Food & Drink

The Best Restaurants in Miami

Cantina La Veinte dining room with bougainvillea overhead and Biscayne Bay views

By

Mike Rynart

· Updated

In Miami, you could eat somewhere different every night for a year and still barely scratch the surface. That’s exactly why we keep an updated, opinionated list of the restaurants that actually matter right now: the rooms we send friends to, the tables we fight for, and the newcomers earning their place.

This is The Miami Guide’s running ranking of the best restaurants in Miami, updated for 2026. Every pick below earned its spot. If a restaurant closed, slipped, or stopped trying, it’s off the list — no filler, no pay-to-play, just the places we’d happily eat at tonight.

The Move: If you’re dining during August, September, or October, check our guide to the best Miami Spice restaurants — several of these venues run special multi-course menus throughout the season.

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Looking for something specific? Start with our Best Cuban Restaurants, Best Italian Restaurants, Best Tacos Spots, Best Waterfront View Restaurants, Best Brunch Spots, or Miami’s Michelin Star Restaurants.

The Best Restaurants in Miami 2026: Our Top 10

1. L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon — Design District. L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon is a counter-style temple of French precision and the only two-Michelin-star restaurant in Miami, holding both stars for the third year running. Book the counter, order the tasting menu, thank us later.

2. The Surf Club Restaurant — Surfside. Thomas Keller’s Surf Club is old-Florida glamour done at the highest level — continental classics, flawless service, and a dining room that feels like 1955 in the best way. The most special-occasion table in town.

3. Le Jardinier Miami — Design District. Le Jardinier is a Michelin-starred garden of a restaurant where vegetables get the fine-dining treatment they deserve. Light, precise, and quietly one of the best lunches in Miami.

Le Jardinier

Michelin-starred French dining in the Design District, pairing seasonal cooking with a lush garden terrace.

4. Contessa Miami — Design District. Major Food Group’s northern Italian showpiece in the Design District — dramatic room, silk-and-velvet energy, and a menu built for long, loud dinners. Still the hardest fun reservation in the neighborhood.

Contessa Miami

Contessa Miami

Northern Italian dining inspired by Lake Como, set inside a grand Design District restaurant with marble, teak and skyline views.

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5. Michael’s Genuine Food & Drink — Design District. Michael Schwartz’s flagship basically invented modern Miami dining, and it still delivers: seasonal, ingredient-first cooking and a Michelin Bib Gourmand to prove the value. The wood oven never misses.

Michael’s Genuine

The neighborhood cornerstone that traded pretension for sharp, wood-fired cooking long before the luxury boutiques moved in.

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6. Café La Trova — Little Havana. Café La Trova is a shrine to classic Cuban cantinero culture on Calle Ocho — live son cubano, daiquiris pulled from a 1940s playbook, and lechón worth crossing town for. Dinner and a show, Miami-style.

7. a’Riva — Sunset Harbour. Chef Michele Esposito’s seasonal Italian Riviera spot at 1766 Bay Rd — bluefin crudo with watermelon gazpacho, spaghetti alla branzino, and a harbor-side terrace that sells the whole thing.

8. Babette — Coral Gables. Chef Dani Chávez-Bello’s intimate Coral Gables dining room (301 Alcazar Avenue) pairs Mediterranean soul with French technique and Spanish vibrancy — think crab truffle flan and Berkshire pork cutlet in a candlelit, 30-seat room. One of the most personal fine-dining experiences in Miami right now.

9. Joe’s Stone Crab — Miami Beach. A century in and Joe’s remains non-negotiable: stone crab claws, hash browns, key lime pie, no notes. Open all year round — yes, even in summer.

10. Ossobuco — Wynwood. Chef and grill master Guillermo Eleicegui’s contemporary wood-fire steakhouse at 62 NW 27th St — smoked lamb chops, charred dry-aged steaks, and a namesake ossobuco empanada straight off the open flame.

Michelin-Starred Experiences

Miami holds 18 Michelin stars in the 2026 guide — more than anywhere else in Florida. These are the starred rooms on this list. (See the full 2026 Michelin rundown here.)

