A Guide To Miami

Brickell

Brickell is a place I would like to explore more of. I’ll definitely be adding to this list as I experience more and more places in this area. Simply put, Brickell is the most “city” part of Miami, on the water and filled with skyscrapers. Plenty of areas to eat and stay.

• Dolores But You Can Call Me Lolita Restaurant - New American, rooftop, great drinks. Apparently there’s dancing and a DJ at night downstairs and inside.

• Sugar Rooftop – Cocktail bar with a dress code. Only been for drinks but they serve food and provides a good view of downtown.

• Black Bird – club / bar. Maybe on the younger side but good to just get drunk and dance.

• There’s a comedy club down here but not sure where… been wanting to find it

Downtown Miami

Catch the Heat play at the American Airlines Arena located in Downtown Miami

• Bayside - Where many boats dock. I wouldn’t typically go here as the restaurants aren’t great but if you just feel like walking around and looking at small souvenir shops. There’s also a ferris wheel which I’ve never been on but i’m sure serves up amazing views of the city.

• Perez Art Museum - Waterfront museum with awesome views, an outdoor restaurant, modern and contemporary artwork and a connected path to Frost Museum of Science.

• Il Gabbiano - awesome Italian restaurant located within a residence building.

Design District

Let’s get luxury

• Swan Restaurant (owned by Pharrell and David Grutman) amazing food, cocktails and amazing vibes. Outdoor / indoor. Great dinner/lunch option – need res

• High end shops – Dior, Gucci, YSL, etc.

• Pura Vida – healthy breakfast / lunch spot

• The swings above fly’s eye dome (also food court up there)

• Fly’s Eye Dome – Photo Op

• Pink wall is here, fendi hallway is here - photo ops

• Jungle Plaza – photo op wall mural (across from pura vida I believe)

• Paradise Plaza – photo op

• Check out @miamidesigndistrict on Instagram there are a ton of art galleries, art installations and streets to walk down and explore

• Night Owl Cookies - just for a quick snack

• Tons of other restaurants around here that I just have yet to try!

• My favorite bathing suit store is also here – Montce Swim

South Beach

Where the tourists go

• Espanola Way – tourist street but cute cobble stone road to walk down

• Lincoln Road – tourist street with shops and restaurants

•  Versace Mansion – turned into a restaurant, never been but if you’re walking down Ocean Drive it’s cool to see

• Planta – great vegetarian

• The Good Time Hotel – brand new hotel opened up by Pharrel again. Amazing food. Only been for dinner.

• Serena inside Moxy South Beach Hotel. Rooftop restaurant. Mexican food really good.

• Lucali – pizza

• Barceloneta – Spanish food. Indoor / outdoor. Sometimes live music.

• Drunken Dragon – Asian

• Time Out Market – Food Hall

• Big Pink – photo op but tourist trap I believe

• Clevelander – my favorite sloppy drunk bar lol (day/night, outside)

• Mango’s – dancer entertainment on stage – only been as bar at night 

• Walk down Ocean Drive / Collins ave just to take in the Art Deco architecture of South Beach

Upper East Side

An up and coming area

• Upper Buena Vista – restaurant options, outdoor shops, photo op area super cute with rooftop but I think rooftop is open only for dinner.

• Mandolin Aegean Bistro – Awesome Mediterranean food but need a res. Always crowded.

• Pinch Kitchen

• Moshi Moshi – Sushi

• Blue Collar – Casual comfort food.

• El Bagel – Only until 10 or 11am for breakfast

• Blvd Baes – Hidden gem. Been for breakfast and lunch and it’s awesome.

Wynwood

So many shops, boutiques and street art. Walk around and get lost in Wynwood.

• KYU – amazing Asian food, a little pricey

• Bakan – upscale taco’s / Mexican food

• No.3 Social – great rooftop for dinner

• Astra – great rooftop for dinner

• Beaker & Grey – amazing food and cocktails. Only been for dinner

• Zak the Baker – amazing fresh breakfast

• 1-800 Lucky – Asian food, kind of like a food hall. Outdoor bar that’s super cute at night

• Sugarcane Raw Bar and Grill

• Brunch

  • Astra has a good brunch but I believe it’s all inside

  •     R-House has a drag brunch

  • Tap 42 is techcnically midtown but close to Wynwood. Been there for Sunday brunch and it gets rowdy (prior to covid, but still probably). Many locations in SoFla.

  •      Morgan’s Restaurant

• Partying at Night (Wynwood)

  • Centro – Gets rowdy, lots of dancing

  •  Coyo Taco – Popular taco place with hidden bar in the “bathroom”

  • El Patio – gets rowdy, crowded, lots of dancing and enjoyed my experience more because we had our own table / bottle / hookah.

  • Mayami – Dress code here. Indoor / Outdoor. Gets rowdy and has girls dancing / entertainment.

  •  There’s another huge outdoor spot I think it’s called Marketplace?

 Dinner / Lunch on the Water

-       Sea Spice - Italian food on the water, boats pull up, Italian food, a little pricey

-       Kiki’s on the River - Boujee Greek / med place, great food, on the water, photo op moments, a little pricey

-       Lido Bayside Grill

-       Rusty Pelican – Awesome view of the city

-       Shuckers – Super casual, the best restaurant in North Bay Village!

Happy Hour

-       The Wharf Miami is outdoor has picnic benches, games and food trucks. Really fun, young vibe. Also opened a new one in fort Lauderdale that’s bigger.

-       Broken Shaker – also has dinner but good drinks

“Site Seeing”

• I would definitely recommend renting a boat and seeing Miami from the water! Even living here it’s such a different experience to the city from a different angle and you’ll be able to see areas like Star Island that you can’t typically see from land. DM me for my boat recommendation and I’ll pass along his number!

• I’ve mentioned this in a recent post I wrote about my top favorite Miami Photoshoot Locations but the Light House in Key Biscayne is a great location to have a peaceful morning stroll and capture great photos along the water and in front of the beautiful lighthouse.

Random but Worthy

• The Edition Hotel – Bar downstairs with indoor bowling alley and ice skating rink – vibey

• The Faena Hotel has a gorgeous gold dinosaur sculpture that a lot of people take pictures in front of 

• Nikki Beach – serves food, has outdoor lounge beds you can rent, direct access to the beach. Used to be a day party not sure if it still is with COVID

• Malibu Farm – inside hotel but on the ocean 

• Joia Beach – super vibey never been but want to go

• E11EVEN – club / strip club with rooftop. Not your average strip club super fun spot. A lot of other clubs in this area too.

• SLS day pool party. Expensive to get a bed / bottle but it’s like vegas (prior to covid)

I hope you found this helpful. Let me know in the comments if you come to Miami and check out any of these spots! I’ll definitely be updating this list as I explore more myself! Happy traveling!