Miami Eats: Need Recommendations
I am heading to Miami in March and am trying to pick restaurants for 4 dinners. I have reserved at Michael's genuine food and drink for the first night, but am looking for recs (good food, good atmoshphere, good service, am willing to pay for a place that has all three) (would like one italian night). I am looking at Michy's, Sardinia, Escopazzo, Talula, Chef Allen, Prime 112, Osteria del Teatro, Ortanique, Cacao.
Any thoughts to help pick among these?
Thank you!!!
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17 Comments:
I've heard great things about Michy's. I went to the Ortanique in Coral Gables a few years ago. It was solid if unspectacular.
Ed Levine at 5:28PM on 02/12/08
For Italian...Randazzo's in Coral Gables...Vin Brule on Coral Way in the 20 something block, it's cozy and has a small menu but the tortellini is excellent. Miami Beach...Joe's Stone Crab and the China Grill. Joe's doesn't take reservations but go early, not on Saturday. Suggest reservations especially at China Grill. Enjoy!!
elaine nan at 7:26PM on 02/12/08
Joe's has no ambiance - super overcrowded and noisy. It's become a tourist trap and you have to wait forever to be seated. The stone crabs ARE delicious, but I suggest you get them to go next door.
Ortanique is pretty good and Miracle Mile is a nice place for a stroll after dinner. You should definitely hit up Cacao and I have also heard great things about Michy's.
Why no Cuban cuisine? You're coming to Miami. I suggest you get some Cuban for lunch (at the very least) - Sergio's for casual or Havana Harry's if you'd like something a little nicer.
Prime 112 is supremely overrated in my opinion.
bitchincamero at 10:46AM on 02/13/08
ps. Michael's was great last time I went. I recommend the pork shoulder, crispy hominy, and the chocolate cremoso for dessert (best dessert I've ever had)
bitchincamero at 10:53AM on 02/13/08
Michael's is great. I would try Michy's and Talula. For Italian, you can also try Macaluso's on South Beach.
miachef at 1:33PM on 02/13/08
One of Mario Batali's holiday meals included stone crabs from Joe's, you can't get a better recommendation than that...it 's touristy but going to Miami Beach and missing Joe's is like going to Paris and not going to the Eiffel Tower...maybe a poor simile but you know what I mean. We've been going to Joe's since the mid 70s and wish it were still the much smaller restaurant it use to be but times change..... their seafood is still better than any you'll find anywhere in South Florida.
elaine nan at 5:23PM on 02/13/08
Palacio de los Jugos on the NW corner of Flagler and 57th ave. Go for lunch - it helps if you speak a tiny bit of Spanish... this is a true Miami Latin experience. Joe's and China Grill...ummm, no thanks. If you want stone crabs I would go to a fish market and buy them, cracked. It's the same thing you get at Joe's, just 1/4 the price. Stone crab claws are steamed immediately out of the water, then refrigerated , and served cold, so I wouldn't go out of my way to pay big bucks for them. Just get them from a clean, reputable fish market - but do try them! Save you money for Ortanique, or some of the other recommendations. I've been gone from Miami for a year or so, so I'm not up on all the newest places, although I do remember Miami being one of the most hit-and-miss towns for food and service. Good luck!
GingerSnap at 10:06PM on 02/13/08
Thank you all for the recommendations!! I think we may try Michys, Cacao, or Talula, maybe one of the Italians suggested. I have heard great things about Sardinia and am tempted to try it but we shall see. I am from Panama and I am half Cuban!, our local food is similar to Cuban food so that's why no Cuban food except maybe for lunch : ) When we visit the U.S. we try to take advantage of dishes and atmosphere that we cannot get over here so that is mainly what we are looking for. Maybe we'll try Joe's for lunch since it's such a tradition. China Grill I have been to in the past and have mixed feelings about it. Thanks again : )
cristi at 10:36AM on 02/14/08
China Grill is a bit cheesy and overrated in my opinion. Michy's is a must, and if you go don't you dare pass up the ham croquettas or the spare ribs. Macaluso's is fabulous. The meatballs are to die for. I've heard good things about a new spot on the quiet end of Ocean Drive- a gastropub called the Smoking Rabbit. If you need a low-key fun night, Big Pink is a delicious better-than-average diner. Nemo is a beautiful place, as well as Escopazzo (all organic Italian, though pricey). Dromo Japonaise is a new spot in the Design District near Michael's and is Japanese French fusion. Enjoy!
lesliepariseau at 1:23PM on 02/14/08
Tap Tap (a haitian restuarant just slightly off the beaten path) was the best meal of my trip last spring. Fantastic mojitos, and my friend and I both had some sort of fish in lime sauce that we both still talk about dreamily.
http://miami.citysearch.com/profile/2504786/miami_beach_fl/tap_tap.html
(Ignore that first commenter, sounds like she has a bug up her you know what)
And I second the suggestion of getting Joe's crabs to go, way better to just enjoy them without all the restaurant hoopla.
LizNYC at 1:58PM on 02/14/08
Michael's is so good, enjoy that first night!