L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon — Design District ⭐⭐. Miami’s only two-star restaurant, three years running. The counter tasting menu is the single best fine-dining seat in the city.

Le Jardinier Miami — Design District ⭐. Vegetable-forward fine dining from the Starr Restaurants team — elegant without being stiff.

Elcielo Miami — Brickell ⭐. Chef Juan Manuel Barrientos’s avant-garde Colombian tasting menu — theatrical, surprising, and unlike anything else in Miami.

The Surf Club Restaurant — Surfside ⭐. Thomas Keller’s continental classic holds its star with old-school polish.

Mutra — North Miami ⭐. The first kosher restaurant in the world to earn a Michelin star — Chef Raz Shabtai’s contemporary Middle Eastern cooking at 2188 NE 123rd St made history in the 2026 guide.

Worth knowing: Doya (Wynwood) holds a Michelin Bib Gourmand — not a star — for its Aegean mezze and wood-fired cooking. Cotoa, Double Luck, and To Be Determined all earned new Bib Gourmands in 2026.

Miami Classics & Institutions

The rooms that built this city’s dining reputation — still excellent, still essential.

For the city’s most historic dining rooms, see our guide to the oldest restaurants in Miami.

Joe’s Stone Crab — Miami Beach. See Top 10. A hundred-plus years of stone crab supremacy.

Prime 112 — Miami Beach. The South Beach steakhouse that defined an era of scene-y power dining — dry-aged cuts, truffle everything, and a room that still hums.

The River Oyster Bar — Brickell. Brickell’s seafood anchor: raw bar, crudos, and one of the best happy hours on the river.

Michael’s Genuine — Design District. See Top 10. The farm-to-table pioneer that grew up into an institution.

Contessa — Design District. See Top 10. Big-room Italian glamour.

Boulud Sud — Downtown. Daniel Boulud’s Mediterranean flagship inside the JW Marriott Marquis (255 Biscayne Boulevard Way) — coastal cooking from France to North Africa: octopus à la plancha, lamb flatbread, grapefruit givré.

Café La Trova — Little Havana. See Top 10. Calle Ocho’s living landmark.

Pao at Faena — Miami Beach. Paul Qui’s modern Asian tasting counter inside Faena — playful, precise, and open Tuesday through Saturday evenings. The tasting menu is the move; the room is pure Faena theater.

Mareva 1939 — Miami Beach. Contemporary Spanish cooking from Barcelona-born executive chef Sergio Chamizo — a National Hotel standout (1677 Collins Ave) for black seafood paella, Ibérico ham croquetas, and vermouth flights.

Zuma — Downtown. The Brickell-avenue izakaya that never cooled off — black cod, spicy beef tenderloin, and a scene that still skews celebratory.

Zuma Miami

The Miami River classic that proved waterfront dining could be both serious and fun.

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Toro Toro — Downtown. Richard Sandoval’s Pan-Latin steakhouse in the InterContinental — rodizio energy, serious cuts, and Sunday nights with live music.

Toro Toro

Richard Sandoval's Pan-Latin steakhouse inside the InterContinental — where the meat comes to your table on skewers and the Sunday brunch has a DJ. One of the f

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Ossobuco — Wynwood. Chef and grill master Guillermo Eleicegui’s contemporary wood-fire steakhouse at 62 NW 27th St — smoked lamb chops, charred dry-aged steaks, and a namesake ossobuco empanada straight off the open flame.

Cantina La Veinte — Brickell. A dozen years in, the bayfront Mexican dining room at Icon Brickell still sets the waterfront standard — refined coastal Mexican plates, handcrafted margaritas, and Cantina Sessions live music Thursday and Saturday nights. Come for sunset over Biscayne Bay, stay for the margaritas.

Cantina La Veinte dining room with bougainvillea overhead and Biscayne Bay views

Cantina La Veinte

Upscale Mexican restaurant overlooking Biscayne Bay at Icon Brickell, with refined Mexican cuisine, handcrafted cocktails, and Cantina Sessions live music.

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New & Next-Generation

The newcomers and rising stars reshaping where Miami eats in 2026.

