The Gibson Room

"The Gibson Room on Coral Way has no shortage of qualities we look for in a martini bar: great food, severed animal heads on the wall, moody lighting, chandeliers, and live jazz. Coming here hungry is certainly a good idea. They serve an impressively crispy pork schnitzel, foie gras flan, and more rotating dishes. But it’s a great place to hang out regardless, especially since there's always either a band or DJ playing here. Your martini order here should be obvious: the Gibson." - ryan pfeffer, virginia otazo

"We bet whoever built The Gibson Room’s double smashburger is the kind of person who thinks too much about whether a sandwich should be cut straight or diagonally. It has more structural integrity than the Hoover Dam. The lettuce is shredded so it doesn’t yank around with every bite. A fancy 1000 island sauce holds it all in place, while the gooey cheese glues the top bun to the rest of the burger. But the most impressive thing about it is how juicy the patties are for a crispy smashburger." - mariana trabanino, virginia otazo, ryan pfeffer

"The Deal: $45 dinner Sun-Thu This Coral Way restaurant isn’t just great for drinks and jazz—the food here has always been impressive. And their Miami Spice menu sounds really good. Start with the maduros with pastrami beef cheek and fish sauce caramel, or go for the oysters if some of those words scare you. Entrees are all protein, which we love to (and don’t often) see on Spice menus. Get the crispy duck leg with sweet potato pierogies and end with a sticky toffee pudding. Stick around for the live music they usually have going on inside. " - ryan pfeffer, virginia otazo, mariana trabanino

"On our list of Things We Never Thought We’d Be Eating At A Casual Bar On Coral Way, this tamal en cazuela with roasted foie gras is high up there. But that’s also why we love Gibson Room: it feels like a fun bar that snuck off and stole the menu of a fine-dining restaurant a la Plankton from SpongeBob. This tamal is our favorite thing on that menu. The little foie gras island that rests in the center of the cazuela is rich and buttery. The crispy duck chicharron adds a salty crunch. If we ever go missing on a rainy day, look for us at The Gibson Room’s bar, hunched over a bowl of this with a rum cocktail within arm’s reach. " - virginia otazo, mariana trabanino, ryan pfeffer

"The Gibson Room (which used to be The Mighty) is a bar and restaurant on Coral Way. This spot comes from the Ariete team, which explains why the food menu is a lot more creative (and tasty) than what’s at your average bar. They serve an impressively crispy chicken schnitzel, foie gras flan, and more rotating dishes that range from uni butter popcorn to oxtail and shrimp ramen. Coming here hungry is certainly a good idea, but it’s a great place to hang out regardless. Sit at the perfectly dim bar with a martini, think of names for each of the animal heads lining the wall, and enjoy the live music and vinyl DJs they host almost every night." - carlos c olaechea, ryan pfeffer