogurt dish, and comfort food like Wagyu burger sliders, miso-honey glazed sea bass skewers, and a selection of sushi, complemented by sips and tea service. Tableside dessert carts will include ice cream with Turkish mastic and Halva cheesecake.

This article will be updated once more information is made available.

Habibi Miami. 452 NW North River Dr., Miami. Opening summer 2024.