NAIA and Caviar Club Face Each Other at Las Olas and Ninth. Both Bars Open at 4.

Two restaurants opened kitty-corner at East Las Olas Boulevard and Southeast Ninth Avenue within days of each other this fall. NAIA, at 904 E. Las Olas, opened to the public on Oct. 22. It has 225 seats, a patio facing the boulevard and a menu where nothing costs more than $85. Caviar Club, at 833 E. Las Olas, is a retro-glam 1980s steakhouse with a dress code and a members' program. It takes reservations only through its own website, and public reservations were scheduled to open Oct. 27.

The two owners have very different ideas of what luxury on Las Olas should look like, and each built a room to match. For a downtown resident deciding where to go this week, both restaurants have the same easy way in. Each runs a bar that opens at 4 p.m. and keeps seats for whoever walks in first.

NAIA used a teardown to buy space

The NAIA site was Mangos, the Floribbean lounge that ran on Las Olas for 25 years before it closed in 2017. Tim Petrillo of The Restaurant People has owned the property with business partner Steven Halmos since 2013. Rather than renovate the old building, he tore it down. The Sun Sentinel reported that the new restaurant was under construction for three years.

Starting from scratch let him set the building 25 feet back from Las Olas. That gained a 45-seat patio and a separate space next door that he wants to lease to a high-end retailer. Inside, the dining room has a 30-foot ceiling and a limestone bar that serves both indoors and out, with views into the open kitchen. A custom 24-foot table seats 20 in a private dining area.

Petrillo explained the open design by comparing his market to Miami's. "There's a lot of wealth in the community, but people here don't dress like they do in Brickell," he told the Sun Sentinel. "Broward luxury is less flashy and over-the-top and more casual, which is why NAIA is open and welcoming and inclusive."

The prices follow the same thinking. Most mains run $30 to $50. Petrillo calls that a "YOLO price point," after his restaurant five blocks west on Las Olas. Chef Miguel Casanova's menu opens with sourdough pita and mezze dips at $25 for three. Robata-grilled skewers cost $16 to $21, a 14-ounce dry-aged New York strip is $52, and the most expensive item is the $85 Lobster Mai Tai. Chef Ped Phommavong runs the sushi bar, which sources fish from Tokyo's Toyosu Market. Cocktails cost $17 to $45. Petrillo said an omakase-style experience will start this winter.

Caviar Club put its space into a smaller room

Across the intersection, Marc Falsetto took the former Unique Treasures art store building in a very different direction. According to Lifestyle Media Group, the 4,200-square-foot venue has an 80-seat dining room and a separate 40-seat Bar Room. The Bar Room has 16 seats at the bar and 24 in the lounge, and chef Jeremy Loya leads the kitchen. That adds up to about 120 seats in total. NAIA has 225.

New York's Garrett Singer Studio designed the interior, Miami New Times reported. The Sun Sentinel described dark burl walnut, gold-rimmed mirrors, tufted cheetah-print booths and Art Deco lighting. Danielle Falsetto, a sommelier, was to curate a list of more than 300 French and American wines, with a Bordeaux priced at $15,000 at the top. In the main room, Dover sole is filleted at the table and prime dry-aged and Wagyu steaks are carved in front of guests.

The house rules are stricter here than across the street. Falsetto told Browardist that membership is not required to dine. He also said there are no shorts, athletic wear or hats, and no sandals for men, though a sport coat is not required. After 8:30 p.m., every guest must be 21 or older. Before then, children under five are not admitted, and there are no highchairs or strollers. His summary of the rules: "Plan ahead. Dress well. Stay late."

Why 4 p.m. is the realistic way into Caviar Club before December

The way Caviar Club releases tables explains why most people won't be eating in its main room this month. Miami New Times reported that reservations go live on the restaurant's website at 9 a.m. each day, for the date 30 days ahead. Members and VIPs got an early booking period before the public calendar's scheduled opening on Oct. 27. So a member of the public booking on the first public day would be looking at a table in late November at the earliest. Every morning after that, the new release covers a date about a month out.

There are also a lot of members ahead of the public. The first 100 founding memberships sold out in three weeks, and another 50 sold after that. Browardist reported in April that membership comes with priority reservations, preferred seating and concierge service.

The Bar Room is the way around all of that. It opens at 4 p.m. every day and holds a limited number of early-evening seats for walk-ins, first come, first served. It serves cocktails, caviar, light bites and selected Caviar Club classics. New Times listed a limited dry-aged burger and a Wagyu French dip among the Bar Room items.

NAIA's bar works the same way at the same hour. Bar seats inside and on the patio are first-come. Happy hour runs Monday through Friday from 4 to 7 p.m., with specially priced drinks and select small plates. NAIA keeps its waitlist in person only, so you add your name at the host stand. Calling ahead won't get you on it.

A weeknight at Las Olas and Ninth, in order

1. Arrive at 4 p.m. Both bars open at that hour. Caviar Club's walk-in Bar Room seats are limited and held only for the early evening.
2. Dress for Caviar Club, even if you might end up at NAIA. Leave the shorts, hats and athletic wear at home, and men should skip sandals. That covers you on both corners.
3. If the Bar Room is full, cross the street. Put your name on NAIA's in-person waitlist, or take a first-come bar seat while happy hour runs until 7.
4. Plan around 8:30 p.m. if anyone in your group is under 21. That is when Caviar Club becomes 21 and over.
5. For a main-room table, set a 9 a.m. alarm. Caviar Club releases each date 30 days ahead. NAIA takes online reservations for up to nine guests, and its Celebrations page handles groups of 10 to 17.

Daytime is about to open up on the NAIA side. The restaurant says lunch and brunch service begins in November.

The corner is part of a larger turnover on the boulevard

Petrillo told the Sun Sentinel that Las Olas "is about to have its luxury moment." Falsetto described it to Miami New Times as a "renaissance." A few blocks west, the boulevard lost one of its longest-running names. Big City Tavern, at 609 E. Las Olas, was set to close Sept. 30 after 25 years, according to Miami New Times.

More openings are planned. These dates are forecasts, not confirmed openings:

• Amal, a Lebanese restaurant from INK Entertainment Group at 500 E. Las Olas, was still listed as a fall 2026 opening in New Times' Sept. 30 roundup.
• Ivy's is planned for the former Salt7 space, also at 500 E. Las Olas. The Sun Sentinel's June list forecast an early 2027 opening.
• Pizza Queen, Falsetto Hospitality's New York-style slice shop at 1217 E. Las Olas, was forecast for January 2027 on the same list.
• Pez.ka and Anonima are Petrillo's next projects. Pez.ka is a seafood restaurant and Anonima is a listening lounge and cocktail bar, both planned for the redeveloped FAT Village in late 2027.

Of all the projects on that list, the two at Las Olas and Ninth are the ones serving dinner now. Both of their bars open at 4 p.m.

Our team spends a lot of evenings on this stretch of Las Olas, from the sales gallery to these new tables at Ninth Avenue, and we're glad to share where we've been eating. If you're weighing a downtown condo within walking distance of the boulevard, Jaime Cristancho can show you which buildings put this corner a short walk from your door. Schedule a Consultation.