Israeli Restaurant Near Me in North Miami: Mutra's Kosher Michelin-Star Counter

Mutra is the first kosher restaurant anywhere to hold a Michelin star, awarded on May 28, 2026, and it sits in a North Miami strip mall at 2188 NE 123rd St, North Miami, FL 33181. Chef Raz Shabtai serves dinner Sunday through Wednesday from 6 pm to 10:30 pm and Thursday until 11 pm, and closes Friday and Saturday. Most seats wrap the open kitchen. If your israeli restaurant near me search lands you in North Miami on a weeknight, this is the reservation worth making.

The address is on NE 123rd Street about half a mile east of Biscayne Boulevard, in the Keystone Islands corner of North Miami, where the street turns into the Broad Causeway toward Bay Harbor Islands. The restaurant's own FAQ gives one navigation tip worth taking seriously: use Google Maps, not Waze, because Waze delivers you to the back door. Coming from Aventura or Bal Harbour, the drive is short, and from Brickell it is a straight run up Biscayne.

Parking is the easy part. The lot in front is free for diners on a first-come, first-served basis, which matters at 6 pm when the first seating arrives together. Look for the Hebrew sign at the entrance. It says you are blessed when you arrive and blessed when you leave. Mutra is cashless, so bring a card or phone wallet, and it is an adults-only room, so plan a sitter rather than a booster seat.

Mutra is named for Shabtai's late grandmother, and her wedding-day photograph hangs prominently in the dining room. The name translates to rain of blessings. Shabtai grew up in Jerusalem watching her cook from a seat on the kitchen counter, then worked every job in restaurants, from dishwasher and busboy to bartender and hot line. He has no formal culinary training and came up through Alenbi, Basta and Nur before moving into private cooking.

Private cooking is how the restaurant began. Michael Werzberger, a New York businessman, hired Shabtai as his family chef and, after one particularly memorable holiday meal, decided to invest in a restaurant. Noa Figari, the real estate agent who found the North Miami space, joined as director of operations. Mutra opened in February 2025 as a 60-seat, 2,150-square-foot room, glatt kosher, with a menu that the chef describes as Levantine, Galilean and Baladi.

Fifteen months later the Michelin Guide expanded statewide and gave Mutra one star, the only new star in Miami that year. Mutra posted the Instagram video of Shabtai in tears under golden confetti. Werzberger summed up the point for JNS: kosher is not a barrier, it is a standard. Shabtai has said he wants two stars next. The inspectors' note tells diners to grab a counter seat and expect dishes to run out.

The menu turns over every three to four months, and the kitchen's farm-driven dishes can shift night to night, but the anchors stay. Start with Hamotzi, kubaneh bread with vegan yogurt, green gold, tomato foam, olives and Anaheim pepper. Then order Can't Be Beet, the beets three ways that Michelin called show-stopping: roasted, sorbet and pickled over ajo blanco with almond crumble and pine nuts. The Infatuation names it the restaurant's superstar, and it earns that title by mixing temperatures in a single spoonful.

For meat, the Arrogant Kebab is lamb on hand-torn brioche with white tahini, Tunisian salsa and pistachio tahini. Consuming That Dish Will Make You Addicted!!! is a Yemeni pancake under veal breast souvlaki, tahi-amba and Yemeni tomato. It is sloppy and delicious. Chicken Liver Dreaming to Become Foie Gras pairs pate with silan, pistachio crumble and sourdough from Gifted Crust. Vegetarians get The Legendary Maitake Steak, and the kitchen will make the Double or Nothing ravioli vegetarian.

An honest skip: pass on Don't Speak Too Much, the deli beef tongue with apricot jam and horseradish aioli. The Infatuation found the tongue slightly dry, and the 1 Perfect Falafel leans on its tahi-amba for the same reason. The online menu does not list prices, and Michelin rates the room at its top price level, so treat it as an occasion dinner. The kitchen will not modify dishes, beyond that vegetarian ravioli, so read descriptions closely before you order.

Reservations go through Resy, and walk-in space is very limited. Resy splits the room into Chef Bar Seat, Dining Room and Patio (Outdoor). On Monday, Oct. 19, 2026, slots opened at 6 pm in all three, while later times were patio only. Book the counter, which seats nearly two dozen around the open kitchen, if you want to watch the line plate. Parties of seven or more need to call the restaurant or email events@mutramiami.com, and full buyouts are available.

There is no hard liquor. Instead you get what Mutra calls the greatest kosher wine list in the country, plus beer. By the glass, look for Adir Kerem Ben Zimra orange chardonnay from the Upper Galilee or Carmel Appellation cabernet. Bottles run deep into Bordeaux, including Pavillon de Leoville Poyferre and Chateau Le Crock. A smart casual dress code applies, which means no beachwear, athletic clothes or flip-flops, and the restaurant has no formal cancellation policy but asks you to call as soon as plans change.

The crowd is a mix. Glatt kosher diners, the community Werzberger says he opened it for, come for cooking the kosher world rarely offers, while the Infatuation pegs it as the place for the group-chat reunion that took four months to plan, or for a father's 70th birthday. The counter draws food people who want to talk to the cooks. Since Mutra is closed Friday and Saturday, the weekend plan B is Cotoa on NE 6th Court, an Ecuadorian Michelin pick open both nights.

The Museum of Contemporary Art North Miami, on NE 125th Street, is the cultural stop a short drive west. Its galleries closed temporarily on Oct. 5 to install a new exhibition. In normal weeks the museum opens Wednesday from noon to 7 pm and Thursday through Sunday from 10 am to 5 pm. General admission is $10, North Miami residents with identification enter free, and a Wednesday evening visit lines up neatly with a 6 pm table.

For the morning after, Sesame Bakery sits inside the Sole Mia development on Sole Mia Square Lane, in the same 33181 ZIP code. It comes from the Motek team, and the Infatuation praises its pistachio croissants, bourekas and Jerusalem bagel with labneh. Mutra also publishes its farm list, including Alderman Farms, Lion Farms and Gratitude Garden Farm, so if a dish lands with mushrooms from Lion Farms, that is where they grew.

Mutra, 2188 NE 123rd St, North Miami, FL 33181, in a strip mall near the Broad Causeway. Dinner Sunday to Wednesday 6 pm to 10:30 pm, Thursday 6 pm to 11 pm, closed Friday and Saturday. Glatt kosher, adults only, cashless, smart casual dress. Free parking lot. Wine and beer only. Vegetarian and vegan options. The online menu is posted without prices.