MIAMI – What do you get when you combine a restaurant reservation booking app, 10 of Miami’s most popular restaurants, and the comfort and (pandemic-friendly) luxury of being in your own parked car as you savor your dinner? You get the Resy Drive-Thru Miami, a gourmet food-lovers dream.
If you’ve always wanted to book a reservation at Carbone Miami, Planta, NIU Kitchen + Bar, Osaka Cocina Nikkei, or Pubbelly Sushi, but never knew how, when, or what you would order if you went, now is your chance to dive into their unique worldly dishes from the comfort and safety of your car at the Resy Drive-Thru Miami in partnership with the American Express Gold Card.
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From March 18-19, ticket-holders to the Resy Drive-Thru Miami experience will be able to savor and celebrate dishes from some of Miami’s most highly rated restaurants through an exclusive, 10-course tasting menu — all enjoyed from the safety of their cars. Plus, those who are American Express Gold Card holders will get two bonus courses, and will be able to drive through a designated gold car lane, and will even experience driving through the “Gold Donut Factory” tunnel at the activation.
According to Vanessa Leitman of Resy, the idea behind the drive-thru event truly came from a time when restaurants and the restaurant industry were hit the hardest — the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic last year. “After being in the pandemic for a couple of months last year, we were seeing how much Resy users were still wanting to support the favorite restaurants and chefs that they love,” she says. “We decided, ‘How can we create an experience that is COVID-safe and COVID-friendly, but really allowed people to experience their favorite restaurants and chefs in an entirely new way?’”
Alas, the idea to create a one-of-a-kind drive-thru experience that was both delicious and safe was born. After Resy launched the first Resy Drive-Thru in October of 2020 in Los Angeles, the event was such a success, that they decided to launch one here in Miami in 2021.
“We wanted to come up with something that was fun and safe, but also very creative, that allowed people to come out, eat amazing food, and get to see their favorite chefs and restaurants, which they couldn’t do at the time,” says Leitman.
The tasting menu in Miami will feature dishes from Carbone Miami, Planta, Niu Kitchen, Osaka Cocina Nikkei, Café la Trova, Macchialina, Harry’s, Balloo, Mr. Mandolin, and Pubbelly Sushi. As the event is sponsored by American Express, Gold Card-holders will get exclusive access to two more courses from L’Atelier de Joel Robuchon and The Salty Donut.
However, the event isn’t just for those who have never dined at the restaurants featured in the 10-course menu — it’s also for foodies who get to explore new dishes from some of their favorite restaurants.
“It’s a great way to try some restaurants that you haven’t been to, but also to see some of your favorites and try a new dish from them because most of these dishes are all things that are entirely new and the restaurants aren’t serving them on their typical menu.”
As for Resy, the high-end restaurant booking app is looking to expand in the Miami market, which is great news for local food-lovers looking to dine out as COVID-19 restrictions lessen, and the vaccine becomes more wildly accessible. The event also comes just in time as dozens of New York-based restaurants have opened locations in Miami, (and hundreds of snowbirds have moved to South Florida).
Therefore, expect to see more from the app in the South Florida restaurant scene.
“You’ll start to see a lot more of Resy in the Miami market,” says Leitman. “A lot of new restaurants that are opening in Miami, as well as existing restaurants, are starting to use Resy. For instance, Joe’s Stone Crab now uses Resy for reservations. They haven’t used a reservation service for 107 years.”
The Resy Drive-Thru will take place on March 18 and March 19 at 1 Herald Plaza, where tickets can be purchased for specific time slots on both nights.
For tickets and for more information, click here.