For luxurious dining in an unbelievable location, take a seat at Miami’s The Deck at Island Gardens. This chic destination restaurant is located within one of the city’s top mega-yacht marinas, with stunning views of the skyline, Biscayne Bay and more. It’s a locale in which you can arrive by land or by sea, offering guests a ritzy, festive atmosphere to wine and dine in the Miami spotlight.

On the menu are popular items like the classic Seafood Tower with Gulf Shrimp and Passmore Caviar along with Alaskan King Crab, Chilled Mussels, Clams, Maine Lobster, Tuna Tartare, Ceviche of the Day, Large Stone Crab, and East & West Oysters. There are also impressive larger entrees that feature a Tossed Arugula and Endive Salad in Cheese Wheel, Oven Baked Salt Crusted Florida Snapper and 32oz Prime Dry Aged Tomahawk Ribeye.

Brunch (and brunch parties!) have also become events to see and be seen at and include morning favorites like the French Scrambled Eggs & Caviar with crème fraîche, chives, wood roasted heirloom tomatoes, warm Sicilian brioche bread and the Smoked Salmon & Avocado Toast with marinated cucumber, sesame sourdough, whipped feta cheese, pickled onions.

We chatted with Bahar Bayraktar, Owner, The Deck at Island Gardens on the restaurant’s inspiration, menu items and what’s to come during Art Basel. Here’s what she had to say.

For those that don’t know Miami or it’s scene very much, can you describe what it’s like? What can guests expect when they arrive?

We are a destination dining restaurant. We’re part restaurant, part lounge; sometimes we are more dining focused, other times we are more party focused. Our location is the only one like this in Miami. We’re an island location, facing the Biscayne Bay and the Miami skyline. We have the mega yacht marina right in front of us. It’s very integrated and right on the water. We were originally inspired by the yachting destinations around the world, particularly the European yachting destinations. The whole idea was to bring this vibe to the marina here in Miami.

What’s the inspiration for your menu? What are the most popular dishes?

A lot of what we serve is Mediterranean inspired and very seafood-centric. The Branzino is popular, as well as the dover sole. We have a lot of chilled seafood and platters. The tuna tartare is also one of our best sellers. We are tied to the sea and yachting so seafood is one of the main things we do. We also do a lot of table-side, Instagrammable items too.

What is the weekend brunch experience like?

Before Covid we had an amazing brunch buffet. But since that’s on hold, we’re serving from our a la cart menu. We have everything from chilled sea food including Alaskan King Crab and Chilled Maine Lobster to traditional brunch items like the Deck Benedict wit Maine Lobster, Béarnaise sauce, poached eggs, toasted English muffin, dressed arugula salad; the Sunday Steak and Eggs with a six ounce filet mignon; and sweet items like the Sicilian Brioche French Toast.

For brunch we always have a DJ — it’s an experience. We also include drum elements, saxophones, and live music almost every night. It’s a fun, lively dining experience.

With Art Basel coming up, do you have anything particularly exciting in the works? Dining-wise and event-wise?

We’re expecting this Art Basel to be one of the best yet. We have a lot of special surprises coming up, including an auction, live music, art installations and festive events tied to fashion houses and more.