-
I Love Calle Ocho
And we love you. This eclectic café, with its bagels and chicken-salad wraps, is a good resting spot between rice and beans, although there are apparently two grandmas in the kitchen who whip up excellent Cuban fare upon request. A rainbow sticker on the door indicates gay-friendly, a bit of a rare pronouncement in these parts.
-
Islas Canarias
Islas may not look like much, sitting in a strip mall, but it serves some of the best Cuban in Miami. The ropa vieja is delicious, and there are nice Spanish touches on the menu (the owner's father is from the Canary Islands, hence the restaurant's name). Don't pass up the signature homemade chips, especially the ones cut from plantains.
-
Jaguar's
The menu spans the Latin world, but really, everyone's here for the ceviche 'spoon bar'. The idea: pick from six styles of ceviche (seafood salad), ranging from swordfish with cilantro to corvina in lime juice, and pull a culinary version of DIY. It's novel and fun, and the ceviche varieties are pretty damn delicious.
-
Jamaica International Café
This is a friendly, eclectic spot, serving a truly mind boggling range of global dishes. But the way to go is Jamaican, via the curry lobster, stewed peas with pork, jerk chicken or vegetable curry (one of the veggie options here). Traditional breakfasts include eggs or akee served with boiled bananas, and dessert spoils you rotten with sweet-potato pudding.
-
Jason's At The Harrison
The monochrome of zebra patterned chairs and black-and-white dusted walls are offset by a colorful menu of semi-American, Southern-cum-Florribean-cum-Asian cuisine that's as well-traveled as a…Lonely Planet reader: think ox-tail and yucca chips and sea bass with mushroom kimchee.
-
Jerry's Famous Deli
Jerry's does it all - from pastrami melts to Chinese chicken salad to fettuccine alfredo - and does it all day long. It also does it big, with huge portions served in a big, open, deco space.
-
Joe's Stone Crab Restaurant
The wait is long, the prices high. But if those aren't deal-breakers, queue up to don a bib in Miami's most famous restaurant and enjoy deliciously fresh stone crab claws.
-
Kafa's Cafe
New when we visited, Kafa's was a bare-bones café, pretty in that understated way bare-bones cafés can be. There's a pleasing menu of soup, salad and sandwiches that attracts artsy types. Pity the latter; it must be hard to act grim and pathos-driven when you can enjoy a tuna melt under perfect Miami conditions in the sunny outdoor seating area.
-
La Marea
What makes Italo-Spanish, sea-kissed cuisine like rigatoni and pork cheek even better? Enjoying it in the deco-does-Poseidon's palace lobby of the Tides hotel, amidst a backdrop of endless off-white and sea turtle shells (actually, that last detail could be done without).
-
La Moon
Nothing - and we're not necessarily saying this in a good way - soaks up the beer like a Colombian hot dog topped with eggs and potato sticks. Or fried pork belly and pudding. These delicacies (further proof that South Americans are totally on to something or have completely different culinary DNA from the rest of us) are the preferred food and drink of Miami's 24-hour party people, and the best place to find this wicked fare is 24-hour La Moon, in stumbling distance of the Transit Lounge.
-
Advertisement
-
La Palme D'or
One of the most acclaimed French restaurants in America, Phillipe Ruiz's Palme is the culinary match of the Jazz Age opulence that ensconces it. With its white-gloved, old-world class and American attention to service, unmuddled by pretensions at hipness, the Palme captures, in one elegant stroke, all the exclusivity a dozen South Beach restaurants could never grasp. The menu shifts seasonally but remains consistently magnificent at one of Miami's best splurges.
-
La Perrada De Edgar
Back in the day, Colombia's most (in)famous export to Miami was cocaine. But seriously, what's powder got on La Perrada and its kookily delicious hot dogs, devised by some Dr Evil of the frankfurter world. Don't believe us? Try an especial, topped with plums, pineapple and whipped cream. How about shrimp and potato sticks? Apparently, these are normal hot dog toppings in Colombia.
-
La Sandwicherie
French for 'The Sandwicherie' (heh), the bustle-and-flow never stops as an endless stream of customers saddle up to the counter for some of the best baguettes (and other eats of a things-between-bread-nature) on the Beach.
