Doya Brings a Modern Aegean Meze Menu to Miami

The best meal I’ve ever had in Miami was at Doya. The acclaimed Greek and Turkish spot in the art-drenched neighborhood of Wynwood has been a tough ticket to come by since opening in 2021, but on a recent Friday night a group of 10 or so were able to score an outdoor table, where we shared a large sampling of Doya’s meze menu. And I’ll clear that up if, like me, you’re an inveterate American with our national proclivity to not know what non-English words mean: “meze” basically means “appetizer.” It’s like tapas. A meze menu is like getting tapas in Athens or Istanbul. 

At Doya that means small plates of butter shrimp and delicious slices of grilled halloumi cheese. It means the lavash-wrapped beef of beyti kebap, covered with yogurt and a rich tomato sauce. It means the delectably spicy sucuk sausage and a wood-baked Turkish pastrami hummus with paprika butter. It means a thick rope of charcoal-grilled octopus slathered with olive oil. It means the spicy red pepper dip muhammara, plates of artichoke rice, and roasted beetroot and yogurt spread on top of warm bread. Doya’s meze menu abounds with luscious flavors from Eastern Europe and the Middle East, a culinary adventure perfect for sharing. Combine this bounty with a potent lineup of cocktails and an enchanting array of desserts—Yogurt mousse! Mastic pudding! Pistachio Baklava!—and you’ve got a meal you will long remember.

Doya is so good its reputation has spread beyond the gourmands of South Florida. One of the first things you’ll notice when you enter the restaurant is the Michelin Bib Gourmand award on the wall. (The fancy food people actually put the fat tire man on their award!) It’s not officially a Michelin star, but it does certify Doya as a Michelin Guide restaurant, which is still a big deal. The Bib Gourmand award is basically the “good value” award—a sign that where you’re eating will have great food at a good price. Doya definitely has the “great food” part of that equation down pat.

The price front is more debatable, but Doya is certainly competitive with similar high-end restaurants. As a tapas restaurant, it has the same understandable pricing issues some find with the small plates concept. Meaning, it all adds up, and you can easily wind up spending more than you expect. I’d be surprised if it costs more than you think it’s worth, though, given how uniformly great the menu is. Expect to splurge a bit, but also expect to be richly rewarded with some of the best food you’ll eat in Florida.

The first time I ate Turkish food I was in Turkey. That’s kind of starting right at the very top. Like, if you told me a Turkish restaurant in Miami was better than anything you ate in Turkey (except maybe that iskender kebap place in Bursa), I’d assume you just had bad taste. But from what I experienced a few weeks ago, Doya out-Turked the Turks with its “modern Aegean” menu of small plates. When in Wynwood—or any part of the greater Miami area—do yourself a favor and dine at Doya.

Senior editor Garrett Martin writes about videogames, comedy, travel, theme parks, wrestling, and anything else that gets in his way. He’s also on Twitter @grmartin.