Amal Miami

Amal opened in Coconut Grove in 2022 as the United States counterpart to the original in Toronto, from Ink Entertainment Group — the hospitality company led by Beirut-born founder Charles Khabouth — with executive chef Wissam Baki running a menu of shareable mezze and coastal Lebanese cooking. The 180-seat room is built for a lively evening, with live music and a scene that builds through the night.

Lebanese hospitality has a useful quality for a non-drinker: the meal is structured around shared plates arriving continuously rather than around a bottle matched to courses, so declining alcohol removes less of the experience than it would at a wine-led restaurant. Amal supports that with a named zero-proof list built on real products rather than juice. The Habibi Mule uses Seedlip Notas de Agave with prickly pear, lime and hibiscus ginger beer. The Yalla Spritz is Martini & Rossi Vibrante with cranberry-mango and Fever-Tree soda. The Secret Garden infuses Seedlip Notas de Agave with parsley and lengthens it with lime, orange blossom, rose water and tonic.

That last drink is the interesting one. Orange blossom and rose water are Levantine pantry ingredients, used in the region's desserts and drinks for centuries — so the mocktail is drawing on the same culinary tradition as the kitchen rather than importing a European cocktail template and removing the gin. Resident Magazine described the Habibi Mule as light, floral and balanced, mirroring the restaurant's modern Mediterranean approach.

The kitchen also serves a Lebanese brunch and runs a daily happy hour. It is a full-service restaurant and bar; the zero-proof list is a genuine section of it. Coconut Grove is quieter than Brickell or Wynwood, which suits a long mezze dinner where the drinking is not the point of the evening.