This piece was originally published by our partner MIAbites.com and is produced by them. 

As we approach the beginning of the 2015 busy season, heralded by the 70,000 attendees expected for Art Basel/ Miami Art Week, December 2- 6, we pulled together our MIAbites Best Bites.

Miami continues to grow as a food destination to be reckoned with.  No longer just an “expense account” city offering only 42 oz steaks and stone crabs, Miami, Miami Beach and its emerging neighborhoods: The Design District, Wynwood, Midtown, Brickell, MiMo, Edgewater and beyond, are offering creative dining options, innovative chefs and carving out a food scene that is international in flavor, yet very Miami.

New restaurants in new hotels seem to be leading the pack on Miami Beach.  Ian Schrager’s Edition and The Thompson, opened their respective restaurants, Matador by Jean Georges, Market and Seagrape, The Crown Room and 1930’s House by James Beard Award winner, Michelle Bernstein and celebrity chefs, Dale Talde and Tom Colicchio have recently joined the Miami Beach dining scene with respectively, TALDE in The Thompson and Beachcraft in the 1 Hotel. With the Faena opening on the horizon with Frances Mallman’s Los Fuegos and Paul Qui’s PAO,  these new restaurants have quickly made Mid-Beach the hot dining destination in town.

Pop-up restaurants are also another option for Art Basel and include Chef Michelle Bernstein’s Garden Cafe and Michy’s Pop-up at the Miami Beach Botanical Garden, and Dominique Ansel’s soft serve ice cream pop-up at The Setai. 

Do you like this? Read more awesome restaurant reviews, tips and event listings at MIAbites.com.

So by request, the MIAbites contributors put our heads together to flesh out the restaurant scene and to compile our suggestions for dining while in Miami.  Many of the below suggestions have been featured on MIAbites so please SEARCH for more details. 

1.     Best of the City– Popular for consistent and well-prepared dining options and excellent service. These are the “sure-things” in town and priced accordingly.

2.    New and Emerging– Opened in the last couple of years or so and are new hot spots to check out. Innovative and creative chefs abound.

3.    Casual or Quick Bites– Lunch or more casual for dinner but fun places with good food

4.    Coffee and Cocktails– Refueling before, during or after hitting up the art shows, or after beach or shopping. Or late night cocktails. Step out and try some new cocktails like Peruvian Pisco, Mezcal and Negronis.

Reservations are probably mandatory and may require multiple calls to secure, so be prepared to be flexible with times and days. Both Open Table and Table8 are good resources for reservations but you may need to leave credit card information or pay up front. HINT: When in doubt, call directly as many restaurants will block out peak times and days to avoid paying Open Table a fee.

Best of Miami:

Design District/Midtown/Wynwood/MiMo:

Michael’s Genuine Food & Drink– 130 NE 40th St, Miami, FL 33137
305 573-5550

MC Kitchen– 4141 Ne 2nd Ave., Suite 101a Miami, FL 33137 305 456-9948

Mandolin-4312 NE 2nd Ave, Miami, FL 33137
305 576-6066

Salumeria 104– 3451 NE 1st Ave #104, Miami, FL 33137
(305) 424-9588

BlackBrick aka Midtown Chinese– 3451 NE 1st Avenue #103
Miami, FL — 33137
305 573-8886

Blue Collar -Biscayne Inn, 6730 Biscayne Blvd, Miami, FL 33138 305 756-0366

SUGARCANE Raw Bar & Grill – 3252 NE 1st Ave, Miami, FL33137  786 369 -0353

Miami Beach:

The Dutch – W Hotel 2201 Collins Ave, Miami Beach, FL 33139 305 938-3111

Scarpetta – The Fontainebleau 4441 Collins Ave. Miami Beach, FL 33140 305 674- 4660

Hakkasan– The Fontainebleau 4441 Collins Ave. Miami Beach, FL 33140 786 276-1410

Casa Tua– 1700 James Ave, Miami Beach, FL 33139
(305) 673-1010

Prime 112– 112 Ocean Dr, Miami Beach, FL 33139
(305) 532-8112

Red SteakHouse– 119 Washington Ave, Miami Beach, FL 33139
(305) 534-3688

Joe’s Stone Crab– 11 Washington Ave, Miami Beach, FL 33139  (305) 673-0365

Pubbelly– 1418 20th St, Miami Beach, FL 33139
(305) 532-7555

BLT Steak Miami– The Betsy South Beach 1440 Ocean Drive Miami Beach, FL 33139  305 673-0044

Juvia– 1111 Lincoln Rd, Miami Beach, FL 33139
(305) 763-8272

Lure– The Loews 1601 Collins Ave, Miami Beach, FL 33139
(305) 695-4550

Macchialina– 820 Alton Rd, Miami Beach, FL 33139
(305) 534-2124

Milos– 730 1st St. Miami Beach, FL 33139 305 604-6800

New and Emerging- Open less than two years and worth checking out!

