Miami Beach Restaurants

I was very excited when Jerry's deli first opened. One of my favorite things about New York is great deli food, something which South Florida lacks. This place is supposed to be the real deal.

Jerry's does have huge corned beef and pastrami sandwiches, brisket and the rest of the deli fare. Jerry's also has a large crowd and a scarcity of tables. And you can pay $25 for a meal here. But, sadly, Jerry's is not the real deal.

The food is ok here, but it is not up to New York standards. This isn't even a New York import, but, rather, a Los Angeles one. You won't close you eyes, take a bite and be convinced that you're dining at Stage or the 2nd Avenue deli. But its open 24 hours and its probably the only place on South Beach where you can get chicken soup and a pastrami on rye at 5 a.m.

Jerry's is another example of a place that is overhyped and overcommercialized, in my opinion. If you really want great deli food in Miami, visit Grunberg's in downtown.

A throng of restaurants with pushy hosts will try to elicit your business every chance they get, occassionally it works.
Pelican Cafe is one such place that worked on us. All in all, not bad - but nothing we decided to go back to during our week stay.
Honestly, I can't even remember what we ate, just not that good or that bad.
A place to stop for lunch, but remember you'll pay more for food, taxes and tip on Ocean Blvd. Not worth it here.

Favorite Dish: Nothing I can remember.

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Despite Miami Beach being on the beach, there is very few places that offer water front dining or a bar and a lounge for that matter, facing biscayne bay.

Well found the perfect place, with beautiful outside sitting and a great happy hour. Had drinks, a round of apeitzers (Bacon wrapped dates and crab cake) and shared a delicious seafood black risotto with my girlfriend. All for $42.00. The Happy hour special is half off appetizers and on average $3.00 drinks. Can't beat it. In addition the inside becomes a Club at 10pm on a nightly basis, we hit th 80's, 90's night and it was pretty cool.

Our bartender, Carlos, was awsome made us feel at home as if we were back in San Francisco for a 3rd of the price.

Anyway, checkout THE BAY at 1601 79th street causeway, North Bay Village (Miami Beach). Right next to The Crabhouse.

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Favorite Dish: The Crabcake was to die for. I am a big crabcake person, have had it at Houston's and various places in the West Coast and another place in Miami called Soyka, but this one was amazing. The Crab Meat was tender and the searing on the outside was delicate Panko over a bed of arugula and fried capers. Delicious.

In Miami Beach, along Ocean Drive, you can find many restaurants.
A quite good place where to have a snack after walking along Ocean Drive in the hot-humid Miami summer or after a break from sunbathe is Ocean Pizza & juice. Located close to the Starbucks, here you can eat very good Brooklyn Style pizza, sub sandwiches and wraps, buffalo wings, pasta, fresh salads, smoothies, and freshly squeezed fruit and vegetable juices.
The service is good and fast.

Favorite Dish: In Ocean Pizza & juice you have a choice among 5 or 6 pizzas with different toppings. It was good and very cheap. You can eat in terrace or to take away.

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Another Ocean Drive-side restaurant which offers all the temptation to enter but not much in the way of great service. It does, however, offer a very enjoyable steak.

Favorite Dish: A very enjoyable steak which would have been improved by better service.

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Located alongside Ocean Drive, this restaurant gives a great opportunity to quench your thirst from walking through the Art Deco district whilst still enjoying some people watching - so long as you're prepared for the prices.

This restaurant turns into a happening club after hours.

Favorite Dish: Whilst wait-staff encourage you into this restaurant during the daylight hours, that's probably the greatest degree of enthusiasm you'll see. I had a very pleasant Caesar salad but, unfortunately, it was rather tarnished by the lacklustre service.

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This is a classic American diner serving great options across a great range of foods. If you're looking for a burger, you will want to check this place out - the selection is endless!!!

Service is good without being rushed and staff are attentive.

Favorite Dish: I had the Chicken Teriyaki which is a double boneless breast of chicken, char grilled and brushed with a teriyaki glaze served with sautéed broccoli and steamed basmati rice which was delicious.

I followed this up with Banana Creme Pie which was scrummylicious!

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We stopped at La Ventana after wandering around Miami Beach all day on New Years Eve. We finally decided we needed to stop just to get some beer, coffee, and water. There were only a few people in this little Colombian joint, all Spanish speakers, so I figure it must be good, or at least authentic. Unfortunately we were still full from our Mexican lunch, so we couldn't try their food. Instead Laura had a "Cafe Tinto," their house special coffee for $2.50, and I had a Colombian beer called Aguila for $3.75.

The cafe tinto is a type of Cuban espresso or Café Cubano. Aguila beer was started by the Bavaria Brewery in 1913 in Columbia and is now owned by SABMiller.