Babette — Coral Gables. See Top 10. The most exciting small dining room to open in the Gables in years.

a’Riva — Sunset Harbour. Chef Michele Esposito’s seasonal Italian Riviera spot at 1766 Bay Rd — bluefin crudo with watermelon gazpacho, spaghetti alla branzino, and a harbor-side terrace that sells the whole thing.

Daniel’s Miami — Coral Gables. The Gioia Hospitality Group’s Coral Gables steakhouse (1500 San Ignacio Ave) landed on the World’s Best 101 Steak Restaurants list within months of opening — premium steaks, fresh seafood, Italian classics, and an award-winning wine program from the father-daughter team behind it. Sister concept to the Michelin-recommended Daniel’s, A Florida Steakhouse.

MIKA — Coral Gables. Michael White’s Mediterranean Riviera restaurant at 3007 Ponce de Leon Blvd — blue crab spaghetti with caviar and lemon butter, veal Milanese, and langoustine carpaccio from one of America’s defining Italian chefs.

Cotoletta — Coconut Grove. The place for cotoletta alla Milanese, done right — 3206 Grand Ave. Simple premise, executed obsessively.

Cotoa — North Miami. A new 2026 Michelin Bib Gourmand — chef Alejandra Espinoza’s progressive Ecuadorian cooking at 12475 NE 6th Ct: cassava muchines, tortellini con seco de pollo, mahi mahi with coconut and peanut.

Sra. Martinez — Coral Gables. Michelle Bernstein and David Martinez’s reimagined Spanish/Mediterranean restaurant and bar at 2325 Galiano St — wood-burning oven, live music, oxtail paella, carbonara croquetas, and a Miami Sour worth ordering.

Double Luck Chinese — Shorecrest. A new 2026 Michelin Bib Gourmand — from the team behind Tâm Tâm, a red-lantern neighborhood Chinese spot at 1085 NE 79th St: Hennessy orange chicken, crab leg rangoons, crab fried rice.

To Be Determined — Coral Gables. Yes, that’s really the name — a wine bar and seasonal kitchen at 2240 SW 32nd Ave that just earned a new 2026 Michelin Bib Gourmand. Small, thoughtful, and exactly the kind of neighborhood gem this list exists for.

Tin Tin — Little Havana. The new “big sister” to Tinta y Café brings Cuban flavors into conversation with French and Italian influences — ropa vieja raviolo, malanga cacio e pepe — at 2555 SW 8th St. The most exciting Cuban-adjacent opening of the year.

Cha Cha Chá — Wynwood. Mexico City-born and LA-tested, this mariscos-and-mezcal spot at 2637 N Miami Ave serves aguachile negro, tuna tostadas, and bone-marrow esquites — with a rooftop for the full Baja Med effect.

JaJaJa Mexicana — Wynwood. New York’s beloved plant-based Mexican street-food spot at 2775 NW 3rd Ave — Miami is its first outpost outside NYC, with Miami-specific Cuban and coastal twists from executive chef Ricky Huitzil.

Torno Subito — Design District. Massimo Bottura’s playful Italian — now at 191 NE 40th St in the Design District after relocating from Downtown Flagler. Same irreverent spirit, new neighborhood.

Torno Subito

Massimo Bottura’s only U.S. restaurant brings playful, story-driven Italian cuisine to The Moore, in the Miami Design District.

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Bagatelle Miami River — Miami River. The French Riviera waterfront outpost at 311 NW South River Dr — whole branzino deboned tableside, truffle ravioli, Roman pizza with truffle, and live music on the water.

La Cañita — Kendall. Michelle Bernstein’s rum-centric Cuban-Caribbean flagship at 8405 Mills Dr, Suite 203 — oxtail lasagna, lechón asado with yuca and pork belly, whole fried red snapper. Also at Bayside and Ocean Drive.

AVA MediterrAegean — Coconut Grove. The Riviera Dining Group’s elevated Greek flagship at 2889 McFarlane Rd — Aegean tuna ceviche, branzino Spetziota, prawns kadaifi, and lamb moussaka served tableside.

Pauline — South Beach. Open since November 2025 inside the Shelborne Hotel (1801 Collins Ave) — seafood-forward coastal cooking with Latin and Caribbean influences from culinary director Abram Bissell (Eleven Madison Park, The Modern): conch ceviche, Jonah crab claws, lobster and mussel sancocho.

