Table 8

You know what? Forget that Table 8 has Oprah cachet. Forget that celebrity chef Govind Armstrong is a celebrity chef. If all that wasn’t so, Table 8 would still be one of the best high-end restaurants on South Beach, partly because it never feels too high end. That is to say, it delivers comforting innovation – duck breast with green beans and frisée (endive), mahimahi blue-crab chowder and kobe beef burgers – in an understated, accessible fashion. In a way, Table 8 is the opposite of the mystique that has grown around it. This isn’t a spot for silly airs: it offers excellent food that anyone can appreciate. The lunch menu is fantastic value. Also the bar here offers the best drink in Miami: Basil 8.