NEW NIKKEI

With the royal wedding countdown underway, it’s a nice touch to have a little piece of London land in Miami Beach. Chotto Matte, a posh destination for Nikkei cuisine in Soho, expanded stateside with an equally glam location near Lincoln Road. The Raymond Jungles-landscaped restaurant opens up to the sky through a retractable roof, while other visual delights include graffiti walls and a massive boulder from Sicily. The culinary team also brings their A-game. Executive chef Jordan Sclare cooked at Gordon Ramsay’s three-star restaurant in London, and Lima native and head chef Jimmy Gallagher staged at Gastón Acurio’s establishments. Their Nikkei menu mixes Japanese and Peruvian traditions for ceviche, sashimi, gyoza with aji amarillo, and meatier mains like lomo a la parrilla and 96-hour, house-smoked lamb chops.

1666 Lenox Avenue; 305.690.0743; chotto-matte.com


MAKES SCENTS

When her beloved boutique En Avance turned 25, Karen Quinones celebrated with a brand-new space in the Miami Design District’s Paradise Plaza and a partnership with LVMH-owned Maison Francis Kurkdjian. The French fragrance house leases a third of her 1,600-square-foot, designer clothing store whose décor features Fornasetti panels, raw concrete floors and red curtains and seating. Always ahead of trends, Quinones was the first independent store in the U.S. to carry the exquisite fragrance collection created by perfumer and co-founder Francis Kurkdjian (pictured) in 2009. Her chic eye extends to several other categories such as resort wear (Dodo Bar Or, Zimmermann), lingerie (Kiki de Montparnasse), ready to wear (Tibi), jewelry (Irene Neuwirth), beauty (Vintner’s Daughter), and home (Fornasetti, Astier de Villatte). Kurkdjian co-hosts their grand opening party on April 14.

151 NE 41st Street; 305.576.0056; enavance.co


GOOD MATCH

What do Viggo Mortensen, Roger Federer and model and Karl Lagerfeld muse Freja Beha Erichsen share in common? They all have a style of sunglasses named in their honor for professional tennis player and 2018 Australian Open champion Caroline Wozniacki’s new capsule collection with Ovvo Optics. Wozniacki spends a lot of time in Miami on and off the court, so the collaboration was a no-brainer for her growing fashion portfolio from watches to brand ambassador for Adidas by Stella McCartney. Frames—seven for women and four for men—are made with Ovvo’s exclusive surgical steel and titanium composite at its facility in Poland. They’re known for durable, lightweight materials and sleek construction like screwless hinges. Colors are black, gold and graphite, while Carl Zeiss lenses range from pink to plum.

ovvooptics.com


GREENER PASTURES

Enjoy the spring weather with a bike ride and history tour on Saturday, April 7, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. The family-friendly activity is being organized by the Underline, a pending 10-mile linear park below Miami Metrorail from the Miami River to Dadeland South; Baptist Health South Florida, and the annual River Day Festival to celebrate the city’s heritage. Participants are encouraged to make a $10 donation to Baptist Health Friends of the Underline Cycling Club. Meet at the Dadeland North Metrorail Station (8310 South Dixie Highway) and register here. Earth Day is this month, so climate change advocate and former Vice President Al Gore is coming to Miami to raise funds for Sachamama’s green initiatives in Latino communities on April 21 at Magic City Studios (6301 NE Fourth Avenue).

theunderline.org. sachamama.org


We’ll see you next week with even more of South Florida’s places to go!