Uchiko — Sunset Harbour. James Beard winner Tyson Cole’s “child of Uchi” at 1759 Purdy Ave — non-traditional Japanese where smoke and char meet Uchi’s clean flavors: sake crudo, hearth-roasted lobster with umeboshi butter, seared wagyu NY strip.

ViceVersa — Downtown. The Elser Hotel’s Italian aperitivo bar and restaurant at 398 NE 5th St — winner of Best U.S. Hotel Bar at the 2026 Spirited Awards — serving crudos, clams-topped Neapolitan pizza, cacio e pepe, and a famous puttanesca martini.

ViceVersa

ViceVersa

Valentino Longo's aperitivo bar in the Elser lobby — now the best hotel bar in the country, and it still drinks like a neighborhood spot.

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Waterfront & Rooftop Dining

Because in Miami, the view is part of the menu.

Seaspice — Miami River. The riverfront brasserie at 412 NW North River Drive — yacht-side tables, branzino, and a scene that peaks at sunset.

CATCH Miami Beach Rooftop — Miami Beach. The rooftop at 200 South Pointe Dr — seafood towers with a South Pointe Park view. Go at golden hour.

Italian Standouts

Miami’s Italian scene could fill its own list — these are the essentials. (More in our Best Italian Restaurants guide.)

Call Me Gaby — South of Fifth. South of Fifth’s breezy Italian café at 22 Washington Ave — gourmet pizza and casual fare in a garden setting, with late-night cocktails at the upstairs Miss Gaby bar.

Casa Tua Cucina — Miami Beach & Brickell. Casa Tua’s market-style Italian food hall — pizza, pasta, and aperitivo across two locations: Miami Beach and Brickell City Centre (70 SW 7th St, inside Saks Fifth Avenue). Come hungry, graze everything.

Cecconi’s — Miami Beach. Soho Beach House’s courtyard classic at 4385 Collins Ave — Venetian-Italian cooking under the banyan trees, and some of the best people-watching in the city. Weekend brunch is a scene.

👌 The Final Bite

Miami’s dining scene in 2026 is deeper than it’s ever been — two dozen new rooms a year, a Michelin guide that keeps raising the bar, and neighborhood gems like To Be Determined proving you don’t need a PR machine to earn one. Work through this list slowly. Start at the top, detour through the Bib Gourmands, and save room for whatever opens next month.

Something we missed, or a favorite that slipped? Tell us — this list gets updated, and the best tips come from readers who eat out more than we do.

Best Restaurants in Miami: FAQ

What is the best restaurant in Miami right now?

Our current No. 1 is L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon in the Design District — Miami’s only two-Michelin-star restaurant, holding both stars for the third consecutive year. For the single most special night out, it’s the table.

Which Miami restaurants have Michelin stars in 2026?

Miami and Miami Beach hold 18 Michelin stars in the 2026 guide. On this list: L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon (two stars), plus one star each at Le Jardinier, Elcielo, The Surf Club Restaurant, and Mutra — the first kosher restaurant in the world to earn a star. (Full 2026 rundown.)

Where do locals actually eat in Miami?

Follow the Bib Gourmands — Michelin’s picks for serious cooking without the serious check. Miami’s 2026 additions include Cotoa, Double Luck, and To Be Determined, alongside established picks like Michael’s Genuine, Doya, and Tinta y Café.

What’s the best restaurant in Miami for a special occasion?

The Surf Club Restaurant (old-Florida glamour, Thomas Keller polish), L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon (the tasting counter), and Joe’s Stone Crab (the timeless classic) are our three answers depending on the mood.

What’s the best waterfront restaurant in Miami?

Seaspice on the Miami River for dinner, CATCH’s rooftop at South Pointe for golden hour. For the full list, see our Best Waterfront View Restaurants guide.

Do I need reservations at Miami’s best restaurants?

For the Top 10 and any Michelin-starred room: yes, book ahead — prime weekend slots go weeks out. For Bib Gourmand spots and neighborhood gems, same-week usually works, but Friday and Saturday nights are always tight.

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