Press

Bunbury in Miami Herald

Walking from the bright Miami sunshine into the welcoming darkness of Bunbury, you need a moment to let your eyes adjust. Allow a moment to let your equilibrium adjust, too.

Take in the gleaming bar, lined with corks from bottles of wine served over intimate dinners and loud, boisterous gatherings. Framed displays of the foil wrappings from those bottles hang on the walls. Newspaper comics line the windows from the beloved Argentine artist Quino and seal out the busy street outside.

There’s a small, dark nook next to the bar, lined with books and a few elderly typewriters. And when the host slides open a hidden door to reveal the restaurant you will discover more delights. A wall of glowing green sangria bottles. A corner filled with mementos from beloved grandmothers. And an easy, warm hospitality that goes beyond great food and drink.

Named after an imaginary Oscar Wilde character from “The Importance of Being Earnest,” Bunbury sits just around the corner from the Adrienne Arsht Center in downtown Miami serving lunch, dinner and weekend brunch. The restaurant and wine bar was recently named one of the best restaurants in the country by Yelp, along with Crust and Jaguar Sun, and it may well be the best restaurant you haven’t been to yet.

Hospitality manager Alina Patalino thinks of the restaurant as a bit like “Alice in Wonderland,” a space rendered almost sacred with contributions from everyone from the staff (they put the cork bar together) to the customers (who brought the books to the original Bunbury location in exchange for a free glass of wine)…