I'm looking for restaurant recommendations with great wine lists and any other must sees. Thanks.

Have you been to south Florida before?

Wine Spectator had a South Beach review a couple of issues back. You may want to check that out...

Do a search - countless threads on this topic

Thanks for the input. Yes, I've been to Florida before but not much time in Miami/South Beach. I have read the WS articles; I was just looking for some personal recommendations as WS can sometimes miss a few gems.

I would personally stay away from South Beach for several reasons:
Excesively overprticed
Most places add the tip wich translates into poor or mediocre service and food is not that great.

For great dinning I would go to the Coral Gables area. Here are a few of my favorite places:

Grazianos, great food and excellent wine list.

Pascal's on Ponce, french food with limited but interesting wine list.

Norman's in Coral Gables (there is a Normans in Miami Beach that is more like a dinner, nothing to do with the one in the Gables) great food and wine list.

For spanish food and good paella Casa Juancho, decent spanish wine list.

Cafe Pastis for french is in South Miami, in a sort of strip mall. Very affordable, great food small wine list, but you can bring your own for a fair corkage fee.

quote:

Originally posted by redknife:
I would personally stay away from South Beach for several reasons..... and food is not that great.

Boy, while I agree with some of your points about the beach (mainly the insanely overpriced world that exists down there) to make the remark that "the food is not that great" is a grossly incorrect and misleading generalization. Some of THE best food in the country is served on South Beach!

Now, maybe you mean that SOME of the places down there live on the South Beach rep and don't deliver service or food quality that is worth the extreme prices. And that, I would agree. But to label ALL of South Beach as "the food isn't that great" is a bizarre generalization, at best. You just have to know WHERE to go and what to pick and choose is all. If you can do that, South Beach lives up well to its reputation. But yes, there are many places that do NOT deserve to be held in that level of regard, and can be big dissapointments..... like "Mark's South Beach" was to us. I'm not a huge "Joe's Stone Crabs" guy either. It's a cult classic in Miami, there's no doubt about that, but personally I don't think it's worth the trouble or the entry fee. *shrugs*


Some recommendations...

My wife and I's favorite place on the beach is Lincoln Road (this is 15th street, 2 blocks off the beach for those who are not as familiar with the area). All of the buzz and glitz and glam exists on Ocean Drive or Washington (the front street that faces the beach, and the club street, respectively), but Lincoln Road is a hidden jewel. It is a walking street (no cars allowed) that is surrounded on both sides by resturants, art galleries, coffee shops and some bars. Lincoln Road is a GREAT place to spend an evening if you want to be on the beach but don't want to be in the middle of the madness. There are some awesome resturants to be found in there, and it has some of THE best people-watching on the planet!

A cool thing about Lincoln Road is that they face all of their menus and wine lists on the street, so you can stroll through and see what each place offers before makng your choice - and almost all of them cater to the walk-up/non-reservation crowd, that's the Lincoln Road way.

I'd love to NOT recommend any places on Lincoln Road, actually, and just suggest you stroll down the street and enjoy the experience while selecting somewhere to dine... but I will say that (although it isn't where we dine on Lincoln Road most frequently - as we usually go a bit more casual) probably our best dining experiences there have come from a place called "Pacific Time". It's right in the center, you can't miss it. It IS very pricey (though, isn't EVERYTHING on Miami Beach?) but is a truly chef-driven restaurant and that is reflected in every aspect of the fare. We've been blown away by their chef's work each and every time we've dined there. And as mentioned, there are many less-expensive/not as formal places on Lincoln Road as well, mixed in with the elite/big name spots.


As to what I feel is THE best dining experience in South Florida? This may shock some people, but I believe the best restaurant to be found isn't on the beach, or the Gables, or downtown, or even in MIAMI..... it's "Chef Allen's" up in Aventura. This place is INCREDIBLE!!! Now, do NOT go there for "ambiance", there are a thousand restaurants that can deliver that for you elsewhere, and this place is in a non-impressive strip mall. You wouldn't know it was there if you weren't looking for it, and would NEVER be impressed by it from the outside. But this is arguably THE best gourmet dining experience in South Florida! Make reservations, it's a very small place that fills up quick. Highly highly recommended, it is a one of a kind jewel! Eat their once, and it's crystal clear why Chef Allen has created such a following.

