If you have lived on Collins Avenue for more than a season, you already know the rhythm. The block between 167th and 168th sat quiet for two years while cranes worked over the old Newport Beachside site. That address is open again, under a new name, with six food and beverage outlets. One reopening on one lot has shifted where locals are eating, what time the good tables go, and which longtime rooms are seeing a second look. This post is a resident's read on the summer 2026 board.
One address, six new rooms
The Sunny opened in February 2026 on the former Newport Beachside footprint. The property carries 339 guest rooms, a spa, and six food and beverage outlets, which is the number that matters for anyone booking dinner within walking distance of Pier Park.
Three of those outlets are worth knowing by name:
- Julene. A refined American kitchen positioned as the property's flagship room, described by the hotel as a place designed for neighbors as much as guests.
- Lovebirds Café. Part bodega, part coffee counter, stocking local finds and small-brand snacks. Useful for the morning walk back from the sand.
- Citrus Shack. Poolside, built around a Florida fruit-stand concept.
There is also an oceanfront bar the property markets as the only spot in Miami where a drink is served directly above the Atlantic. Whether or not that claim survives scrutiny across the county, the geometry of the pier means the seat itself is genuinely rare on this stretch.
The practical read for residents: a single block on Collins now offers a full-day loop, coffee to nightcap, without moving the car. That is new. Before February, the closest equivalent required a drive south to Bal Harbour or north to Hallandale.
Il Mulino reopened its dining room, quietly
While The Sunny was drawing attention two blocks north, Il Mulino New York at Acqualina Resort completed a full renovation of its dining room and bar. The kitchen kept the Abruzzese classics that carried the room since it opened and layered in new dishes alongside them. There is a prix fixe available for lunch and dinner through July 31, 2026, priced at $140 per person, with a signature course built around a black truffle ravioli.
The renovation is not the story. The timing is. A neighborhood room that has held a Forbes Travel Guide Recommended designation chose to refresh in the same window that a 339-key property opened a block away. If you have been meaning to revisit Il Mulino and were waiting for a reason, the summer is that reason. The room is different, and it is quieter than it will be in November.
What the regulars still anchor
The reopening cycle draws a lot of attention to what is new. It is worth remembering which rooms held their tables through the construction years, because those are the reservations that get harder, not easier, once the tourist traffic follows the ribbon-cutting coverage.
| Room | Cuisine | The resident's reason |
|---|---|---|
| Baires Grill | Argentine steak | Half-off drinks Monday through Friday, 4 to 7 p.m., a block from the beach |
| La Cabrera | Argentine parrilla | The first Miami location of Chef Gastón Riveira's group, open in Sunny Isles since 2022 |
| Chayhana Oasis | Uzbek and Georgian | Khachapuris and hand-pulled lagman that don't have a real analog elsewhere in the barrier islands |
| Avra | Greek seaside taverna | Whole-fish service in the style of the Aegean coast |
None of these are new. That is the point. The Baires happy hour survived the pandemic, the construction, and the pricing pressure that pushed a lot of Collins Avenue operators past what a weekday drink should cost. La Cabrera opened a second and third Miami location after this one worked, which is a market signal about the corridor that no headline captured.
Arriving by water is genuinely different now
Mykonos Kitchen & Bar sits at 400 Sunny Isles Boulevard with a private marina dock, which puts it in a small category of local rooms accepting arrivals by boat. For anyone on the intracoastal side who has been running the tender to Bal Harbour or up to Hallandale for a waterfront table, the shorter route is a legitimate summer discovery.
A few things worth knowing before the first attempt:
- The dock is small. Call ahead on weekend evenings.
- The menu is Greek and Mediterranean, not seafood-forward the way a marina room usually is. Order accordingly.
- Sunday brunch is where the room is best used. Weekend dinner traffic pulls from Aventura and can make the terrace loud.
The booking cadence for July and August
A pattern is already visible in the June reservations, and it is worth planning around:
The Sunny is absorbing weekend prime-time demand across all three of its named rooms, which has loosened availability at Il Mulino and at the Argentine anchors for Friday and Saturday between 7 and 9 p.m. The reverse is true for Sunday lunch, where the older rooms are booked and the new property still has walk-in space.
Translation: if you want to eat at Il Mulino in its renovated form without a two-week wait, book a Friday in July. If you want to try Julene, aim for a Sunday. Once the fall season begins and out-of-town traffic returns, both windows close.
Two other practical notes for the summer:
- The Sandbar reference. Some directories still list Sandbar at Newport Pier. The Newport Beachside property was demolished to build The Sunny, so the room in its earlier form is no longer operating. Check current listings before making the walk.
- Parking during the transition. The valet operations at The Sunny are still stabilizing. For dinner at Il Mulino, park at Acqualina. For Baires or La Cabrera, use the surface lot on 172nd, which is emptier on weeknights than it looks from Collins.
Why one opening resets the whole strip
Sunny Isles has always been a corridor rather than a village. The buildings are tall, the blocks are long, and the dining decisions have historically been made building by building rather than street by street. The Newport site sitting dark for two years pulled foot traffic off a specific section of Collins, and every operator north and south of it adjusted. Now that the address is live again, and live at scale, the adjustments run the other direction.
For a resident, the takeaway is simpler than the market mechanics suggest. There are more good tables within a fifteen-minute walk than there were in January. The older rooms have more incentive to be sharp. The new rooms are still working out their weeknight pace, which means the food is often better than the reviews will suggest six months from now. This is the window.
Bookings for July and August are being made this week. The rooms that were hard to get in season are quietly open. The rooms that just opened are the easiest they will ever be.
If you are considering a move onto or off of this stretch of Collins, or simply want a read on how a new hotel operation reshapes the value of the residential buildings around it, Mariela Hopen at Douglas Elliman's Bay Harbor Islands office offers a private consultation on the barrier-island market. Request exclusive access to schedule a conversation.
