Azul & Café Samba
Miami, Florida
Tony Chi & Associates

A elegant ocean-side hotel hosts two tastefully designed restaurant venues

© Doug Snower

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The Mandarin Oriental Miami Hotel is host to both a restaurant and café by the same designer. Café Sambal, an upbeat, casually elegant dining destination that includes an espresso bar, takes advantage of the hotel’s stunning waterfront location. It features indoor and outdoor sheltered space totaling 3,800 square feet and includes a terrace onto the water of Biscayne Bay. Indoor seating exhibits clean geometry minimalist tables in dark wood, with seats and backs of woven rawhide. The logic and order in the design is accentuated by the surrounding Venetian blinds with wooden slats in walnut. The restaurant was conceived as a destination distinguished from the main hotel building with its own edifice, a spectacular sea-green copper-clad architectural structure, featuring a balcony strategically positioned to frame stunning views of the bay.

Azul occupies 5,000 square feet on two levels. The designer fashioned an entrance including a rock garden and group of windows allowing discreet views of the action in the kitchen. In addition to the restaurant’s distinctive entrance, there is another entry so hotel guests can enter directly from the lobby. Azul includes a bar, lounge, main dining room, private dining areas, open kitchen, and outdoor balcony seats. Under a copper canopy at the entrance are a polished, hammered nickel raw bar and a display case of cognac, tea, and spices. An inviting wine gallery features a long table with bench seating on one-side and pull-up barstools on the other. The architect’s signature design statements include Bolivian rosewood flooring, panoramic windows, white marble surfaces, sculptural metal "lace" curtains, seating upholstery in neutral fabrics, and custom features of the highest quality, such as the hand-crafted mural in etched nickel above the display kitchen.

Formal name of Project:
Azul & Café Samba

Location:
Miami, Florida

Gross square footage:
Café Sambal 3,800 sq. ft.
Azul 5,000 sq. ft

Owner:
Mr. Albert Maze
Residents Hotel Manager & F&B Director
Mandarin Oriental Miami
500 Brickell Key Drive
Miami Florida, 33131
305 913-8288 / direct 305-913-8260

Architect:
Tony Chi & Associates
20 West 36th Street
New York City 10018