Miami Spice exists because August is supposed to be slow. Every year, participating restaurants trade a discounted three-course menu for foot traffic during the hottest, quietest stretch of the calendar, the weeks after snowbirds leave and before season crowds return. That is the whole premise: locals eat well, restaurants keep the lights on, everyone waits out the heat together.
Bal Harbour is not following that script this year. The two biggest restaurant openings on the peninsula both happened earlier in 2026, and both are using this year's Spice season, not a grand opening night, as the moment they actually introduce themselves to regulars. One of them priced its dinner menu at $95 a person, a figure that has nothing to do with a discount. If you live here, that is worth paying attention to, because it changes what this month is actually for.
Two New Kitchens, One Address
Stephen Starr's new steakhouse Slim's opened this spring in the original home of Makoto, Starr's longtime Bal Harbour staple that relocated to a larger space in 2022. The new project trades sushi for steak, channeling midcentury elegance with leather banquettes, vintage murals, and rich textures. A few floors over, a name longtime residents will recognize came back after a long absence. The legendary restaurant that once helped define South Beach dining has officially reopened at Bal Harbour Shops, bringing lobster pancakes with it. China Grill is located at the entrance of Bal Harbour Shops, open 12pm to 11pm Sunday to Thursday and 12pm to 12am Friday and Saturday.
Both openings are landing inside a shopping center that is itself mid-expansion. Founded in 1965 by the Whitman family, Bal Harbour Shops remains one of the few family-owned shopping centers in the U.S., and Whitman Family Development recently secured a $740 million loan to fund construction and continued growth. The next phase, timed to the property's 60th anniversary, is adding more than 30 new stores and expansions to existing boutiques, with a strong focus on luxury and experiential brands. Two new restaurants opening during the same season a shopping center throws a 1,000-guest anniversary party is not a coincidence. It is a soft launch dressed up as a discount month.
What the Spice Menus Actually Reveal
Miami Spice in Bal Harbour runs from August 1 through September 30, 2026, with curated three-course menus priced from $40 to $95 at Makoto, Atlantikós at the St. Regis Bal Harbour Resort, China Grill, and Slim's. Look closer at the spread and the "discount month" framing starts to break down.
| Restaurant | Spice Lunch (Mon–Fri) | Spice Dinner | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Makoto | $40 | Not published | Established Bal Harbour Shops anchor |
| China Grill | $40 | $65 | Reopened June 9, 2026 |
| Slim's | $40 | $95 (Sun–Thu) | New Stephen Starr concept, opened spring 2026 |
| Atlantikós | Participating | Participating | Pricing set by the St. Regis resort |
Miami Spice runs now through September 30 with China Grill, Makoto, and Slim's offering lunch for $40 per person Monday through Friday, while China Grill's dinner menu runs $65 per person and Slim's offers a new premium Spice tier at $95 per person from Sunday to Thursday. A "premium Spice tier" is not language a restaurant uses when it is trying to clear tables during a slow month. It is language a restaurant uses when it wants locals to try the kitchen before the winter crowd finds out about it. The lunch discount is real and consistent across all three restaurants. The dinner tier at the newest kitchen in the building is priced like the restaurant already expects to sell out later this year.
Free If You Know to Ask
Not everything new this month costs anything. The Village runs a resident program that a surprising number of homeowners here have never activated. The All Access Card gives Bal Harbour residents access to the Waterfront Park during regular operating hours, the Unscripted Art Access program, discounted and priority access to recreational programs, and exclusive resident-only offers, and the card is complimentary. Applying requires creating an account with CivicRec and submitting proof of residency and a photo ID, and the card is valid for two years.
Once you have it, the park itself is worth using. Bal Harbour Waterfront Park sits on a 1.5-acre site and gives residents an open deck overlooking the Intracoastal Waterway, a public dock with a kayak launch, a continuous walking path, a landscaped lawn and Zen Garden, an ocean-themed splash pad, a basketball court, and exercise stations. The basketball court converts to multi-use pickleball courts weekly. The Village's free programming runs through the same space. Full Moon Yoga returns to the beach on August 27, and past installments of the Village's Silver Screen series have brought outdoor movie nights to residents, including a recent screening of a well known fashion industry film, and its Unscripted Art Tour has partnered with the Museum of Miami on guided sessions at the park. None of it requires a reservation at a $95 table. All of it requires knowing the card exists.
You May Not Need Your Car This Month
Between the new restaurants, the park, and the beach, there is less reason than usual to drive anywhere inside the Village this August.
- Freebee operates door-to-door within Bal Harbour Mondays through Thursdays from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. and Fridays through Sundays from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., with a driver break daily from 3 to 4 p.m.
- Stops include Bal Harbour Shops, the Ritz-Carlton, St. Regis, Sea View, Beach Haus, Bal Harbour Waterfront Park, the 96th Street beach access, Publix in Surfside, and Kane Concourse Shops in Bay Harbor Islands.
- A Citi Bike share station sits on the south side of the 96th Street Beach Access for anyone who prefers pedaling.
- The Beach Walk path is a 25-foot wide paved walkway lined with benches and shade that runs the length of Bal Harbour and into Surfside.
A resident who wants to try Slim's for Spice dinner, hit Full Moon Yoga on the 27th, and pick up groceries at the Surfside Publix can do all three without moving a car out of the garage.
The Village Is Rebuilding Its Edges While You Eat
The same season that brought two new restaurants and a resident perks program also moved the Village's biggest infrastructure project a step closer to breaking ground in earnest. As of this summer, the Harbourfront Park, Jetty, and Cutwalk Project is in the final stages of obtaining its last required permit through the Village's Building Department, with the next milestone being the presentation of a Guaranteed Maximum Price to the Village Council. The project matters beyond the jetty itself. It is designed to elevate the area for user safety while providing beach protection from storm surges, sea-level rise, and the waves of Baker's Haulover Inlet.
It is easy to miss a permitting update buried in a municipal newsletter. It is harder to miss what it means alongside everything else happening this year: a shopping center financing a nine-figure expansion, a legacy restaurant reopening at its front door, a brand new steakhouse pricing itself for the crowd that has not arrived yet, and the Village quietly fortifying the shoreline that makes all of it possible. Bal Harbour is not coasting through its 80th year. It is spending it.
None of this requires a reservation you cannot get or a membership you do not have. The All Access Card is free. The Freebee ride is free. Spice lunch is $40 anywhere on the list. The only real cost of missing this window is eating the same three restaurants you always eat at while two new kitchens work out their kinks in front of a quieter room than they will have by winter.
If you are weighing a move to Bal Harbour, or already call it home and want a second set of eyes on what a specific building or block is actually worth right now, Caroline Perez works this market year round, in English and in French. Let's Connect.
