-
11th St Diner
This deco diner housed inside a gleaming Pullman train car sees round-the-clock activity and is especially popular with people staggering home from clubs.
-
A La Folie
There's a distinct shortage of coffeehouses in Miami (we don't count cortadito counters because you can't sit there and read), but this tres French café bucks the trend. Plus, the waiters have great accents. Why yes, we would like 'Zee moka.'
-
Allen's Drug Store
Don't worry: they do diner in the Gables. In Allen's case, they've just plopped one into a pharmacy. Don't let the proximity of Pepto Bismo and retirees put you off the meatloaf, vinyl booths or the little jukeboxes, because this is Florida. You should be eating among a bunch of seniors with walkers. It's called 'cultural immersion.'
-
Altamar
Located on the west side of Alton Rd - the stretch most pedestrians miss - Altamar rules the fresh fish stakes. Or just about any seafood lists. The jumbo crabcake and mustard sauce, soft-shell crab marinated in lemon and herbs and, yes, any fish on the menu are all good bets.
-
Andiamo!
It looks like a '50s drive-through (it's actually an old car wash), but Andiamo! isn't old-fashioned. This airy eatery breaks ground with award-winning pizza and toppings that range from goat cheese to white tuna, so you can get creative or settle for excellent interpretations of classics such as the Vesuvius: salami, hot peppers and olives, mmm.
-
Anokha
The general consensus is this family-run phenom is as good as Indian gets in Miami, which is either big praise or small potatoes depending on your point of view. We think the curries are pretty praiseworthy, as is anything wrapped in banana leaf.
-
Azul
Falling water windows, clean metallic spaces and curving copper facades compliment one of the nicest views of the city. The Scandi-tastic decor works in harmony with a menu that marries the Mediterranean to the Asian; try the oysters wrapped in beef and hamachi carpaccio, or some yogurt-marinated swordfish.
-
Balans
Kensington, Chiswick…South Beach? Oi, give this Brit-owned fusion favorite a go. Where else does veal saltimbocca and lamb jalfrezi share a menu? After you down the signature lobster club, you'll agree tired stereotypes about English cooking need to be reconsidered.
-
Berries Restaurant
Plenty of places have jumped on the seasonal produce and fresh ingredient bandwagon, and Berries, with its all-in-black ninja-clan waitstaff, makes the genre accessible and attitude-free. The enormous portions could feed two, but who could bear to share skirt steak with melted blue cheese or three-mushroom risotto, which reminds us: veggies get it good here.
-
Big Fish
Big Fish has a catch-the-sun color scheme, open deck and blue water breezes - could you come closer to Mediterranean island ambience in Miami? OK, the Miami River isn't the Aegean (you're almost under the Metromover), but the seafood is fresh; try anything off the fish menu, sip some wine and love life. Film buffs: Alec Baldwin shot a thief on the back patio here in the '80s cult flick Miami Blues.
-
Advertisement
-
Big Pink
Big Pink is big fun, 50s style. What can you say about a place whose signature dish is an authentic, American-style TV dinner served on a six-compartment steel tray? Dine inside or at sidewalk tables on a selection of burgers, sandwiches, pizza, meal-sized salads, nacho platters, buckets of fries and chicken wings. Either way, save room for the Key lime pie.
-
Bissaleh Cafe
Another Israeli café, Bissaleh has an extensive menu of fish and pasta, but the real draw is the signature dish, a puff pastry stuffed with cheese or olives, potatoes and spinach, plus similar Middle Eastern turnovers like boreka and malawach.
-
Blue Door
'Owned by Madonna' plus 'Delano' plus 'designed by Philippe Starck' equals 'this ain't McDonald's'. They've let Asia and Latin America rub a bit of French shoulder with dishes such as cold chayote soup with pan-seared scallops and ragout of lobster in coconut-milk broth. Enjoy, and realize you live better than most.
-
Boater's Grill
Located just past Crandon Park in the Bill Baggs Cape Florida State Park, this waterfront restaurant (actually, water below and all around) feels like a Chesapeake Bay seahouse from up north, except the menu's packed with South Florida maritime goodness: stone crabs, mahi-mahi and lobster paella.
-
Café Maurice
Post-war Paris meets American theme restaurant at this dark red, playfully fun French bistro. The menu focuses on favorites a la francaise: magret du canard (duck breast), goat cheese salad and duck shepherd's pie. Stick around for late night gypsy dancing after you've gorged.
-
Café Papillon
In a perfect world, the waitstaff here would wear stripy shirts, berets and have twirly moustaches. Alas, non, but there's quiche, tartines (filled with marinated artichokes or peppers in pesto sauce), crepes and wrought-iron sidewalk tables. Pass zee gauloise, Pierre.
-
Café Prima Pasta
We're not sure what's better at this Argentine-Italian place: the much-touted pasta, which deserves every one of the accolades heaped on it (try the gnocchi), or the atmosphere, which captures the dignified sexiness of Buenos Aires. Actually, it's no contest: you're the winner, as long as you eat here.
-
Café Sambal
Sambal sports what we can only describe as 'Nouveau-rice-farmer-conical-hat-chic' and serves intriguing pan-Asian fare in a more laid-back setting than upstairs Azul (both located in the Mandarin Oriental Miami). The just-out-of-the-ocean-fresh sushi and rice crab cakes are worth a try, as is the critically acclaimed small plates menu.
-
Caffe Abbracci
Abbracci embraces you warmly, from the time you make a reservation to the moment you're walking out the door, a satisfied customer. This dark, elegant and upmarket eatery serves some of the best northern Italian food in the city. Pasta is fresh, antipasto plentiful, veal a speciality and the tiramisu a delight.
-
Canela Cafe
Miami loves its fusion cuisine but rarely mixes Latin diner with vegetarian fare. Canela challenges this convention; there's meat on the menu (touted as 'Latin soul food'), as well as roasted pepper and goat cheese sandwiches, vegetarian tapas and the trippy art you'd expect at the post-punk cousin to Miami's many Latin greasy-spoons.
-
Advertisement
-
Capital Grille
This posh carnivore's paradise boasts steak, steak and more steak, catering to the suited expense-accounters who appreciate chandeliers, marble floors and dark wood paneling.
-
Casa Juancho
A massive, upscale Spanish tavern throbs to a festive mover-and-shaker crowd loving duck with pine nuts and figs, salted cod and sherry-cured rabbit. There's no shortage of tapas, Spanish wine or entertainment, as balladeers stroll and serenade as you dine.
-
China Grill
Unsa-unsa I'm so hot. And I eat at the Miami satellite of Manhattan's almost-as-hot-as-me unsa-unsa China Grill. I order the also hot (like, spicy) grilled Szechuan beef or Korean barbecue with truffled potato hash boom-boom. And I love to listen to club music while I eat. Weeoooooo.
-
Ciappino
This Ritz Carlton restaurant sells a 'Sinatra in his heyday' vibe, couched in an enormous half deco/half baroque dining room of grand ball proportions. The menu matches the opulence of the setting, offering such over-the-top fare as wild mushroom and truffles stuffed into sea bass.
-
Cj's Crab Shack
This casual spot seems a cut above the rest of its Ocean Dr resto-siblings. As the name promises, there are lots of crustaceans served by a sassy waitstaff with complimentary dry attitude (it's endearing). Happy hour is a happy steal: around US$5 for a half-dozen oysters, around US$6 for two stone crab claws.
