Brunch
This hybrid of breakfast and lunch leans more towards the former, though alcohol is admissible, especially a morning pickme-up like a Screwdriver or Bloody Mary. You can eat any breakfast food, though the classic dish is eggs Benedictpoached eggs and ham on English muffins (rather like a crumpet), topped with Hollandaise sauce.

Seafood pancakes and chicken à la reine (in a cream sauce with mushrooms) are popular for brunch, too. A lot of Miami Beach and Coconut Grove hotels feature a brunch buffet on Sundays.

Sandwiches
The deli variety includes corned beef, turkey, roast beef, smoked tongue and pastrami (a kind of cured beef) stacked on your choice of bread-white, wholewheat, rye, pumpernickel-or rolls.

Lox (smoked salmon) and cream cheese are a popular Jewish combination, served on a bagel. Pita or Arab flat bread may be filled with tuna (tunny), egg or chicken salads. A club sandwich is a layered collation of chicken, bacon, tomato and lettuce with mayonnaise on toast. You’ll have a job stretching your mouth around a Cuban sandwich -it’s piled so high with sugar – cured ham, pork, Swiss cheese (an American original) and pickles.

Leave it to the Cubans to improve on the hamburger: the frita adds minced pork to the beef, as well as garlic, paprika, vinegar and spices. A cheaper place to eat real Cuban is on Collins Avenue in South Beach at the angle between 14th or 13th.

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For Europeans, certain American customs may be unfamiliar, if not downright bewildering. The predilection for ice in drinks, for example, causes consternation. Nothing escapes the cold treatment, from whisky to cola. If you prefer your drinks cool, but not iced. remember to say so when you order.

The coffee ritual (like the coffee itself) takes a bit of getting used to.

The brew is weak by European standards and the cup is “bottom- less”. That means the waiter will refill it repeatedly without extra charge. Don’t be surprised if your waiter urges you to take your leftovers home in a “doggie bag”. Some restaurants serve far more than one person can eat on the assumption that customers will carry away what they don’t consume on the spot. Even cafeterias supply doggie bags, but you have to wrap up the food yourself.

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Miami’s best restaurants are concentrated in the Gables, the Grove and the Beach. You can dine on the oceanfront, in sight of the sea, in Deco surroundings or a garden setting, around an open hearth. Gamble while you eat at the race track, dog track or jai-alai fronton.

Or have a meal at one of the theme restaurants that evoke medieval Spain or Tudor England.

In the more elegant establishments, jacket or jacket and tie are required, but for the most part you can cultivate a casual appearance. A lot of oceanfront hotels ban improperly attired swimmers from indoor restaurants, so be prepared with shoes and a cover-up. Coffee shops serve sandwiches, salads, light meals and snacks-but no alcohol.

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I will be staying in Miami December 24 and 25 and January 2 and 3 and I really need help to choose a good Hotel for my Budget! For the 24/25 Dec, I would like to stay in a nice hotel, maybe on South Beach for about $200-$250 per night – which is proving quite hard both on the price and also each time I decide I then read bad things on trip advisor!

For the 2/3 I am not as fussy, anywhere reasonable….I would really appeciate any advice you can give. Oh and I have checked all the main ones such as W, Delano etc but they are all approx $500+ per night!

Thanks so much :)

1) Try the Riviera South Beach a 4-Star in Liberty Avenue -free transfer service to Miami International Airport – just one block away from the Setai and The W.

2) I like The Carlton, The place is kind of lame but it’s cheap (REALLY cheap!), 1 block to the beach, and in the heart of the Art Deco District. Great place to be in all the action and save money for the Clubs! I’ll probably be staying there around the same time.

3) I stayed in the Sanctuary Hotel. Not the most amazing place…But good enough and close to South Beach Clubs, etc..

4) Try the Gansevoort.. it is beachfront. Nash, Greenview, Century in Ocean Drive, all decent, good location, and around your budget..

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The possibilities have burgeoned with the population. You can sample Southern home cooking as authentic as any this side of the Mason- Dixon line and kosher fare to compare with New York’s best. But the real gastronomic news in Miami is the explosion of interest in ethnic food-Cuban cuisine first and foremost, but also Mexican, Haitian, Greek, Indian, Japanese and Thai.

