Miami Mainstays: Classic Places to Eat in South Beach

by Rick Munarriz - Citysearch Contributor - 338 Reviews - 131 Lists

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Updated: February 28, 2009

Eateries and watering holes come and go in South Florida. People love to check out new things. However, there's nothing wrong with relying on dependable institutions that have weathered the storm for decades in a very finicky town. Here are some of the great destinations that have not only stood the test of time, but passed with flying colors.

The Classics

  1. 1 3.5 Star Rating: Average Joe's Stone Crab
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    11 Washington Ave, Miami Beach, FL 33139 (map)

    It was 1913 when Joe Weiss opened a modest lunch counter in Miami Beach. Four generations later, the family-run restaurant is still one of the hardest tables to get when stone crabs are in season. Don't forget to save room for the influential Key Lime pie.

  2. 2 4.5 Star Rating: Recommended Tobacco Road
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    626 S Miami Ave, Miami, FL 33130 (map)

    It's hard to be a haven for live blues music when you've had such a wonderful life. Since its 1912 debut, Miami's oldest bar was slippery enough to survive Prohibition and quickly shed its speakeasy ways when it could legally obtain a liquor license. Anyone who has an appreciation for soft blues or hard drinks has walked through its doors, and probably stumbled out of them.

  3. 3 4.5 Star Rating: Recommended Versailles Restaurant
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    3555 SW Eighth St, Miami, FL 33135 (map)

    This politico hotbed opened in 1971, making it the baby of the bunch. However, it opened its doors shortly after Fidel Castro-fleeing refugees set up camp in Little Havana in the heart of Miami. No visit to the city's most popular Cuban restaurant is complete without taking a swig of potent Cuban coffee.

  4. 4 4.5 Star Rating: Recommended Bar
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    172 Giralda Ave, Coral Gables, FL 33134 (map)

    Any business that lasts more than a few years in the tony Coral Gables shopping and dining district deserves props. "Rockin' the Gables since 1946" is the bar's mantra, famous for its wide variety of 48 brands of bottled beer.

  5. 5 5 Star Rating: Highly Recommended Frankie's Pizza
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    9118 SW 40th St, Miami, FL 33165 (map)

    Pizza was still a South Florida curiosity when Frank Pasquarella opened his namesake pie shop in 1955. The model of consistency hasn't changed since then. The pizzas are still square, while nearly everybody else serves up their baked dough in circles. When you're the pioneer, you don't have to play by the rules.

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