Winners were announced at the 2013 James Beard Foundation Awards in New York on Monday⎯⎯the national recognition program honoring professionals in the food and beverage industries. At Lincoln Center’s Avery Fisher, awards were presented honoring the best restaurants, chefs, books, and media, as well as restaurant designs.
Winning Best Restaurant Design in the 76 seats and over category, Miami’s Juvia restaurant was designed by Venezuelan architect and interior designer Alejandro Barrios Carrero. 


Named after the Brazilian nut tree and serving a blend of Asian, French, and Latin American food, Juvia’s design incorporates elements of nature with its concrete structure and a tropical atmosphere. The modern and earthy space boasts an outdoor dining terrace and an indoor dining room with floor-to-ceiling windows offering panoramic views of Miami. Design elements throughout the 10,000-square-foot space include a silent retractable roof, a vertical garden, custom Italian furniture and fixtures, and a backlit incandescent amethyst bar.
Winning in the 75 seats and under category is Isa from restaurateur Taavo Somer. Located in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, New York’s burgeoning restaurant destination, the quaint space boasts an urban but primitive aura with stacks of firewood and unfinished ceilings.
