After 26 years, this Miami Beach restaurant with the ‘best cakes in America’ is closed

For more than 20 years, the Icebox Cafe on Miami Beach drew diners with an approachable menu and made-from-scratch cakes that grew in fame after being blessed by “The Oprah Winfrey Show” as the “Best Cakes in America.”

Now, the long-time restaurant in Sunset Harbour is closed for good.

Owner Robert Siegmann announced the closing in an email to customers.

“It’s been an honor and a privilege serving you for over 25 years and now it’s time to turn our focus on to new adventures,” the email said.

The restaurant, which opened in 1998, first settled just off Lincoln Road in Miami Beach. In 2006, Oprah Winfrey’s sidekick Gayle King headed to the restaurant for a “The Best Cakes in America” segment, in which she interviewed Siegmann, who once worked as a caterer. She tried the cinnamon butter Bundt cake, the strawberry shortcake, the coconut buttercream cake and the famous “The Bomb,” a cheesecake brownie sandwiched inside chocolate cake with chocolate mousse filling.

In 2013, the Icebox Cafe moved to its most recent location at 1855 Purdy Ave. in Miami Beach’s Sunset Harbour neighborhood. In 2020, the brand opened a Hallandale Beach location at 219 NE Third St. that closed earlier this year. Icebox Cafe opened an expansive two-story outpost in 2017 at Cityplace Doral, but that location shuttered quickly.

The Icebox Cafe at Miami International Airport gates D-8 and D-28 will remain open, according to Siegmann’s email, as will the location at the Dallas-Fort Worth airport.

The brand also owns Icebox Pantry, a wholesale and smart fridge vending operation that sells sandwiches and desserts.

And if you miss that Oprah chocolate cake too much? You can order it delivered for $99.95 from Goldbelly.

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