-
Last Carrot
Folks of all walks, corporate suits included, come here for fresh juice, delicious wraps (veggie options are great but the tuna melt is divine) and old-Grove neighborliness. The Carrot's endurance next to massive CocoWalk is testament to the quality of its good-for-your-body food served in a good-for-your-soul setting, so come here and do something good for the world, or at least your mouth.
-
Le Croisic
If this artsy Parisian bistro were any cuter it would rub your leg and go 'meow.' As it is, Croisic entertains with the sort of old-school menu even the French appreciate for nostalgia's sake: entrecote with béarnaise sauce, boeuf bourguignon and bouillabaisse - ooh la la.
-
Lemon Twist
A warm and unpretentious little bistro in the heart of Normandy Isle, where friendly hosts whet your appetite by treating you to bowls of spicy olives, baskets of fresh bread and a complimentary shot of lemon vodka. It only gets better when you order, choosing from well-executed options including Moroccan chicken and pumpkin ravioli.
-
Lost & Found Saloon
The service is as friendly as the omelettes and burritos are awesome (which is to say, very) at this cute little Wynwood spot, the sort of saloon where microbrews are on tap and the wine list reads like a year abroad. Our only request: more burrito, gentlemen; portions were a little small and we weren't quite filled up last time.
-
Lots Of Lox
In a city with no shortage of delis, especially in mid-Miami Beach, who would have thought some of the best chopped liver on rye could be found in this unassuming place all the way down in Palmetto Bay? It's bustling, it's friendly and the excellent lunch meats sneer at their cousins on Arthur Godfrey Rd, secure in their dominance of Greater Miami's deli ranks.
-
Mark's South Beach
Rejoice: Mark's is excellent New American cuisine, and It is Good. Better than good, actually. The menu changes daily based on whatever excellent ingredients the kitchen can procure, the subterranean dining room is cozy and elegant, staff helpful and assured, and appreciative foodies outnumber posing status-seekers - a nice touch.
-
Matsuri
Note the customers: Matsuri, tucked into a nondescript shopping center, is consistently packed with Japanese. They don't want scene; they want a taste of home - although many are South American Japanese who order unagi (eels) in Spanish, a cool dining sight in and of itself. Spicy toro (fatty tuna) and scallions, grilled mackerel with natural salt, and an ocean of raw fish are all oishi (delicious). The around US$8 bento lunch makes the rest of the day disappointing compared to your midday meal.
-
Advertisement
-
Mi Rinconcito Mexicano
The Mexican clientele here is the surest sign of quality, but if you need more evidence, try the tampinquena (steak with enchiladas and green sauce) or pollo mole (chicken in mole), authentic but cheap Mexican that beats the hell out of your run-of-the-mill burrito.
-
Michael's Genuine Food & Drink
The 'genuine' in Michael Schwartz's restaurant is a sincere tribute to locally sourced ingredients and a healthy dose of innovation moderated by respect for things that work. Hence, pork shoulder in parsley sauce and cheese grits that taste like your grandma just became a cordon bleu chef. The chocolate-and-red interior feels cheerful and welcoming rather than snobbish and intimidating, and that goes for the attentive waitstaff as well.
-
Mini Healthy Deli
This surreally excellent café, tucked into a half-vacant mini-mall, is where chef Carlos Bedoya works solo and churns out remarkably fresh and delicious specials, such as grilled tilapia, fresh salad and rice and beans. There are only two little tables, but it's worth waiting - or standing while you eat.
-
Miss Saigon Bistro
This clean, spare and delicious Vietnamese spot is a good middle-of-the road option for folks seeking a good meal - the caramelized pork and crispy fish spring to mind - without the pomp and circumstance of a huge night out.
-
Miss Yip
If you remember when Cantonese was the only Chinese cuisine you could find stateside and prefer it that way, say hello to Jenny Yip. She's got a bright-red booth and medicine jars full of God-knows-what waiting for you in this seemingly classic Chinese teahouse. Have some Peking duck, ma-po tofu (a Szechuan dish of marinated pork, black beans and bean curd), and discover that no matter what you choose, it's prepared flawlessly.
