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In Miami, we shift with the sun: Cuban coffee shots on the beach as the first rays shine through, lunch looking out at the bay, cocktails as the light starts to soften, and dinner somewhere that keeps the night going long after the plates are cleared. You can build an entire trip around the city’s art, shopping, architecture, and beaches — and you should — but we’d argue the best way to understand Miami’s culture is to eat your way through it.
And the options, of course, are endless. You’ll find plenty to plan around in our monthly Hit List, along with our Miami restaurant guides by neighborhood, cuisine and occasion. But if you’ve only got 72 hours, this is a good place to begin.
For the sake of this guide to eating your way through Miami, we’re assuming you’re here for a long weekend, arriving Friday morning and heading out Sunday evening. That gives you just enough time to explore Miami’s creative core and the beaches, and still sneak a peek at the city’s greener, more local-feeling corners — with a stellar lineup of meals, snacks, drinks and cafecito along the way.
Take a slower pace on Saturday with a morning spent on North Beach, the quieter, more residential end of Miami Beach. Today, water leads the way. Start at Sazón Cubano, a neighborhood Cuban restaurant on Collins Avenue just a block from the sand. Grab a cafecito, pastelito, or buttered tostada from the ventanita (that’s a fully satisfying breakfast in Miami) and then make your way to the beach properly fueled.
For a leisurely lunch, cross the causeway to Edgewater and head to Amara at Paraiso. The draw is obvious the moment you sit down: wide-open Biscayne Bay views, breezy waterfront energy, and Latin Floridian cooking from chef Michael Schwartz. Order something grilled, or split one of the seafood or meat parrilladas if you have enough dining partners and an appetite.
You can’t come to Miami without a taste of the city’s Caribbean culture, and Las’ Lap does it with style. Located inside a boutique hotel away from South Beach’s busiest tourist corridors, the restaurant serves creative, gourmet takes on Caribbean food inspired by chef Kwame Onwuachi’s Afro Caribbean heritage and Miami’s local flavors, from Haitian to Cuban. Opt for canal-side seating, order the crab claws in an addictive escovitch sauce (prepare to slurp up the leftovers), then head upstairs for rum cocktails on the rooftop.
