South Beach/Miami Beach

Hi there,

i will be down in South Beach in a few weeks to celebrate a friends birthday. Could you give some recommendations of a really good restaurant?

Atmosphere - Not quiet, fun for a group of girls
Price - Not an issue
Food - Open to anything

Thanks

Um, have you seen this one?

Um, both of those are outside South Beach.

Shaggywillis wrote:Um, both of those are outside South Beach.

I realized you were visiting South Beach, you didn't specify you were looking for a restaurant in South Beach...

Michael's is only about 15 minutes right? Though obviously wouldn't fit the bill if you're looking to stay right there.

Shaggywillis wrote:Um, both of those are outside South Beach.

You might want to edit the subject line.

Yes, very good idea G Wiv.

Sorry I was not specific, my brain takes a while to warm up in the mornings.

Okay - so again, looking for a restaurant that is fun/not quiet in the South Beach area. We will not have cars, and I know taxis are sparse in Miami (at least compared to Chicago) so preferebly closer to that area.

Thank you

It has been acouple of years, but the indoor/outdoor restaurant at the Delano hotel was outstanding. Although unforgivable, I cannot remember exactly what we dined on, but memory says it was an upscaled floribean menu, lots of fish and shellfish using local or island ingredients with some classic techniques to finish the dish. The room and the hotel are beautiful. this Ian Shrager hotel is right in the heart of south beach on ocean drive. restaurant is named Blue Door. http://www.delano-hotel.com/delano_hotel_blue_door.asp

The Blue Door is decent, but not as good as it used to be. Claude Troisgros was the consulting chef (Pierre's son, who was one of the founders of nouvelle cuisine) but I was there last month and can't say I can feel his influence any longer.

One of my all time favorite restaurants in the world is Tap Tap on 5th and Meridian. Wall-sized murals and killer Haitian food. Thursday and Saturday are the best nites with incredible music by Mano Charlemagne (ex mayor of Port au Prince with a voice from the gods). Fried ackra, pumpkin soup, grilled conch, spinach w/coconut, goat tid bits, grilled snapper with lime sauce and beignets are not to be missed. They also feature the definitive
mojito with Barbancourt Rhum. On top of it all, it's quite reasonably priced.

Besides that, I had excellent meal with Steve Z a couple months ago at A Fish Called Avalon on Ocean around 7th. Have your concierge make a reservation for you.

And then there's Nikki Beach Club. Sunday brunch on into the eve is legendary.

Thanks Jazzfood, Tap Tap sounds very interesting. I'm going to see if we can get in.

The Shore Club has great restaurants including Nobu, however no reservations, and AGO which I prefer. Rustic Italian with a great outdoor deck and fantastic atmosphere. Worth the cab ride in Normans in Coral Gables, however not trendy or energetic, just fantastic food...oh that soup.

Le Bon on Lincoln Road for great mussels and Belgian beer. $10 for a pot of mussels at happy hour. Get the 'oriental'.

hey jazzfood i love tap tap,i remember when they first opened,delicious fried conch!
i wouldn't miss the chance to eat at puerto sagua at 700 collins ave..open from 7:30 a.m.-2:00 a.m..delicious cuban cusine and great people watching[eat at the counter].serving the best black bean soup,chicken and yellow rice,fried plantains and delicious flan!the artwork from the skull sisters is worth the trip alone!

I was there in April and had an outstanding meal (fresh fish), great service at Alta Mar, way up on Lincoln Road, 1223 Lincoln Road, still walkable from Collins. Then afterwards we had the best gelato, sadly I can't remember the place but it was on the even side of Lincoln Road. Avoid Balan's (friend wanted to go, local friends recommended it), rude/pretentious waiter, mediocre food. We have had one good and one ok meal at A Fish Called Avalon, but that was over 5 years ago.
LO

While not really a restaurant per se, I would never go to SoBe and not go to the News Cafe.

Any updates for Miami? Wedding there in a few months and will be staying a few extra days.

I would recommend Le Tub. It is a fun and unique place not far from South Beach in Hollywood. Known for their amazing burgers. I have to say that I was impressed. A very causal place that is great for lunch. Cool atmosphere. I had many nice meals in the area when I was there a year ago. I remember this place the most.



Le Tub
http://www.theletub.com
1100 N. Ocean Drive
Hollywood, Florida 33019
954-921-9425

Spent a couple days in Miami and had a great dinner off Lincoln Rd. in SoBe called Khong River House. It's considered Thai/Burmese cuisine but the Thai is probably more northern and there are interesting variations of the standard Thai dishes. Prices are moderate.

http://www.khongriver.com/

After leaving the Keys with the weather turning cooler, we drove back up to the Miami area. The concierge in Coral Gables was useless, but handed us a magazine with a bunch of restaurants listed, including Pubbelly. It's on the west edge of Miami Beach, not convenient to the beaches, but worth a trip. The space is pretty cool, a high-ceilinged bar space, lots of manga graphics on the walls.

They're doing some interesting fusion-y things with Japanese food, including robata grill, sushi and 'new england' rolls, and so on. Their cocktails were all sake based, which I consider a waste of sake... so I ordered by the glass, a very tasty junmai gingo (but a pretty small pour for $9).

Their snow crab roll in yuba skin, served with a yuzu-drawn butter sauce was very good, as was the rock shrimp and pork belly maki, topped with bits of fried clams. Shishito peppers with miso and pistachio was extremely tasty. Goat butter toast with truffle oil was unremarkable. We had a couple other items, but I don't remember what they were... the menu doesn't resemble the online one at all (where were the dumplings, the stone crab fettucine? I'd have ordered those!).

The piece de resistance, though, was dessert: A very gooey miso bread pudding with dark sesame ice cream, dark chocolate croquant, cherries, and (I think) dulce de leche. SueF claims it's the best dessert she's ever had. Perfect little bit of salty on top of all the rich flavors.

Pubbelly
1418 20th Street
Miami Beach, FL 33139
305.532.7555
http://www.pubbellyboys.com/miami/pubbelly/