Miami is a big city and, like all big cities, it offers an almost never-ending array of restaurants in both quantity and quality, that is difficult to unravel. While traveling, the scene that usually occurs is the following: 7 pm or so, you – lying on your hotel bed after a full day spent on one of the beaches or in one of Miami’s neighborhoods – feel a certain pang. You ask if your traveling companion has any ideas about where to eat, and when he/she answers no, you start flipping through guide books or scrolling through Tripadvisor. Obviously you can’t decide between a seafood dinner, a South American food tasting, a giant hamburger with onion rings or a fancy and trendy restaurant… time goes by and in the end you let your instincts guide you or you settle for the first advice you find.
This article was created to point out some restaurants in Miami that we particularly liked. Obviously tastes are tastes and it will not be easy to find a restaurant on this list that meets your needs exactly, but it is still a starting point. So let yourself be tempted and choose the place to eat in Miami from our list, hoping that the restaurant’s cuisine does not get a bad night.
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What is there to eat in Miami?
As I was saying, there is something for everyone: historic diners where you can eat cheap and traditional American food and southern cuisine, seafood restaurants (try the sensational Stone Crab and ceviche, a light fish soup), contemporary cuisine restaurants where you can enjoy new and refined gastronomic experiences (especially in Wynwood and in the Design District), but above all a huge number of ethnic and especially Latin American restaurants. Given the multicultural dimension of Miami, how could it be otherwise? You can eat Cuban, Peruvian, Colombian, Haitian, Brazilian… without leaving the United States!
Places to eat in Miami: recommended restaurants
Below are 6 restaurants in Miami that I think are worth trying, and can solve your search for the right place. I tried to be as varied as possible, but if you want to have a wider choice, at the bottom of this article you will find a list of links to our insights on the best places to eat in the main neighborhoods of the city.
Joe’s Stone Crab (South Beach)
For over 100 years, Joe’s Kitchen has been robbing the Miami seafood market to keep its guests happy. In fact, even to be original, it’s impossible to talk about seafood restaurants in Miami without mentioning Joe’s Stone Crab, one of the oldest and most popular places to eat seafood in Miami. Founded in 1913, it is famous throughout the city for its dishes based on Stone Crab, a rock crab typical of the Gulf of Mexico.
Even if the place has grown over time and has become classy (there is a dress code to follow, do not show up in shorts after swimming in the sea), the menu has never changed: the huge and juicy claws of Jumbo Crab served with mustard sauce and soup are well worth the high price they cost.
The shrimp dishes and mahi-mahi fish are also noteworthy. Remember that it is not possible to book, so the queues are often nerve-wracking: if you don’t feel like waiting, you can also use the takeaway service. The address is 11 Washington Ave, in the SoFi area of South Beach.
Shorty’s BBQ (South Miami)
This place is located in South Miami (9200 S Dixie Hwy), in an area with almost no tourist interest, so you have to want to go there. During my stay in Miami, I specifically went there twice, for both lunch and dinner. This historic diner is located on the side of a busy street like the S Dixie Hwy. Founded in 1951, it was destroyed by a fire in 1972, but the loyal supporters of the popular restaurant didn’t have to wait long, because in a short time the place was rebuilt just like before. The environment is fantastic: rustic to say the least, long tables where you eat next to each other (but there are also normal tables), each with its own roll of paper towels from where you take napkins, and a paper bag to throw the waste into.
What can you eat? Huge burgers served with a delicious brioche bread, juicy and long barbecue ribs with fries, coleslaw and garlic bread, then roasted corn on the cob, beans in barbecue sauce, fried chicken wings and many other delicious, calorie-laden dishes. The service is great: the first time we went, they took a liking to us and offered us many samples of their cuisine, including a very sweet big glass of homemade iced tea.
Kyu Restaurant (Wynwood)
A stone’s throw from the murals of Wynwood Walls is Kyu Restaurant, a trendy eatery whose concept is completely different from Shorty’s fine dining. Those wanting to experience something a little different by sampling Asian dishes reinterpreted in a creative-contemporary key should consider this industrial-style restaurant with an open kitchen and designer furniture.
The restaurant is very crowded but the staff tries to please everyone, kindly offering to let you sit at the bar if there are no seats: no harm done, it’s an opportunity to see the bartenders at work during dinner. You can taste elaborate (but small) fish and meat dishes with original combinations and delicate flavors. Worth mentioning is the large wine list, the possibility to choose tasting menus and, above all, the artistic skill shown in the presentation of dishes. Medium-high prices.
Sparky’s Roadside Barbecue (Downtown)
THE RESTAURANT IS CURRENTLY CLOSED
If you hadn’t guessed, we like to eat with substance: after Shorty’s, here I am again talking about another place where you can eat meat of all kinds that comes out of the good old barbecue. Sparky’s, from this point of view, is an institution in Miami, and it’s unlikely that you’ll leave here disappointed and with an empty stomach. The restaurant is small in size, and is located practically right in front of the Metromover First Street stop exit. We are in Downtown, at 204 NE 1st St, so not exactly in the most charming neighborhood in Miami, however for the quality of the food and the experience, it is absolutely worth coming here.
The place is colorful and cozy, on the walls there are stickers, plaques, posters, historical photos and memorabilia that grab your attention while you wait to be served. The specialties and beers of the day are written on the blackboard, and they will be offered to you with samples to guide you in your choice. As anticipated, generous portions of BBQ cooked meats are eaten here – I recommend getting a Three Meat Combo with hearty samples from an extensive menu. I had St Louis Style Ribs, Pulled Pork and Beef Brisket, with two sides and a good craft beer on the recommendation of the waitress.
El Exquisito (Little Havana)
THE RESTAURANT IS CURRENTLY CLOSED
Going to Little Havana without tasting Cuban cuisine is an unforgivable sin. As you can read in the article dedicated to the neighborhood, there are many places that try to trick tourists with a pseudo-Caribbean atmosphere and then charge them a lot of money. Avoid cheating by choosing El Exquisito (1510 SW 8th St.,) a family-owned restaurant that, due to its less flashy appearance than other competitors, you might miss during your walk on Calle Ocho.
You can order a takeout sandwich at the “ventanita” (window facing the street) or sit at one of the small tables in the lounge, a popular atmosphere without too many frills. The traditional Cuban meat dishes are tasty and plentiful: try the hearty Vaca Frita (crispy beef previously filleted and marinated in lime) or the Ropa Vieja (a sort of brisket stew).
11th Street Diner (South Beach)
If on an Art Deco tour of South Beach, you find yourself at 1065 Washington Avenue and don’t notice it, it means you need a pair of glasses. With its metal and frosted glass exterior, the 11th Street Diner can make any nostalgic person fall in love with it at first sight: this is how you picture an American diner from the 1950s, the quintessential American restaurant imagery. The dining car, characterized by hints of futuristic Art Deco style, was opened in 1948 in Pennsylvania and then moved in the nineties to Miami, where it was rebuilt according to the original concept.
If you loved Happy Days or another American series of this type, the interiors will immediately make you fall in love: the coldness of the external structure and tables is in fact compensated by the bright red of the armchairs. Some say that this is the place to eat the best hamburger in Miami. If it’s still not lunchtime for you, you can also try one of their brunches or a milkshake, but promise to come back in the evening, when the outdoor lights and bright signs turn it into a timeless place.