South Dade farmers supply chefs with a bounty of fresh fruit and vegetables, and offshore waters provide plenty of fish and shellfish. Everglades frog legs turn up on some menus and you may just come across alligator meat. It’s farmed out in the glades, though consumption is, for the time being, limited.

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What our Guests say:

1) Bond Street (this street is between the 19th and 20th and Collins Avenue in South Beach. In the same area you can find the Shore Club Hotel and the Setai Hotel ), Nobu and Hakassan…I personally like Hakassan the best.

2) Best sushi with value for money is Doraku in my opinion. Sushi is always very fresh and the Doraku roll is to die for!
(You can find this Restaurant in 1104 Lincoln Rd up to the Lincoln Rd Mall).

3) Nobu is delicious but inconsistent. Blade at Hotel Fountainbleu is also good. Sometime in this place you need to wait a looot!

4) Asia bay in Bal Harbor on 96 st is also a great option. You need a car or cab. It’s about half hour by car from SoBe.
Sushi Samba on Lincoln is always fun and consistent!

5) Bond Street at the restaurant of the Town House Hotel.

6) Definitely Bond ST and NOBU!

7) Bond Street and Mr Yum if you are staying in Brickell Miami.

8) This is my ranking:
a. Sakura - Best Japanese in Miami. Value, but not looks. It’s not in a nice neighborhood, but it is the only Japanese restaurant in Miami where you find Japanese people eating!
b. Matsuri – near Coral Gables
c. Sushi Rock – Miami Beach (I haven’t been there in a while)
d. Zuma – A new Japanese is opening at the Epic  Hotel in downtown Miami at the end of May. I passed by today and decor looks great, however we have to wait and see.
e. Nobu is undoubtedly good, but sometimes feels like an overpriced cliche!

Restaurants in Miami Beach

MySoBe.com, like no other.

What our Guests say:

1) Four suggestions: Hotel Mondrian in 1100 West Avenue (in front of Star Island), Hotel Fontainebleau, Hotel Gansevoort and The W Hotels in Collins Avenue.

2) I’ve heard great things about all of those hotels….which one is the best? I would like a hotel that has a DJ by the Pool…great Restaurants inside the hotel…and even a happening nightclub in the hotel…..Which hotel is best for that? I heard the Shore Club Hotel is great…thanks for the response :)

3) A friend of mine stayed at the Shore Club Hotel a few months ago and he didn’t like it.
The party was ok…but it gets a little too trashy on Sundays.

note from MySoBe.com:
Joshua, one of our Guest, has reported us bad news – few days ago – about Shore Club: My partner and I booked a night at this hotel and were greeted by a rude staff and a urine puddle on the floor in our room. When we approached the staff about it we were not offered a resolution and left the hotel. We have contacted the corporate office several times about this issue and the puddle has now been blamed on us. We were in the hotel for less than an hour and charged for a full stay.

This is a horrible hotel. AVOID IT AT ALL COSTS! There are much nicer, cleaner, and friendlier hotels in the SOBE area for the same price if not less.
I sent in my experience as a review to warn future visitors about this hotel. This is not a high end hotel and shouldn’t be rated as such.

We have had plenty of wonderful experiences in SOBE thanks to your site and will definitely be back.

For this reason the Hotel Shore Club has gone down in MySoBe.com rating from 4.19/5.00 to 4.01/5.00

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I would like to visit Miami, ohhh yes I’ve never been there, what a shame!!!
That’s why I need your advices and tips where to stay and where to go…

Comments and Advices from our Guests:

1) If you arrive Sunday afternoon you might want to go to the Modrian Hotel Pool party. Sunday night to SET or casual place Segafredo’s on the romantic Lincoln Rd. Monday you might want to try Mokai night club, Tuesday start at the Delano and followed by Tantra…

2) No doubts: Mondrian, then The Standard, then the Setai. These are some of my favorite hotels in South Beach.

3) Hello, here are a couple of suggestions:

- The Betsy Hotel in Ocean Drive
- The Sagamore in Collins Ave
- Raleigh Hotel In Collins Ave
- National Hotel in Collins Ave

Good luck!

4) I suggest you The Gansevoort in South Beach. Is rated from MySoBe.com 4.04 / 5.00. You can find a splendid pool with one of the best front view I never seen.

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