Brickell Key's Evening Out Now Lives Between 601 and 661 Brickell Key Drive

"This is a temporary measure designed to reduce congestion and ensure that our community remains a safe and enjoyable place for everyone." The Brickell Key Master Association sent that email when it closed the island's baywalk to the public in the summer of 2025, as Miami New Times reported at the time. Residents kept access through their condominiums' private entry points.

The Mandarin Oriental had already closed by then, after 25 years of hospitality on the island. On October 1, Swire Properties broke ground on The Residences at Mandarin Oriental, Miami, at the southern end of the island. The Miami Herald reported a target opening of 2030. Until then, a night out on Brickell Key happens on one short stretch of Brickell Key Drive, at four independent restaurants within a sixty-number span of addresses.

What left with the Mandarin

The hotel served its last guests on May 31, 2025. It was imploded on Sunday, April 12, 2026. Miami Police closed the Brickell Key Bridge to cars and pedestrians from 7 a.m. until cleanup ended. Its best-known restaurant didn't stay on the island. In January 2025, La Mar by Gastón Acurio announced a move to 1451 South Miami Avenue in Brickell, about a mile away.

The building going up in its place is smaller on the hotel side. The North Tower plans 121 hotel rooms, about a third of the 326 rooms in the old hotel, according to the Herald. The 66-story South Tower will hold 228 private residences. Swire's project page lists restaurants among the podium amenities and describes greenery connecting the site to the Brickell Key baywalk. It does not say whether those restaurants will be open to the public, and it gives no opening date for them.

So for at least the next several years, the island's restaurant scene is what already stands along the drive.

Four doors on one stretch

Brasserie Brickell Key has served the island since 1993, and its remodel kept the same management. Ikigai opened quietly in early 2025, and Miami New Times soon called it Brickell Key's best-kept secret for sushi. Its daily noon opening also makes it the easy lunch option on the island. NAOE sits at the other end of the scale. It seats five, books through Tock at $280 per person, and lists Forbes Travel Guide Five Stars for 2013 through 2026 and AAA Five Diamonds for 2022 through 2026.

Three of these restaurants were already here when the Mandarin closed. Only one opened after, and it was designed to cover what the hotel used to handle.

The Mexican was built for the path

The Mexican opened at 601 Brickell Key Drive, Suite 100, in April. Time Out Miami named Monterrey-born entrepreneur Roberto González Alcalá as the vision behind it. Time Out also described covered patio seating, a waterfront terrace, and views of Biscayne Bay and the Brickell skyline.

The layout reads like a list of what a hotel offers. The restaurant's private dining page describes La Condesa, a room that connects to Agave Bar, with bar seating facing the sunset and a covered outdoor terrace. On the lower level is a separate room, Cancun, with direct access to the Brickell Key path. Five private rooms, a bar with its own identity, and a space that opens onto the island's waterfront walk: for years, island hosts needed the Mandarin for exactly that kind of setup.

The first gathering of a new resident-facing series has already used those rooms. On Wednesday, October 7, Brickell & Downtown Miami Living held its first phone-free Community Table dinner at The Mexican. Happy hour was at Agave Bar at 6 p.m., and the family-style dinner followed in La Condesa at 7 p.m. The $86.50 price covered dinner, wine, tax and gratuity, and the evening was limited to 25 members. The series page describes dinners every other week, but no next date had been posted as of this week.

The last Miami Spice nights at The Mexican fall on October 29

Miami Spice usually ends with September. For its 25th year, the Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau extended it through October 31. Not every restaurant stayed in. The Mexican is the only Brickell Key name on The Miami Guide's list of 20 restaurants confirmed for the extra month.

Here is what the official Miami Spice listing shows for The Mexican:

• Lunch: three courses for $40
• Dinner: three courses for $65
• Days: Monday through Thursday, and Sunday
• Starters: chopped salad, crispy pork belly or tortilla soup
• Mains: octopus, chicken enchiladas, salmon, ribeye, or filet-and-bone-marrow tacos
• Not included: drinks, tax and gratuity

Friday and Saturday aren't on the Spice schedule, so the last Spice nights are this Sunday, October 25, and Monday through Thursday, October 26 to 29. After that, the waterfront terrace goes back to regular menu prices.

Living next to the site

The other half of evenings on the island is the construction zone at its southern end. The most recent weekly update that Swire and its contractor Moss posted for the Brickell Key Master Association covers March 16 to 20, 2026, before the implosion and the groundbreaking. Here is what that update described as of mid-March:

1. The Bay Walk around the construction site remained closed.
2. Claughton Island Drive ran on a two-lane traffic pattern, with flaggers at every access point during work hours.
3. Corridor parking restrictions stayed in place to keep lanes clear for emergency and construction vehicles.
4. Work hours ran 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Friday, and 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturdays.
5. Some oversized deliveries could briefly stop traffic on the bridge, for about as long as a normal traffic light.
6. A worker shuttle brought construction crews in from off-island parking to cut down on congestion.

The same update said the former Sales Center Park had been closed and fenced as part of the active site. The project has since moved from demolition into construction, so conditions may have changed. The Brickell Key Master Association and Swire's construction updates page are the places to check for current baywalk access, traffic and hours.

On weekdays, that March schedule had work ending at 8 p.m. In the hours the Miami Herald published when The Mexican opened, its bar stays open until midnight Thursday through Saturday.

Living through a construction cycle this long raises questions about your own building, from views to resale timing. At Jordan Casanas, we follow the Mandarin site and the island's day-to-day changes closely, and we're happy to talk about what they mean for your unit, in English or Spanish. When you want a clear picture of where your home stands right now, ask us for a Free Valuation.