{"id":226470,"date":"2026-04-10T16:09:14","date_gmt":"2026-04-10T16:09:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/226470\/"},"modified":"2026-04-10T16:09:14","modified_gmt":"2026-04-10T16:09:14","slug":"sunset-harbour-hotspot-reopens-with-a-fiery-new-menu","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/226470\/","title":{"rendered":"Sunset Harbour Hotspot Reopens With a Fiery New Menu"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\t\t\"\"
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tThe sweet potato is slow-cooked, then finished directly over coals until the skin is completely blackened\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

Photo by Michael Persico<\/p>\n

After an 18-month overhaul, a Sunset Harbour hangout has returned<\/a> with charcoal cooking, Yucat\u00e1n touches, and bold Lebanese flavors.<\/p>\n

BeyBey opened in 2024 <\/a>as the kind of Sunset Harbour spot that could carry a full night. Drinks up front, Lebanese fare in the patio, and a living room-inspired space where the energy ramps up late. It got popular fast. But according to owner Tiger Saliba, that early success also exposed a problem diners couldn\u2019t see.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe kitchen was terrible\u2026 It was small and didn\u2019t meet the level we needed. We were going to turn into a \u201cclubstarant\u201d very quickly if we continued that way,\u201d Saliba shares with New Times.<\/p>\n

So BeyBey paused service in June 2024 and returned in December 2025 with a straightforward goal: build a real kitchen and create a setup where the food could hold its own.<\/p>\n

\"\"From left: BeyBey owners Tiger Saliba and Samuel Baum, and chefs Roberto Sol\u00eds and Geoff Lee
\nA Grill-First Reset<\/p>\n

The biggest change is the fire. Saliba has always wanted a charcoal grill, and the original setup couldn\u2019t deliver what he was chasing. The new kitchen makes that possible and reshapes the menu.<\/p>\n

This isn\u2019t a clean break from BeyBey\u2019s Lebanese roots, but it is an expansion. Saliba is careful with labels. \u201cIt\u2019s an international grill with flavors from the Yucat\u00e1n and from Lebanon,\u201d he says. Calling it Lebanese-Mexican, he argues, makes it sound literal \u2014 \u201chummus and tacos.\u201d<\/p>\n

To help define that approach, BeyBey brought in chef Roberto Sol\u00eds, the M\u00e9rida-born talent behind Hun\u00edik and a leading voice in contemporary Yucatecan cooking. Sol\u00eds describes the Lebanese influence as something he grew up with in Mexico, pointing to the migration story behind tacos al pastor, which traces back to shawarma.<\/p>\n

\u201cSince I have memory\u2026 we\u2019ve been living with Lebanese culture through food,\u201d Sol\u00eds says.<\/p>\n

\"\"The menu now features a range of flavors spanning Mexican and Middle Eastern cultures<\/p>\n

Where to Start<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re ordering from the starters, the aguachile and the croqueta are a good place to start.<\/p>\n

The aguachile keeps its Mexican backbone (snapper cured in a green, herbaceous leche de tigre) with grape leaf blended into the sauce and a final drizzle of labneh. The Middle Eastern note is subtle and deliberate. Sol\u00eds says pushing it further would throw the dish off balance.<\/p>\n

The aubergine croqueta is not your typical small bite-sized round. Here, it arrives as a single, large patty. The eggplant is cooked over coals until charred and smoky, as it would be for baba ganoush, then pur\u00e9ed with roasted garlic, onion, parsley, and breadcrumbs. It\u2019s fried, finished on the grill, and topped with fresh tomato slices for contrast.<\/p>\n

\"\"The delicious short rib is sous vide for 24 hours, then finished over fire<\/p>\n

Photo by Michelle Muslera<\/p>\n

The Main Event<\/p>\n

The za\u2019atar short rib has quickly become a must-try. The massive, bone-in cut is large enough to feed two \u2014 possibly three \u2014 and comes with tortillas for assembling tacos.<\/p>\n

The meat is sous vide for 24 hours, then finished over fire until it yields easily to a fork. The sauce starts with the cooking juices, blended with saut\u00e9ed guajillo and ancho chiles, and finished with sour orange for acidity. A habanero-lime sauce, served on the side in Yucat\u00e1n tradition, lets diners control the heat.<\/p>\n

As for sides, the sweet potato with charcoal is the way to go. Slow-cooked, then finished directly over coals until the skin is completely blackened, it\u2019s cut open at the table and layered with salsa macha, saut\u00e9ed strands of seeded guajillo chile, roasted peanuts, and a reduction made from the sweet potato\u2019s own juices. Don\u2019t skip the skin \u2014 that\u2019s where the flavor is.<\/p>\n

Dessert carries continuity from BeyBey\u2019s first chapter. The labneh cheesecake, a favorite from the opening menu, has been reworked into a richer, Basque-style version, finished with a br\u00fbl\u00e9ed top, berries, and mint.<\/p>\n

\"\"The group plans to open a 24-seat cocktail bar in the back of the restaurant<\/p>\n

What\u2019s Next<\/p>\n

BeyBey isn\u2019t done yet. The restaurant has recently launched lunch, offering simpler, individual plates \u2014 grilled proteins paired with grains, vegetables, and salads. Lunch service also introduces an honor bar, a nod to Lebanese hospitality, where guests pour their own wine and let the staff know how many glasses they\u2019ve had.<\/p>\n

A recently approved permit also clears the way for what comes next: a 24-seat cocktail bar designed for walk-ins and a private dining room planned for the back of the space.<\/p>\n

The reopening comes at a moment when Sunset Harbour has drawn headlines for high-profile closures like Panther Coffee, Stiltsville, and Sardinia, all amid rising rents that have led some to question the neighborhood\u2019s long-term viability. Saliba is betting in the opposite direction, doubling down on the area as a local-first destination rather than chasing tourist traffic.<\/p>\n

Will Saliba\u2019s bet on Sunset Harbour pay off? Time will tell. For now, the room is buzzing, the grill is doing the heavy lifting, and the food is giving people a reason to keep coming back.<\/p>\n

BeyBey. 1330 18th St., Miami Beach; 305-457-0909; beybey.co<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The sweet potato is slow-cooked, then finished directly over coals until the skin is completely blackened Photo by…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":226471,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[123,1642,125,124,290,18792,28509],"class_list":{"0":"post-226470","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-miami","8":"tag-miami","9":"tag-miami-beach","10":"tag-miami-headlines","11":"tag-miami-news","12":"tag-openings-closings","13":"tag-restaurant-reviews","14":"tag-south-beach"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/226470","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=226470"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/226470\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/226471"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=226470"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=226470"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=226470"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}