I have to recommend Prime 112, if not only for the food, but the experience. Just be prepared that even with a reservation you will have to wait for a table ( we waited for about a half hour for ours). But since the weather is so nice you can just wait outside and stare at the cars and the celebrities coming in.
As for the food, I found it better than most steakhouses that we have been to. My husband had the filet and I had a really good cod dish. Everything else that we tried, we really enjoyed.
adeaner at 6:29PM on 02/14/08
There's a good blog about Miami's eats here...http://dailycocaine.blogspot.com/
The blogger is also a regular food writer for a number of Miami publications, whose web sites might be checked as well...
weinoo at 10:00AM on 02/16/08
as an ex-miami resident but frequent visitor there, i have three recommendations: 1) graziano's may be the finest argentinian parilla north of buenos aires. it may be the best argentinian restaurant in the world. go to the bird road (original) one,it's the best. as you might expect, their italian dishes are also superb. 2) versailles on calle ocho - not going to versailles is indeed like not going to the eiffel tower. the food is fine, but it is the archetypal cuban restaurant, and definitely the place to see and be seen. it is also open nearly 24 hours, and has great breakfasts. 3) las culebrienas - very elegant latin restaurant, stunningly good food. mainly cuban but seriously upscale. there are two - the one in coconut grove is a bit fancier. DO NOT MISS THESE RESTAURANTS! rks
rkscher at 1:44PM on 02/16/08
you have a good list there.
Def do Michys, Ortanique (for a weekday lunch) and Osteria de Teatro (on a weekend night), ask for a table by the window, that way you get a window and a show! ;) i love Prime 112, i see there's mixed reviews here, but it's really fab. Tallulah is inconsistant for me, but others in my fam love it all the time. I liked the hominy at Michael's as well, but that was it, the choc cremoso dessert was um, 'interesting'. Go for dinner though, i went for lunch and thought it was no big deal, apparently for dinner it's a diff story.
I second Macaluso's for Italian, but beware of chatty waitress, it could take 30 minutes for her to go over the verbal menu. For Cuban, do Versailles in the middle of the nite! lol. We were just there on Sat at 12:30AM and had to stand in line in the parking lot to get in. lol. The wait was worth it, fab late nite meal. For Peruvian, try Salmon Salmon, the restaurant is teeny, but the fish is incredible (try the ceviche or tacu tacu). For Chinese, forget China Grill, CG sucks. Try Tropical Chinese, it's delicious and they serve dim sum daily. OR try Tony Chan's Water Club also excellent. For sushi, if you are looking to splurge, try Nobu. If you are just looking for great fresh fish, try Sakura. For a good burger, try the new Five Guy's Burgers and Fries in midtown or my personal fave but it's a drive Keg South for their famous Keg South burgers.
Have a great trip and enjoy your Miami good eats! :D
girlyhome1 at 11:16AM on 02/18/08
I've been to Las Culebrinas a bunch of times... i did not know there was one in Coconut Grove, because the one I;ve been to is in Hialeah's West side... on 12th W Ave and 45th street... around there... and it's not too fancy at all. I go in wearing bermuda shorts and sleveless shirts all the time.
If you do indeed go... Las Culebrinas' chicharritas de platano con mojito are super duper good. I also quite enjoy in Hialeah Las Delicias. It's on 48th street and on a marginal road next to 4Th W Ave. it's almost on the mall righte these on 49th street/4th W ave. They do, in my humble opinion, have THE BEST chicharritas de platano ever. They are super thin and their mojo rocks!!!! it's cool to go for lunch if you're in that area... not touristy at all.
MadelynRodriguez at 2:39PM on 02/19/08
Leave China Grill & Prime 112 off your list. Cheese central and over rated. If I had to choose the top 3 restaurants in Miami my picks would be Michy's, Macaluso's and a new one, The Smoking Rabbit. Food is amazing at all 3. Ribs at Michy, meatballs at macaluso and everythin at The Smoking Rabbit. I'm from Chicago and lived in NY for 20 yrs. I know GREAT food.
jonkington at 12:00AM on 02/20/08
I just came back from Miami and wanted to report on the experience since you all were so helpful with the recs. We ended up going to Michael's, Prime 112, Michy's, Cacao and Osteria del Teatro. Michael's is a MUST. It was our favorite of the trip. It offers homey yet inventive fare and the atmosphere is wonderful, full of life, vibrant. Truly a fantastic restaurant. Prime 112 was a TOTAL scene and they made us wait an hour before seating us, but it was an experience and the food was pretty good. If you go, it is for the scene more than anything else because I am sure there are other steakhouses that offer the same quality food. Cacaos was very good, beautiful presentations, more low key. We also loved Osteria. Osteria has a great atmosphere (the SOBE location is a big part of it) even though it somehow seems more old fashioned than the others (it's been there for a while). Still, it was refreshing and the food was delicious. Get the specials! Michy's, although good food and wonderful service, was just ok, and I guess this is because it has the most hype surrounding it and it's not as exciting. We liked Michael's better.
Thanks again to all for the help!
cristi at 12:57PM on 03/19/08