I would second your Coral Gables recommendation. The Gables are a GREAT (and strangely, little known to the non-locals) part of Miami-Dade. The places you named are very good restaurants, though I hadn't heard of Pascal's myself. I prefer a night at the Gables to a night on the beach anyday, as the beach is just too much for my wife and I most times. But for someone just vacationing to Miami (ie: not getting to spend a lot of time there and do all of these places) the Gables can't replace the beach, the beach is a MUST see! But the beach is as much hype as substance, IMO. The Gables is a nice and a very classy area.

There's a wonderful restaurant with a strong (albeit very overpriced) wine list in Coconut Grove too, it's called "Baleen" at Grove Isle. Must have reservations to get on the private island. And I will say right off the bat that - even on Miami standards - this place is quite pricey, but we had a PHENOMENAL dining experience the time we went there! Not for large groups, however, 2 is best. Very romantic location, and gourmet fare at its ultimate! Some people complain about the service there (for that level of cost and dining experience) although that wasn't an issue for us.

If you're going primarily for the wine list, I would recommend "Azul" at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel downtown (on Brickell Key). The fare, I feel, leaves something to be desired for that kind of money, but they are known for their wine list. There is also a delicious martini bar in the lobby, and their lower-tier restaurant (Cafe Sambal) is one of my wife and I's favorite more 'casual' places to eat lunch. We used to eat their all the time, as Brickell Key is SUCH a gorgeous setting! If you're new to town and have enough time (ie: you're gonna get to see the other parts of town as well) I'd definitely recommend going to Brickell Key/Mandarin Oriental one afternoon or evening, it's well worth it!


Those are some things on the top of my head right now. I'll post some more later if anything comes to me (I'm sure I've forgotten something!). Feel free to ask any questions you may have as well, I'm sure there are lots of folks here who have experienced South Florida and would be happy to share their experiences.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: OTTnMIA,

I like Alta Mar on Lincoln Road - not fancy in the least and the wine list is not great - but great food and cheap corkage. I used to like Pacific Time but have not been there in years so cannot really comment.

I highly recommend North 110 on Biscayne and 110th street) - Excellent place -

QUOTE]Originally posted by OTTnMIA:

quote:

Originally posted by redknife:

to make the remark that "the food is not that great" is a grossly incorrect and misleading generalization. Some of THE best food in the country is served on South Beach!

But to label ALL of South Beach as "the food isn't that great" is a bizarre generalization, at best. You just have to know WHERE to go and what to pick and choose is all.


There are some awesome resturants to be found in there, and it has some of THE best people-watching on the planet!


I believe the best restaurant to be found isn't on the beach, or the Gables, or downtown, or even in MIAMI..... it's "Chef Allen's"
There's a wonderful restaurant with a strong (albeit very overpriced) wine list in Coconut Grove too, it's called "Baleen" at Grove Isle.



OK Mr. "SoBe Lover"

I did not know that some of the best food in the country was served in South Beach Just out of curiosity, is this a personal opinion or did you based it on actual facts?? It is interesting that last year there were several articles in the newspaper about Miami not being even within the 10 best cities in the country for dinning.

I would love to get more SoBe restaurants recommendations from you. May be you are right I just need to know where to go.
By the way I did not label ALL of South Beach just most of it. and I do not care much about going to hang out with the best people-watching on the planet. I usually go out for a good meal, don't care much about the ambiance or who is watching, not even about the wine list because I like to bring my own.

Boy I must have bad luck, I have been to Baleen several times and although the place is lovely the food is one of the worst I've had in Miami and their wine list is boring. Sunday brunch is actually pretty good. I'd say that Azul is much better for the food and the wine list, and the place is lovely as well.

The places that I recommend have consistently served great food.

Sure, if in South Florida you have to go to the beach but I would go for a mojito.


Never been to Cheff Allen, but I've heard very good comments about it. I will try to go there soon.

