Restaurants in Golden Glades

Recently opened Poolhouse Grill regales guests with juicy burgers and ocean-fresh seafood amid an upbeat club-inspired atmosphere. Framed by multicolored beams of light and waving palms, the restaurant's façade draws visitors in to celebrate DJ-fueled dancefests on weekends, or rock 'n' roll–powered discussions about Robert M. Pirsig with bikers on Wednesdays. Sports fans belly up to the bar to watch their favorite sports legends on the arsenal of flat-screen TVs, and occasional beer-pong tournaments prepare amateurs for the rigors of professional ping-pong chucking.

Drawing inspiration from South American cuisine, the cooks at Che, Pibe Argentinean Grill roast hearty meats such as new york strip steaks, short ribs, and pork kebabs over an open flame. The Sun Sentinel also praised their "light and flaky" empanadas for "devilishly generous portions of shredded chicken or ground beef" in a 2007 review. But the chefs have even more tricks up their sleeves—they incorporate Italian influences into dishes such as marinara-sauced pastas and homemade tiramisu.

In the casual dining room, waiters pass these and other menu items onto tables illuminated by cylindrical pendant lamps. Opposite the seating, a countertop dominates the space with its polished granite surface and constant demands that staffers shine its mosaic tiles.

Dedicated to upholding the casual ambiance and meticulously presented cuisine found in the bistros of Paris, Bistro 1902's team of chefs channels French culinary traditions as they assemble Gallic dishes for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. With an eagle eye refined during 25 years spent forging fare in four- and five-star establishments across France–including the The Jules Vernes restaurant at the Eiffel Tower in France–the head chef inspects each dish for aesthetic quality and likelihood of revealing secrets before it leaves the kitchen. Culinary gurus bustle about the restaurant galley architecting traditional noshes such as crepes, escargots, and tarte tatins alongside updated classics such as a filet mignon and a foie gras burger.

The house’s creative burgers, baguettes slathered with sweet olive butter, and fresh scallops made The Sun Sentinel take notice, along with the chef's meticulous eye to tableside detail. Amid the dining room's exposed-brick walls laden with Parisian-themed art prints, affable servers wend in and out of tan-colored booths and sleek black tables to ensure that hungers remain sated and thirsts quenched. Meanwhile, staffers keep patrons hydrated as they refill goblets with selections from the extensive wine list, ensuring the perfectly paired washing down of decadent bites and the rinsing of hands after finger-painting re-creations of Monet's Water Lily Pond on the tablecloth.

Lamb chops sauté in a tomato garlic sauce as Alhambra's cooks shave slices of gyros and roast chicken, kefta, and jumbo sea scallop kebabs. In addition to lunch and dinner, the eatery serves a full Sunday brunch with spanish chorizo omelets and double or triple stacks of panquè. Inside the dining area, arched mirrors reflect light from the pendant lamps mounted above dark wooden booths, and round, wrought-iron chandeliers. Jingling from the spangled costumes of shimmying belly dancers fills the air every Friday and Saturday evening during three performances, and hookahs fire up nightly after 7 p.m. with a chorus of loud revving sounds.

From behind an ultramodern lounge filled with jewel-toned sofas, exposed-brick walls, and black leather booths, Trio on The Bay's chefs forge a menu of surf 'n' turf, using local vendors and sustainable practices whenever possible. On the patio overlooking Biscayne Bay, waiters swing from canopies bearing sizzling steaks accompanied by locally grown vegetables or pan-seared scallops with a wild mushroom risotto and lemon crème fraîche. Chefs also cater to off-hour hunger pangs with Sunday-morning brunch and bar snacks, which blend the seafood hub’s signature flavors into palatable egg dishes and portable snacks.

Trio on The Bay hosts special events every Friday and Saturday night beginning at 10 p.m. Revelers head to the chandelier-sprinkled lounge to take in the flat-screen TVs and vacation slide shows from 1973, or retire to the outdoor patio's cushioned rattan chairs for drinks under the illumination of light-festooned palm trees and fire pits.

Sustainable Floridian ingredients abound at Amami Famous Italian Restaurant, infusing every dish on the eclectic menu with original flavors and sun-kissed freshness. Mediterranean influences inform the dinner entrees, resulting in flavorful dishes such as calamari with capers, black olives, and housemade tomato sauce, and linguini with mussels and clams that, like the host's mandatory eye patch, speak to the restaurant's focus on sea-based cuisine. Vegan, vegetarian, and heart-healthy dishes also tempt taste buds.

Happy to accommodate individual tastes and dietary requests, the kitchen's crack staff can swap ingredients in and out of any dish, a handy skill that factors into Amami’s private dinner parties. These parties, which comfortably hold 30–50 people, allow organizers to create the restaurant of their dreams for a single night without starting their own reality show. A private room is included, as is a menu catered exclusively to each parties' taste and budget.