Kim
What local restaurants or businesses do you recommend?
We do a lot of walking around our neighborhood. Ben and I are in office buildings all day. So any opportunity to be together with our girls and be outdoors is our go-to. In the evenings and weekends, we do a lot of walking to restaurants in the neighborhood. We go to Sports Grill a lot. Mia Italia is down the street. In the mornings, we'll walk to Deli Lane. Before I moved back to Miami, I was living in New York. I think this area is about as close as you can get in Miami to feeling that energy and be able to just pop in somewhere. If we're doing take out or bringing home food, I love Havana Harry's and Flanagan's. I'm a pescatarian, so we eat a lot of Mediterranean food. When we go out to eat, Mandolin is one of my favorites. If we're going a little nicer, we'll go to some Michael Schwartz places.
Amara, Big Brother, Big Sister, Flanagan's, Havana Harry's, L'Oreal, Mandolin, Matheson Hammock, ...
DP
What local restaurants or businesses do you recommend?
There's a Mexican restaurant in Florida City, called Taqueria Morelia. It's literally connected to a gas station and it's the best Mexican food that I've had ever in my life. Every time I've gone it's been nothing but exceptional. I really enjoy the tacos. Coyo Taco is really cool because it's a restaurant in front, but in the back they have like a hidden club. One of my good friends spins every weekend and they throw a really good party. It's called Lovers and Friends and it's really nice. Also, there's a nice little bar called Gramps.
Anthony Lister, Atomiko, Coyo Taco, DEPE, Gramps, Mandolin, Ron English, ...
Allison
What local restaurants or businesses do you recommend?
Love Mandolin and their Greek Village (salad), catch of the day. Milo’s lunch special is the best in town! www.annam-miami.com does a weekly tiffin on Monday’s which abides to meatless Monday and is the best Indian ever - made with love, check out their pop up dinners around town…they’re doing a Shabbat dinner in Wynwood in March. Everything at Surf Club Restaurant by Thomas Keller. Veggie pita at The Last Carrot in Coconut Grove. Cheeseburgers at LoKal in the Grove. Happy hour at Town in South Miami.
Lauren
What local restaurants or businesses do you recommend?
I love exploring new restaurants and that's been hard this year with COVID, but I make all outdoor reservations. I call in advance to make sure that we have outdoor seating. If I see that it's too crowded, I won't go. We just went to Red Rooster last Saturday night in Overtown. It was probably the best mac and cheese I've ever had. In the Design District, my favorite is Mandolin for Greek food. It's a romantic, beautiful restaurant. We just went to the new Cote Miami, which is like culinary theater. In Coral Gables, Mamey is really good, with great outdoor seating. In terms of the Grove, we probably go to Green Street every two weeks because we love the waitstaff there, we know what we're going to get, it's dependable. For Thai food, we love Atchana. For Indian, we love Bombay Darbar. Paulo Luigis is like the Italian that I was used to grow up in New Jersey. And, the new ghost kitchen in Coconut Grove is Two Korean Girls. I love their concept. They come in these fabulous, bright pink boxes and the food is a great combination of flavors.
Maria
What local restaurants or businesses do you recommend?
I used to be a restaurant critic at age 19. I'm serious. I had a food blog when nobody was doing it, but that was 20 years ago. I really don't do a lot of restaurants here. If we want to go out in Weston, we go to two places. Pizza Lovers - he's Italian and makes very thin crust pizza. And there's a sushi place called KEUH. In Miami, I love Mandolin, the Greek restaurant. And, Motek, which serves Israeli food. In Little Havana there's a place called El Sanguich, for Cuban sandwiches. I love it.
Alex And Danielle
What local restaurants or businesses do you recommend?
Alex: We like Asian and Japanese in particular, Matsuri is our go to for sushi. Also, Wabi Sabi, which is a little bit more north, closer to my office, is not very well known but has great Japanese. Danielle: For Italian, I like Sapore Di Mare in Coconut grove and Kyu in Wynwood for Asian, and Mandolin for Greek.
AIPIC, Cauley Square, Chabad in the Grove, Kampong, Keez Beez, Kyu, Mandolin, ...
Ben
What local restaurants or businesses do you recommend?
My kids love Sports Grill. It's right down the street from our house. I loved Scotty's, before it left us. I like something with a water view outside with a breeze where you can get a good fish sandwich. While you don't quite have the view, I like the patio at the Spillover, and they have music on the weekends. We'll usually go to River Oyster bar. It's kind of a go-back to our old days of being single and no kids. And if it's a nice weather night, we like going to Mandolin.
Chris
What local restaurants or businesses do you recommend?
We enjoy a lot of them. Recently, we went to Balloo. I really love Caribbean food and they're doing it so cool. It's real small and they don't take reservations, but the food is top-notch and exciting. They had big a pickled slab of chayote squash with this delicious sweet and spicy chutney. I'm fascinated by and have always wanted to grow chayote. I like to see it on a menu sort of showcased like that. We always make our way out to 27 and Mandolin is always one of our favorites. Boia De is really nice, that's sort of near us. Then there are a couple Mexican places down in Homestead that are good. They're almost all in gas stations. 5 Hermanos on 272 and Krome. It's a food truck at a gas station with a couple of tents.
Samuel And Kristina
What local restaurants or businesses do you recommend?
Mandolin. The Mediterranean food is fresh and we love the vibe especially the outdoor ambiance. Bombay Darbar in Coconut Grove deserves a shout out too. Owner Danny worked on a cruise ship before he seamlessly turned his hole in the wall off Grand Street into one of Miami's top Indian restaurants.
Robyn
What local restaurants or businesses do you recommend?
Well, I'm super lucky because both my husband and my daughter are amazing chefs. We eat at home a lot and I get to eat the most amazing meals. When we do go out, I'd say the places we like to eat would be Mandolin, a Mediterranean restaurant with great outdoor seating. It yummy and fun. We like to eat at Lokal in the Grove. They have good burgers and I like their veggie burger and they have a delicious local IPA. Shibui is a great little Japanese restaurant. It's off of Sunset and 102nd. It looks like a little house. You can either sit at a table downstairs or sit on the floor upstairs.