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\n\t\t\t\t\t\tBeloved wine bar in downtown Miami Margot Bar & Bistro has closed both locations, marking another tough loss in the city\u2019s dining scene.\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\tBeloved wine bar in downtown Miami Margot Bar & Bistro has closed both locations, marking another tough loss in the city\u2019s dining scene.\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
Margot Bar & Bistro photo<\/p>\n
Miami\u2019s restaurant scene has seen a string of shocking closures this year<\/a>, and a beloved wine bar in downtown Miami is the latest to add to the growing list. Margot Bar & Bistro (formerly Margot Natural Wine Bar), one of the Magic City\u2019s coolest natural wine bars, <\/a>has quietly closed after nearly four years in business. Its sister spot in Miami Beach has also closed.<\/p>\n Co-founder Gabriel Orta of hospitality group Bar Lab confirmed the news to New Times, saying, \u201cWe had to close both of them. It was a rough year for us.\u201d The closures add to a wave of recent Miami restaurant shutdowns, marking another hit for the city\u2019s dining scene after a very rough summer.<\/a> <\/p>\n From Downtown to Miami Beach<\/p>\n Margot first opened in 2021 in the historic Ingraham Building<\/a> in downtown Miami, serving natural wines, aperitivos, and low-ABV cocktails in a retro-inspired, pastel-colored space. The wine bar stood out for its relaxed vibe and focus on natural wines, a contrast to Miami\u2019s flashier bars.\u00a0And it stood out to New Times editors, as well, winning New Times\u2018 Best Wine Bar in 2021<\/a>.<\/p>\n In late 2024, Bar Lab opened a second location at Flamingo Towers in South Beach<\/a>. The new spot expanded the concept with a bistro-style menu and a small retail wine shop. The downtown location focused on drinks and light plates, while the South Beach space offered a full dining program.<\/p>\n The Downtown Connection: A Hard Corner<\/p>\n The Bar Lab team has struggled to find lasting success in that downtown corner. In 2019, they announced a partnership<\/a> with chef Timon Balloo to open side-by-side concepts in the Ingraham Building: Balloo<\/a>, a restaurant inspired by the chef\u2019s heritage, and Margot Natural Wine Bar.\u00a0<\/p>\n Before Margot could open, the pandemic paused the project. Balloo operated only briefly before closing permanently due to the pandemic, and the chef shifted to new ventures in Fort Lauderdale with the opening of his restaurant, the Katherine<\/a>. Bar Lab later launched Hoja Taqueria in the Balloo space, though it had a short run. Margot eventually opened in mid-2021, introducing a relaxed wine bar that complemented downtown\u2019s limited after-work scene.<\/p>\n What\u2019s Next for Bar Lab After Broken Shaker and Margot<\/p>\n Bar Lab, founded by Orta and Elad Zvi, helped define Miami\u2019s cocktail scene through the Broken Shaker, which they sold in 2024 <\/a>along with its neighboring restaurant, 27 Restaurant<\/a>, to Generator Hotel. The team said at the time they planned to focus on new projects beyond the Freehand. Orta told\u00a0New Times\u00a0that Bar Lab is currently \u201cworking on a few things\u201d but wasn\u2019t ready to share details.<\/p>\n The closures follow a difficult season for Miami restaurants. In recent months, long-standing establishments such as Caffe Vialetto, which closed after 25 years in Coral Gables, and Sardinia, which closed after 20 years, have closed, along with newer spots like Ensenada and RedFarm. The wave of closures reflects the challenges local operators face, including rising rents, higher staffing costs, and shifting dining habits, which have made it increasingly difficult for independent restaurants to remain open throughout the year.<\/p>\n Margot Bar & Bistro. 1504 Bay Rd., Miami Beach, and 25 SE Second Ave., Miami. Both locations are now closed.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Beloved wine bar in downtown Miami Margot Bar & Bistro has closed both locations, marking another tough loss…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":27022,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[10738,2318,123,1642,125,124,290,16906],"class_list":{"0":"post-27021","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-miami","8":"tag-cocktails","9":"tag-downtown","10":"tag-miami","11":"tag-miami-beach","12":"tag-miami-headlines","13":"tag-miami-news","14":"tag-openings-closings","15":"tag-wine"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27021","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=27021"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27021\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/27022"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27021"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27021"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=27021"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"a](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/dsc07908.webp\")
The bar of Margot Bar & Bistro in Miami Beach<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/balloo_sign.webp\")
The open kitchen at Balloo.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/barlab_gabe_elad_javier_sanchez-e1761852552474.webp\")
From left: Bar Lab\u2019s Gabriel Orta and Elad Zvi<\/p>\n