Bali Café

Bali Café is a veritable downtown Miami gem, serving up the kind of Indonesian food you won't find anywhere else in the Magic City. The "Nasi Goreng Special" is the move, fried rice with opor ayam and rendang (chicken and beef cooked in coconut milk), steamed vegetables, pickled carrot and cucumber, and garlic crackers all tucked into a bento box — it looks almost too good to eat. (We said almost.) Regulars swear by Bali's sushi offerings, as well, like the "Downtown Roll" (eel, avocado, and cream cheese) washed down with a soda gembira (a popular Indonesian beverage of club soda with cocopandan syrup and condensed milk), while first-timers quickly learn that the coconut-sauced rendang sapi is life-changing. Factor in the friendly service, prices that don't make your wallet cry, and the barong masks (sacred, lionlike wooden masks that symbolize good fortune and health) on the walls, it's no wonder New Times crowned Bali Café Best Restaurant (Downtown) in 2024.