Atrio Restaurant at Conrad Miami, Miami

It may take a while to decide on a meal at Atrio Restaurant, and for good reason. The dining room's ambiance makes it hard to keep your eyes on the dinner menu or the breakfast buffet. The minimalist decor of brown tiled floors and red high-backed chairs keeps the focus on the true star: the windows. Floor-to-ceiling glass looks out over the Miami cityscape and the Bay of Biscayne, which, by day, looks as blue as a Smurf holding its breath. At night, the skyscrapers light up like giant candles, making for romantic dinners for two.

Indeed, Atrio Restaurant's dining room makes great use of its location, and the kitchen is no different. Drawing from global culinary techniques, chefs mix local produce with fish straight from Florida's waters. They pair grilled Florida snapper with red-grapefruit salsa, and use hot pans to give North Atlantic cod a crispy citrus-and-herb crust. Although seafood certainly stars on the dinner and lunch menus, specialty meat plates include hanger steak and Colorado lamb chops—each finished with a choice of five sauces, such as cilantro chimichurri or a red-wine shallot jus.

Sauces aren't the only place to find wine at Atrio Restaurant; servers pour more than 50 wines by the glass, and more than 200 vintage bottles hang from the wine attic, which doubles as an intimate dining space for small groups.