A Miami Local’s Guide to South Beach

Dining in South Beach doesn’t get much breezier than it does at Abbalé, a beautiful little Israeli restaurant nestled South of Fifth. While it’s nowhere near the water, the open walls and foliage-filled ceilings invite the balmy winds off the Atlantic to blow through, while you snack on watermelon feta salad and the fluffiest laffa bread you’ve ever had. It’s the rare restaurant where you could order a tower of dips and leave satisfied, as the Salatim Tower brings seven homemade spreads and enough za’tar flatbread to fill you up. Still, we live in the era of protein, and the sumac lemon chicken shashlik brings a perfect blend of smoke and spice.

In an era where many bemoan that restaurant food all seems the same, a breath of originality is cause for celebration. You’ll find this creative oasis hidden behind a small forest in Sunset Harbour at BeyBey. Chefs Roberto Rolis and Geoff Lee have crafted a menu of Mexican Lebanese creations, making BeyBey the odd restaurant where you scan the offerings and think, “I’ve never seen this before.” Dishes like za’atar short rib with chile pasilla, kibbe steak tartare with carne leche de tigre, and charcoal sweet potatoes with salsa macha all blend ingredients and techniques in ways no restaurant has. The menu itself is entertainment, too, with a collection of pop culture references that feels more like a magazine than a menu.

South Beach is never lacking in spectacular places for sushi, but Bondi Sushi’s South Beach outpost feels more like a little corner sushi joint than a big, fancy restaurant. Wander in for happy hour and you’ll find that the counter is packed almost-exclusively with locals who live within half a mile, snacking on $5 handrolls with lobster and yuzu or hot and spicy blue crab. The vibe extends into dinner, too, where tables are topped with high-grade seafood imported from Japan.

While we won’t get into the debate over who makes Miam’s best Cuban sandwich, the crown in South Beach goes to Cubaton Sandwich Shop on 15th Street. It’s the closest thing to a Hialeah sandwich counter and the product of a young New Jersey transplant who worked with Cuban American friends to craft sandwiches that tasted like their abuelas’ cooking. The cozy space is full of fun, local artwork and while the wall-to-wall Pitbull tribute in the bathrooms have become Cubaton’s most recognizable asset, the sandwiches still reign supreme. The pork is slow roasted in a proprietary mojo sauce, and that same sauce is used to marinate the mojo onions placed on top. Along with mojo aioli, the whole thing is placed on traditional Cuban bread (made with lard) from an Allapattah bakery. Pro tip: There’s also a hot honey version.

Walk-ins only.

In the ever-changing world of Miami restaurants, DiMauro’s on Washington Avenue is the rare exception: a neighborhood spot popular with visiting Italians for more than 20 years. In South Beach years, that’s basically a century. For Italian seafood, you won’t find anywhere in Miami Beach that’s better, as DiMauro’s has gained a following for its house spaghetti with Maine lobster, and octopus puttanesca over black ink linguini. The zuppa di pesce is also a must, a rich tomato broth filled with calamari, shrimp, mussels, salmon, and branzino.

Ask any Italian who’s been around South Beach, “Who makes the Beach’s best pizza?,” and the name you hear most often is Giotto Maestro Della Pizza. This little shop on West Avenue has been putting out Neapolitan pies since long before Miami’s pizza boom, and despite constant competition, still rises to the top. Part of the draw are the pizzas, sure, but what makes Giotto feel especially welcoming is the family-run dynamic, where Giovanni Moretti welcomes guests in the front while his mother, Silvia, runs the kitchen. At some point in your meal, Silvia will undoubtedly come out and say hello, making dinner more like dining with family than sitting in a restaurant.

Reservations by phone only at (305) 532-1138.

Over its 14 years in South Beach, Macchialina has become the gold standard for Italian food in Miami. Because whenever a new Italian restaurant opens — which is frequently — the test among locals is whether it’s better than Macchialina. If it’s not, there’s no point in going. Michael Pirolo has kept people coming back by putting out familiar recipes with exquisite skill, using Italian attention to detail in simple dishes like gnochetti alla norma and veal Milanese. Pirolo has also gained a cult following for his pizzas and Mach Attach hamburgers, special offerings that draw big crowds every time they’re announced. Follow the restaurant on social media, then make sure to book early once you see they’re being served.

Along the strip of high-rises on West Avenue lies the neighborhood pub Oliver’s Bistro.  Locals love Oliver’s because whatever anyone is in the mood for, they make it well through a breadth of expertise. If you walk in feeling healthy and want an ahi tuna Nicoise salad, you’ll leave satisfied. Similarly, those who are up for a splurge will delight in Oliver’s neighborhood-famous country fried chicken, or a massive Texas Rodeo barbecue bacon cheeseburger.

Ray’s Hometown Bar is a relative newcomer to Miami Beach, a popular New York bar that set up shop in the Freehand Hotel in 2024. It has all the looks of a small-town dive — wood-paneled walls, red vinyl booths, checkered floors, and 1980’s beer ads — without the cigarette smoke baked into the walls. “Clean dive” isn’t exactly accurate, nobody would call Ray’s “family-friendly,” and it’s still a place you’ll see locals nursing a martini at 2 a.m. But its bar food is better than most, with leveled up burgers and wings, plus vegetarian options like the pulled mushroom barbecue sandwich. It’s also got a pretty solid happy hour, where beers can be had for as little as $5.

Cozy, intimate, and perfect-for-date-night Italian restaurants are surprisingly hard to come by in South Beach. But San Marco on 1st Street seamlessly combines charm and elegance with its white tablecloth service in an unassuming space. While it’s more like a small upscale restaurant than a traditional taverna, San Marco keeps its prices reasonable, and you can have a bow-tied water grating fresh parm on your pasta al ragù without breaking the bank. The mains are more than an afterthought,  with an herb-roasted half chicken that could lay claim as the best chicken entree at any Italian restaurant in Miami.  Though the bread service might still be the most memorable part of the meal; served with heaps of butter, you’ll be sad you can’t it take home.

Chef-owner Fred Joulin is one of those proprietors who seemingly remembers everyone who’s ever walked into his restaurant. That’s why even on a first visit to Semilla, a small French bistro on Alton Road, you’ll feel like a regular. Fred calls you by name and remembers your orders, all the while conversing in English and French with patrons at the bar. It’s not just Joulin’s jovialness that’s kept people coming to Semilla, the food is also some of the best casual French fare in Miami. The fresh daily baguette and bone marrow escargot are the essential starters. And though South Beach might not exactly have stew weather, Joulin’s boeuf bourguignon atop rigatoni remains Semilla’s standout dish.

Among South Beach locals, it’s common knowledge that the offerings at Toni’s Sushi is as good as other sushi spot in town. For years. Toni’s was the archetype of a little neighborhood sushi counter, where small tables and unremarkable chairs were the backdrop for some of the most skilled sushi in South Beach. It got an interior upgrade a couple of years ago with bamboo arches and elegant white seats. But the laid-back atmosphere and in-the-know vibe remains the same, and for top-tier sushi for a reasonable price Toni’s still reigns supreme.