The James Royal Palm - Restaurant

Close to the Leica Store Miami the Award-winning Miami chef Kris Wessel (of Chopped fame) has reinvented Florida cuisine with this sensational restaurant. In a vintage luxe dining room designed by Laura Rottet of Rottet Studios, Wessel delivers mind-boggling taste sensations crafted from just about all things Florida—from local fish, conch, and spiny lobster to frog's legs, alligator, and wild boar from the Everglades, and Indian River County grapefruit, hearts of palm, and kumquats. Each course is a new experience. Start with the conch chowder and "fritter dipper," Wessel's family recipe since 1948. Then move on to the oxtail, oyster, and alligator empanadas, the sweet-and-sour "Kris's Biscayne Blvd." shrimp, and the spiny lobster pan-braised in a sherry bisque. Even if you're full after appetizers and mains, order dessert. The hot banana-pecan pudding in a jar is simply heaven on Earth.