Get through security, survive the crowds, find your gate, and get out of Dodge: that’s typically the preflight plan at Miami International Airport. But lately, MIA is giving us solid reasons to arrive early. Recent lounge openings and renovations have brought slick and stunning places to kill time and, more importantly, food and drinks worth sticking around for. From caviar and Champagne inside the former Pan Am headquarters to Wagyu and diver scallops before a British Airways (or Qatar Airways) flight, here’s where to eat, drink, and make the most of the hours before takeoff this holiday travel season—and beyond.
PS Miami
MIA’s biggest arrival is technically not a lounge at all. Opened in June inside the historic former Pan Am headquarters, PS Miami is a 34,000-square-foot private terminal that lets commercial passengers skip the airport entirely, complete with a high-design bar, a restaurant, an outdoor lounge, five private suites, private security, and BMW transfers to and from the aircraft. Cliff Fong handled the interiors, retaining original Pan Am details, including the staircase and reflecting pools. Frequent flyers can choose tiered memberships or elevate a single journey with à la carte access to the salon or private suites.
The PS experience begins, appropriately enough, with caviar and Champagne from the comfort of your suite or whichever seating area you fancy. From there, the menu goes decidedly Miami. Breakfast brings an arepa Benedict with chorizo, pineapple hollandaise, and sofrito verde. Later, don’t miss the hamachi crudo with blood orange and cilantro salt or crispy yuca fries with cilantro aioli. Serrano-Manchego croquetas get a hit of guava, while local Panther Coffee powers the cortaditos. At the bar, the Guava Ascension combines rum, guava, Campari, lime, and saline.
The Centurion Lounge at MIA
If it’s been a minute since you’ve eaten at the Centurion Lounge near Gate D12, it’s time for another visit. In Summer 2025, American Express introduced the Culinary Collective, tapping celebrated chefs to create rotating dishes for its U.S. lounges. The name Miamians will recognize is Mike Solomonov, whose Aviv opened at 1 Hotel South Beach earlier that year. His contributions include pomegranate-glazed salmon with tabbouleh and charred broccolini with kashkaval cheese and lemon. Kwame Onwuachi, Mashama Bailey, and Sarah Grueneberg are also among the participating chefs, whose dishes account for roughly half of the food selection and change regularly.
British Airways Lounge Miami
British Airways returned to MIA in a big way in October 2025, opening its first dedicated lounge here in decades. At 13,000 square feet, it’s BA’s largest solely operated lounge outside London, with Miami Art Deco references, huge windows overlooking the airfield, and a full-service bar mixing a lounge-exclusive Prickly Margarita. The self-serve spread includes papaya and lacinato kale salad with toasted coconut and local flounder with lemon, olives, and fried capers. First-class passengers get the best seats in the house at the Concorde Dining Room, where à la carte choices include Wagyu strip loin with roasted trumpet mushrooms and truffle reduction and roasted diver scallops, accompanied by Champagne and English sparkling wine.
You don’t necessarily need to be flying British Airways to get in. Thanks to Oneworld partnerships, eligible passengers on other carriers also have access. Case in point: I recently flew Qatar Airways business class from Miami and was sent here before my flight. I wish I had arrived at the airport sooner!
Delta Sky Clubs MIA & FLL
Delta got a head start in April 2024, adding nearly 4,000 square feet and more than 100 seats to its MIA Sky Club, bringing total capacity to roughly 300 travelers. But the bigger surprise may be what’s on the buffet. Miami gets a distinctly Cuban and Latin spin, with rotating dishes like guava pastelitos, Cuban and medianoche sandwiches, arroz imperial, picadillo, pork al pastor, flan, and Cuban-style colada coffee. At the FLL club, which opened in 2021, expect more American comfort food, with guest appearances by the likes of chicken wings, barbecue rib tips, and pizza.
Menus change every two weeks and incorporate Florida produce sourced within 150 miles, from Homestead-grown cucumbers, tomatoes, and peppers to greens from Punta Gorda. And despite all that meat talk, roughly 80 percent of offerings are vegetarian or vegan, including build-your-own grain bowls, seasonal dips, plant-based chorizo, smoothies, and wellness shots at breakfast.
Coming Soon: American Airlines
Finally, some hope for American Airlines’ flyers. The airline plans to build an entirely new Flagship Lounge at its massive Miami hub while expanding the existing Admirals Club. Details remain scarce, but American is promising more space, locally inspired food, and Champagne. No opening date has been announced, and considering what currently passes for its lounge offering at MIA, the upgrades can’t arrive soon enough.
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