Design District/Midtown/Wynwood/MiMo:

Alter– 223 NW 23rd Street, Miami, FL 33127 305 573 5996

Bocce Bar – 3250 NE 1st Avenue, Miami, FL 33137 786 245- 6211

Cena by Michy– 6927 Biscayne Blvd, Miami, FL 33138 305 759 2001

Cypress Tavern– 3620 NE 2nd Ave. Miami, FL 33137 305 520-5197

Coyo Taco– 2300 NW 2nd Ave, Miami, FL 33127 305 573-8228

Fooqs– 1035 North Miami Avenue, Miami Fl, 33136 (786) 536-2749

Mignonette– 210 NE 18th St, Miami, FL 33132 (305) 374-4635

The Vagabond Restaurant and Bar– 7301 Biscayne Boulevard
Miami, Florida 33138 305 400-8420

Miami Beach:

27 Restaurant in The Freehand Miami– 2727 Indian Creek Dr, Miami Beach, FL 33140

Bazi– 1200 Collins Ave, Miami Beach , FL 33139 (305) 695-0101

Continental– 2360 Collins Ave Miami Beach (305) 604-2000

Izzy’s Fish & Oyster – 423 Washington Ave, Miami Beach, FL 33139 (305) 397-8843

Seagrape at The Thompson The Thompson Miami 4041 Collins Ave. Miami Beach FL 33140 877 793 8519.

Matador Room by Jeans George – The EDITION 2901 Collins Avenue, Miami Beach, FL 33140
786 257- 4600

Casual and Quick Bites- Lunch or casual dinner or snacks

Design District/Midtown/Wynwood/MiMo

Harry’s Pizzeria– 3918 N Miami Ave, Miami, FL 33127(786) 275-4963

Crumb on Parchment– 3930 NE 2nd Ave, Miami, FL 33137(305) 572-9444

ella cafe– 140 NE 39th Street #136, Miami, FL 33137 (786) 534-8177

Mercato– 4141 NE 2nd Ave #101a, Miami, FL 33137 (305) 456-9948

Buena Vista Deli – 4590 NE 2nd Ave, Miami, FL 33137(305) 576-3945

La Latina– 3509 NE 2nd Ave, Miami, FL 33137(305) 571-9655

Zak The Baker– 405 NW 26th St, Miami, FL 33127

Proof Pizza and Pasta -3328 N Miami Ave, Miami, FL 33127
(786) 536-9562

Miami Beach:

My Ceviche South Beach– 235 Washington Ave, Miami Beach, FL 33139(305) 397-8710

La Sandwicherie– 229 14th St, Miami Beach, FL 33139 (305) 532-8934

Taquiza-1506 Collins Ave, Miami Beach, FL 33139 305 748-6099

Puerto Sagua– 700 Collins Ave, Miami Beach, FL 33139 305 673-1115

Hua Huas Taqueria– 1211 Lincoln Rd, Miami Beach, FL 33139(305) 534-8226

True Loaf Bakery– 1894 Bay Rd, Miami Beach, FL 33139(786) 216-7207

Market– The EDITION 2901 Collins Avenue, Miami Beach, FL 33140
786 257- 4600

Coffee and Cocktails- Hot coffee…even hotter cocktail bars!

Design District/Midtown/Wynwood/MiMo:

Panther Coffee– 2390 NW 2nd Ave, Miami, FL 33127 (305) 677-3952

Miam Cafe & Boutique– 2750 NW 3rd Ave Suite 21, Miami, FL 33127 (786) 703-1451

Jugo Fresh– 1935 West Ave #102, Miami Beach, FL 33139(786) 472-2552

Miami Beach:

Panther Coffee in Sunset Harbour– 1875 Purdy AvenueMiami Beach, FL 33139

Lee & Maries Cakery– 40 S Pointe Dr #108, Miami Beach, FL 33139 (305) 672-5167

Broken Shaker at The Freehand– 2727 Indian Creek Dr, Miami Beach, FL 33140(305) 531-2727

Repour Bar – Albion Hotel -1650 James Ave, Miami Beach, FL 33139 305 913-1000

The Regent Cocktail Club at The Gale – 1690 Collins Ave, Miami Beach, FL 33139 (305) 673-0199

We could go on and on… and each one of us has favorites that did not even make this list.

There is also many top spots in downtown Miami like Edge Steak House in the Four Seasons,  La Mar and Azul at The Mandarin Oriental and Zuma, in the Epic Hotel, recent openings like Tamarina ,and Momi Ramen in Brickell.

So eat, drink and savor the NEW Miami!

The above was produced by MIAbites, one of the leading sources for food news in South Florida. Be sure to visit their website for more great information. 

Cover Photo Credit: See-ming Lee/ Flickr (CC By 2.0)