José Andrés Group to open new Mediterranean restaurant at luxury Miami Beach hotel

Chef and founder of World Central Kitchen José Andrés is returning to Miami Beach: His restaurant group plans to open a new restaurant at The Ritz-Carlton, South Beach hotel.

The José Andrés Group will be taking over all food and beverage operations for the luxury hotel, a Forbes Four-Star property at 1 Lincoln Road in Miami Beach, including the restaurants, lobby bar, Ritz Club lounge and in-room dining. The new restaurant, Zaytinya, will take over the space that is currently occupied by Fuego y Mar Mediterranean restaurant.

Andrés’ last Miami Beach restaurant, The Bazaar by José Andrés, closed earlier this year at the SLS South Beach hotel. In its place now is Elcielo, the restaurant from Colombian chef Juan Manuel Barrientos Valencia, whose Elcielo in Brickell earned a Michelin star in 2022.

The former Fuego y Mar space at The Ritz Carlton will be the third location for Zaytinya, which first opened in 2002 in Washington D.C., and in 2022 in New York. The name is a play on the Turkish word for “olive oil,” which is fitting: The menu is inspired by Turkish, Greek and Lebanese cuisine.

Details haven’t been released about the menu or the time table for Fuego y Mar’s closing date, but the group expects to open Zaytinya by the end of 2023. The group will start hiring for positions at the restaurant this week.

The José Andrés Group operates more than 30 restaurants around the United States, the Bahamas and the United Arab Emirates. World Central Kitchen, a disaster-relief team that feeds people, recently served thousands of meals after the devastating fires in Maui.

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