I definitely didn't mean to be argumentative with you, redknife, so my apologies if it came across that way. I just took your "... and the food is not that great"-statement as a blanket generalization for ALL of SoBe's restaurants (and re-reading it just now it STILL comes across that way to me. *shrugs*), and feel that was a bit misleading as there are - unarguably - a lot of fine and respected restaurants on the beach. That's all. Do I base this on facts and research?!?! What a silly question, bud, of course not, simply my opinion. My wife and I are big fans of dining, that is our favorite activity to do together. She's from NY, I'm from Washington DC, we've been to many cities and areas and restaurants in our time, and to this day some of our favorite places to dine are in the South Florida area or on the beach.... which is why I made that remark. I am more than happy to agree to disagree, but would offer the same advice if I were asked the question again.

Not a "SoBe Lover" at all, heh, as actually you'll notice I said the beach is too much for my wife and I (I believe I also said that it is more hype than substance), and so even though we've been blown away by a few places down there, rarely do we go. We prefer the other 'lesser known' areas of south florida by a mile, and would choose that any day of the week. And I agree 100% with your "if I'm gonna go to the beach, I'll go for a mojito, not dinner"-concept. Having lived down there and seen most of what there is to see, I absolutely agree! Well said.

But the original poster said they had not been to Miami-area much in their past and was asking for any "must sees". Well, there's no getting around the fact that Miami is most well known for South Beach, deservingly or not that's just a fact. So I was recommending an area on the beach (Lincoln Road) that a lot of people may not know about (as all magazines and guides seem to just funnel you to the trendy areas) and thought might be a good experience for them. Lincoln Road is a great relaxing evening and a unique place. Hence, my recommendation.

I'm not trying to come across as the end-all knowledge of Miami or act condescending to you in any way shape or form. I spent less than a decade in Miami and no longer live there (though we do live relatively close) and would gladly admit that I don't have HALF the knowledge that many folks do, possibly even you. I was simply sharing my thoughts and sentiments and suggestions with the OP.

I'm sure you know where to go, though I'm happy to share some experiences I've enjoyed, as I already did above. But dining can often be a very subjective thing, and I have always lived by the quote "to each their own". Just because I like something or had a good experience, doesn't therefore mean that YOU or anyone else will. Take Baleen for example. You're not the first who's told me they were unimpressed (I've had a LOT of people tell me this, and you even see it in their reviews), yet my wife and I had an AMAZING evening there when we went. Maybe the stars were aligned, maybe the fact that she had contacted them earlier to let them know it was a special evening for us had an effect, maybe we just got lucky. *shrugs* But I was very impressed.

I thought Baleen had a nice wine list when I was there, actually. Though you'll see I said that THE place to go if you're primarily focused on the wine is Azul. Their wine list torched Baleen's! Though again, experiences are objective, and I wasn't very impressed with Azul's fare for how much we paid, and so we never went back. Again, maybe we just had an off night. *shrugs*

quote:

and I do not care much about going to hang out with the best people-watching on the planet. I usually go out for a good meal, don't care much about the ambiance or who is watching

Perhaps I didn't express myself the way I meant to in regards to the "people watching". SOOOOOOO many people in Miami are fixated on celeb-spotting and celeb-obsessing, and the "trendy spots" are all known for that. Not us, we could care less, as a matter of fact I generally DONT LIKE the spots that draw that kind of crowd and try my best to avoid them. BUT, my wife and I are CLEARLY very very very different diners than you are, redknife, as we tend to enjoy ambiance and 'the experience' as much as we enjoy the fare or the drinks. I don't have any interest in seeing celebs, but I LOVE a good environment and view and vibe around me when I spend an evening dining. Which is why I enjoy Lincoln Road so much -an area that is NOT known for celebs at all, they hang elsewhere on the beach - but is just a great environment to sit back and take in while enjoying a meal! That is a big part of the 'dining experience' to me, and most of my favorite spots deliver on that, which I why I like them so much.

Chef Allen's, obviously, being the exception to that. Which, by the way, you absolutely MUST try, redknife, that place flat out blew us away!! And well lived up to the hype and the cost! Not being into ambiance, but rather the dining itself, I think Chef Allen's would be RIGHT up your alley!


So, anyhow, we'll agree to disagree about the beach, my friend, though I did enjoy the discussion.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: OTTnMIA,

No sweat. I enjoyed the discussion too.