by Francis Mallmann
The only restaurant that deserves its reputation during Art Basel week. Argentine open-fire technique, Florida ingredients, and a dining room that smells of woodsmoke and ambition. The hardest table to get in Miami from November onwards.
Art Basel week (Dec 3–7) is sold out. Cancellations occasionally appear on OpenTable at midnight. Join the waitlist and set an alert — people do get in this way.
+ beverages. Wine pairing available from $80pp. Service charge included. Tax additional.
SAL Limo Service · Fixed rate from any hotel · No surge pricing during Basel week
Fire.
Philosophy.
Miami.
Francis Mallmann built his reputation in Patagonia cooking over open fires with the same method that Argentine gauchos have used for centuries. Wood, meat, time. No shortcuts, no tricks, no technique borrowed from a culinary school. When the Faena Hotel opened in 2015 and needed a restaurant to match its theatrical ambition, Mallmann was the only possible answer.
"Mallmann's cooking is a form of controlled surrender — you give the fire what it needs, and it gives you back something more honest than any recipe could produce."
Los Fuegos operates from an open kitchen built around a massive wood-burning hearth. You can watch the cooking from anywhere in the room. The menu changes with availability — not every dish is available every night — but the whole roasted fish, the short rib, and the burnt milk cake have been constants since opening. The cauliflower has become the most talked-about vegetable dish in Miami.
During Art Basel week the room fills with a specific crowd: collectors, gallerists, curators from São Paulo, Basel, Hong Kong, and New York — the people who make the art world move. The conversation at the tables is often better than anything in the convention center.
The open hearth, the smell of woodsmoke, the visible fire — Los Fuegos creates an atmosphere that most restaurants in Miami can't compete with. During a week defined by sensory overload, a meal here is grounding.
On any given evening during Basel week, the room contains collectors, museum directors, gallery owners, and artists from across South America, Europe, and Asia. The social density is unmatched. Go for the fire, stay for the people.
Being inside the Faena makes this the natural continuation of the hotel's Wednesday private events. A reservation here often precedes, follows, or bleeds into whatever Faena Forum is hosting — which during Basel week is usually unmissable.
"The short rib has been my annual pilgrimage since 2019. The fire, the smell, the room — there is no better dinner in Miami during Art Basel week and I have tried everything else."
"I used SAL Limo from the Nautilus — confirmed the ride on WhatsApp the morning of the dinner. Driver was waiting, knew exactly where the Faena entrance was. The whole evening was seamless."
"The cauliflower sounds like a joke. It is not a joke. It is the best single vegetable dish I have eaten anywhere in the world. The fire does something to it that an oven simply cannot."
"Brilliant food, serious service, excellent wine list. Loses one star because the noise level on Friday night makes conversation difficult. Come Wednesday or Thursday if you actually want to talk."
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Top Chef winner Jeremy Ford. Creative tasting menu and à la carte. The more bookable alternative to Los Fuegos.
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