Sakura 736

Here is this week’s Miami food news:

All Week: Art Basel 2017
Art Basel 2017 is BACK! Follow our dining guide here to find out where to eat and drink as you breeze through art fairs, parties, fashion events, and more. Art Basel events start as early as Sunday, December 3, and run through Sunday, December 10. 
All Week: Get a Four-Course Lunch at Sakura 736
Sitting in South of Fifth, Sakura 736 {736 1 Street, Miami Beach; 786.607.0199} is a newly-opened restaurant with sushi, ceviche, and other Nikkei-inspired, Japanese-Peruvian fare. Just in time for Art Basel, Sakura’s new lunch special includes a generous four-course, prix-fixe menu for just $29. Don’t want four courses? Order from the restaurant’s a la carte menu, or choose from a menu of $11 lunches just for kids. Then, wash it all down with complimentary home-brewed iced tea, or browse the wine, beer, and daytime cocktail menu for something with more of a “kick.” Sakura 736 is open for lunch daily from 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Starting Wednesday, December 6: Villa Azur Celebrates Art Basel!
Head to Villa Azur {309 23 Street, Miami Beach; 305.763.8688} for a daily schedule of top-notch dinner parties, international club pop-ups, art by Catherine l’Empereur and Antoine Verglas, top DJs, and glasses overflowing with Armand de Brignac and Louis Roederer champagne. Read more about it here!
Friday, December 8: NaiYaRa Presents Live Painting
Herbert Galarza, a Bolivia-born South American street artist known for his eye-popping, Miami-inspired art, will do a live painting at NaiYaRa {1854 Bay Road, Miami Beach; 786.275.6005}. NaiYaRa will become a gallery for Galarza’s art, some of which will be available for purchase. Finally, because NaiYaRa has partnered with Macallan for this event, professionally-painted Macallan bottles will be on sale and dinner guests will get exclusive, one-night-only pours of Macallan scotch. Read more about it here!
Starting Friday, December 8: Sarah Michelle Rupert Exhibit at LT Steak & Seafood
Like all of Miami, The Betsy Hotel is gearing up for Art Week 2017—and it’s doing so by hosting special art exhibits throughout the hotel and its restaurants. Joining in the fun, the hotel’s main restaurant, LT Steak & Seafood {1440 Ocean Drive, Miami Beach; 305.673.0044}, will host an exhibit of Sarah Michelle Rupert’s collection of photography, video, collages, drawings, and animation. Sarah is currently the Gallery Director at Girls’ Club Foundation, a private collection and exhibition space dedicated to contemporary art by women. Outside of that, Sarah works as an independent curator and consultant for arts organizations, develops website content, digital applications systems and curricula, and organizes workshops for artists. Her art exhibition will launch to the public during Art Basel this Friday, December 8, at 8 p.m., and will remain on display until April 1, 2018. LT Steak & Seafood is open from Sunday through Thursday, from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m., and on Fridays and Saturdays, from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m.
Starting Friday, December 8: Cantina La Veinte Honors Mexican Artistry
Celebrate Art Basel 2017 in true Cantina style at Cantina La Veinte {495 Brickell Avenue, Brickell; 786.623.6136}, where art and food lovers can explore the diversity of Mexican artistry through upscale Mexican cuisine, live entertainment, and Mexican-inspired art exhibits. From Friday, December 8 to Sunday, December 10, starting at 8 p.m., Cantina La Veinte will have art by recognized Mexican artists on display in its gorgeous outdoor, waterfront patio. Tickets are free when you register on Eventbrite here. Cantina La Veinte is open until 1 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays, and 11 p.m. on Sundays.
Happy dining!
By Jennifer Agress | Miami Editor

Basel-hopping this year? In honor of Art Basel 2017, Sunset Harbour has one more spot to add to your list: NaiYaRa {1854 Bay Road, Miami Beach; 786.275.6005}. On Friday, December 8, fans of the hotspot’s Asian cuisine can come for dinner and get a dual treat—delicious food and eye-popping art by South American street artist Herbert Galarza, who is known to create art using historic pop imagery and contemporary cultural iconography that depicts highly-individualized messages about society and culture. From 8:30 p.m. to 11:30 p.m. this Friday, Galarza will not only turn the restaurant into his own personal art gallery, but he will paint one of his murals live for all dinner guests to see.
Known for Chef-Owner Piyarat Potha Arreerat’s modern, upscale spin on Thai street food, NaiYaRa has been in Miami Beach since it opened in 2015. And just in time for Art Basel 2017, “Chef Bee” (as the locals lovingly know him) has unveiled a bevy of new menu items that add a touch of South Beach chic to the flavors of back-alleyway Thailand. They include: Tuna Tostones with hot sesame oil, guacamole, and truffle eel sauce; raw grouper Tiradito with chili, garlic, and cilantro; Laad Nah with crispy chow fun noodles, white pepper chicken, bok choy, and jalapeño vinegar; and Panang Curry with slow-roasted lamb shank, green beans, peanuts, and jasmine rice; all of which will be available this Friday, in addition to NaiYaRa’s usual a la carte menu.
Born in Bolivia, but raised in South Florida, Herbert Galarza is known for his “graffiti-pop-style” art, most of which shows off his love for music, art, and all things Miami. He is most known for creating a mural titled The Never-Ending Battle, a work that shows South Beach nightlife mogul David Grutman and iconic DJ Cedric Gervais fighting with Lightsabers. Since then, he has been commissioned for paintings and murals with some of Miami’s foremost nightlife and music industry hotshots, and has even designed murals for Ultra Music Festival promotions and an album cover for Paris Hilton.
Craving a tasty night out at Art Basel? NaiYaRa is just the spot. Co-sponsored by Macallan scotch, this Friday night’s event will feature a pop-up shop with both Galarza’s work and custom-painted bottles of Macallan for sale, as well as exclusive pours of Macallan scotch for one-night-only.
NaiYaRa serves dinner nightly from 5 p.m. to 11 p.m. Reservations are encouraged during Art Basel.
Happy dining!
By Jennifer Agress | Miami Editor