During a week-long work trip in Miami while staying at The Royal Palm South Beach, I managed to dine at Byblos two nights in a row before the work commitments really started. The restaurant is beautiful with lots of fun plates for sharing. This made it a challenge as a solo diner, but two meals did the taste-test trick.

The first night was my favorite evening as I dined in the idyllic courtyard under a canopy of trees and lanterns. Bubbly was essential and I opted for the shaved Brussels sprout salad spotted with pomegranate, crunchy almonds, and briny cheese. This was a symphony of flavors…a true salad masterpiece I will try to recreate chez moi.

As a sidecar, I ordered a long thin bread stuffed with cheese and truffles- a must order recommended by some local friends.While delicious and essential after a travel day, I could have definitely used a friend to help consume it while it was still hot.

On the second night, the weather was chillier and I opted to sit inside the restaurant, enjoying what felt like dining in a friend’s elevated living room.

This evening I had to try the house dumplings which were a unique experience and of which there were so many! I adore dumplings and really wanted this to be the standout, but it just wasn’t. A taste was plenty.

The perfectly seared octopus was much more enjoyable for me…and again with these generous portions! My people weren’t arriving until tomorrow!

I loved Byblos and look forward to keeping this one in the books of the Miami rotation. The new, sister restaurant, Amal, in Coconut Grove was also a fun experience that I shared with friends on my first night.