Miami Restaurants Guide: Where To Eat in the Miami Area

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Miami

Restaurants

No Michelin stars just yet, but both the mainland and Miami Beach have in the past several years has really made impressive strides, graduating from a dining landscape populated with a plethora of Latin American restaurants both good and bad, humble and upscale, alongside a slew of the mostly mediocre and the outdated (with notable exceptions, classics such as Joe's Stone Crab and Hong-Kong-quality dim sum at Tropical Chinese). Even the advent of chic dining in South Beach was highly overrated, long on the sizzle, but the quality – eh, not so much. Nowadays that's changing, with more restaurants that are both exciting and stylish while offering true quality and high standards of service. Now we're even starting to see superbly rendered haute versions of exotic cuisines such as Ethiopian (Sheba in the Design District) and South African (South Beach's Madiba). The causeways between Miami and Miami Beach also mark a divide between the strenuously-hip, often expensive South Beach dining scene, and the more diverse offerings elsewhere. But you can also get pricey, precious fare on the mainland and funky, economic eats on the Beach – and there's also no shortage of upscale restaurants worth every penny on both sides. Here's just a smattering of top picks of the current crop.

In SoBe, we've really got to start on the upper end with the renowned, no-reservations Joe's Stone Crab (11 Washington Ave.; 305/673-0365), founded in 1913, updated, and still packing 'em in mid-October to July for its tasty crustaceans and straight-ahead surf-and-turf fare (go early, late, or for weekday lunch). Of more recent vintage – launched in 2004 in the recently-renovated clapboard Brown's Hotel, which in 1915 was the very first hotel built in Miami Beach; Prime 112 (112 Ocean Dr.; 305/532-8112) is a high-end steakhouse with a celebrity following and yummy high-end takes on comfort food (truffle-infused mac-and-cheese, Kobe beef burger). For even more creative "spice route" fusion grub and chic-er surroundings (dig that huge, phantasmagoric tank filled with live giant jellyfish), not to mention a $45 cup of kopi luwak, the world's priciest coffee, head to a 2005 newcomer called Vix (1144 Ocean Dr.; 305/779-8888) in the Hotel Victor. Finally, what would South Beach dining listings be without gimmicky hotspots? Start with Barton G (1427 West Ave., 305/672-8881), known for its theatricality – desserts like Big-Top Cotton Candy and Over-The-Top Popcorn Surprise – and a magical, gorgeously lush and romantically lit outdoor patio (the food itself can be a bit uneven). Or try eating good nouvelle French-American fare in bed at B.E.D. (929 Washington Ave., 305/532-9070). Or check out the Bollywood/Middle Eastern flavor and aphrodisiac cuisine of Tantra (1445 Pennsylvania Ave.; 305/672-4765), with its smokable hookah pipes and a hopping late-night scene.

Our mainland high-end favorites include the stylish, popular Chispa (225 Altara Ave., 305/648-2600) in Coral Gables, with possibly the best "Nuevo Latino" (tropical Latin fusion) cuisine in America; try seared, marinated calamari for starters and cap off your meal with the signature caramelized guava cheesecake. Downtown in the Mandarin Oriental, Azul (500 Brickell Key Dr.; 305/913-8288) is still among the top tables in town for its stellar water/skyscraper views and appealing nouvelle Mediterranean cuisine with Asian, Latin, French, and Caribbean influences.

Moderately speaking, happening South Beach choices include Lincoln Road's cool, all-white Cafeteria (546 Lincoln Rd.; 305/672-3663), with sometimes spotty/snotty service but tasty updated comfort food served in a Deco former Cadillac showroom; there are sidewalk tables out front and a buzzing lounge scene in the back. A couple of blocks west, Nexxt Café (700 Lincoln Rd.; 305/532-6643) is one of the premier Lincoln Road venues for hanging, schmoozing, and people-watching; again, service is hit-or-miss but the world-hopping menu is pretty extensive, tasty, and the portions fairly generous. Over on Ocean Drive, the News Café (800 Ocean Dr., 305/538-6397) is a great perch with a good menu that offers a bit of everything – sandwiches, salads, grilled stuff, plus a few Middle Eastern dishes. Just above downtown Miami near the Design District, check out Soyka (5556 NE 4th Ct./Biscayne Blvd. 305/759-3117), an industrial-chic former garage with a diverse crowd and a nice New American menu (the burgers and crab cakes are stand-outs). On the Gables' main drag, we also like the straightforward modern American fare at Houston's (201 Miracle Mile, 305/529-0141), along with the buzzy social scene various nights per week.

For cheap eats, even increasingly pricy South Beach has its treasures. Top of the list and right in the thick of things is Pasha's (900 Lincoln Rd.; 305/673-3919) with indoor/outdoor seating, a funky-mod look and healthy Middle-Eastern/Mediterranean-style grilled meats and salad. Hip locals jam into Lime Fresh Mexican Grill (1439 Alton Rd., 305/532-5463), or go for a little taste of ethnic Miami that you're highly unlikely to find at home: the savory Haitian specialties served amid riotously colorful murals at Tap Tap (819 Fifth St., 305/672-2898), named after that country's colorfully painted trucks. Across the MacArthur Causeway, don't pass up a pilgrimage to Little Havana's Versailles (3555 SW 8th St., 305/444-0240), the comandante of Cuban eateries in Little Havana, where lots of Cubans and other Latins still flock for solid home-style cooking amid amid glass chandeliers and backlit mirrors meant to suggest the Versailles in France. Over in Coconut Grove, very special mention also goes to Scotty's Landing (3351 Pan American Dr., Grove Key Marina; 305/854-2626) for its fresh, succulent seafood and Coronas, served on a covered wharf overlooking boats, water and mangroves, sometimes to the accompaniment of mellow live music.