Best Seafood Restaurant 2018 | La Camaronera Seafood Joint & Fish Market | Best Restaurants, Bars, Clubs, Music and Stores in Miami | Miami New Times
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Courtesy of La Camaronera

If you like seafood, La Camaronera should be your new favorite fish spot. The entire menu is seafood, from the shrimp empanadas and grouper soup to breaded lobster and fried whole fresh fish of the day. It's all thanks to the Garcia brothers; 11 of them were born into a family of fishermen in the province of Las Villas, Cuba. As the story goes, they helped their father to learn the trade — everything from catching to cleaning — and support the family. Since 1966, that same tradition continues in Miami, when Garcia Brothers Seafood was established. Once operating a fish market and wholesaler, the Garcias grew their biz into a restaurant in 1976 with the addition of a few deep fryers and a U-shaped counter where customers would line up sans seats to enjoy Cuban fish fry at its best. Sure, there are plenty of places in the Magic City to get a fried-fish sandwich, but it probably won't taste as good as the original snapper pan con minuta (market price). Forty years later, come lunch time, the dining room is still standing room only, full of patrons hungry for the house specialty, camarones fritos, the restaurant's famous fried shrimp ($9.55).

Courtesy of Grumpy Greg's BBQ

Miami barbecue is an amorphous beast. While other cities and states are dedicated to one cut of meat, one sauce, or one style of smoking, the 305's fare is like the city's population, drawing influences from everywhere. Yet no one does barbecue like Greg La Rochelle. For years, he roamed the Florida Keys in a cop car running down bad guys. But back in 2015, he traded in his badge and uniform for piles of meat and a flame-belching smoker. Today he's one of South Florida's barbecue masters and spends weekends roving South Dade farmers markets, plying smoked ribs, salmon, and tender, hard-to-find smoked brisket that boasts a bright red smoke ring and unparalleled juiciness. It's long overdue that Texas-style slow smoke, which spends up to 14 hours in the smoker, has popped up in Miami. Now that it's here, you'll have a hard time ever looking back.

When it comes to soul food, Miami rarely gets as much attention as Southern cities such as Atlanta, Charleston, and Nashville, but that doesn't mean there aren't kitchens in the Magic City dishing out proper feel-good Southern fare. You just have to know where to find it. And if you're looking for serious soul food, you need to go to Flava's to get that good good. The shrimp and grits plate ($10.99) comes with a half-dozen tender crustaceans served on a bowl of grits that is neither too mealy nor too soupy and includes a bit of the oil and seasoning from cooking the shrimp. Make sure you also try the chicken and waffles ($9.99) — spicy poultry never tasted so good. Get there early, because Flava's is open only from 7 a.m. to noon Monday through Thursday, 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sunday, and it's never empty.

Courtesy of Chuck Wagon

The chuck wagon might be the one good thing to emerge from Europeans' conquering of the land we now call home. Settlers traveled everywhere in these wooden wagons that acted as field kitchens to provide hearty meals to those crossing the treacherous plains and deserts. Miami-Dade's own Chuck Wagon doesn't move, unless you count its three locations in the western and southern reaches of the county. At each you'll find the hearty fare that could keep you going in the face of snakebites, measles, dysentery, and exhaustion. Start your day with fluffy homemade biscuits doused in a robust sausage gravy ($6.79), or if you're on the go, grab a fried egg sandwich ($5.89) crowned with every variety of sausage, from patties to smoked links. Lunchtime is hoagie heaven, or shove all care and concern aside and opt for the country fried steak ($11.99). No matter how many hundreds of miles may be left on your trail, this chuck wagon will get you there.

Photo courtesy of Red the Steakhouse

In transient South Beach, Red the Steakhouse has endured for almost a decade. This hot spot's allure are its perfectly charred steaks, wonderfully fresh seafood, and well-executed small plates such as truffle whipped potatoes, four-cheese macaroni and cheese, and Parmesan tater tots. The menu, created by executive chef Peter Vauthy, transcends season and trend with items that will never go out of style. Try the toothsome 40-day dry-aged prime rib eye ($64). Or cut into the Miyazaki Japanese Kobe A5. Hours are 5:30 p.m. to midnight Sunday through Thursday and 5:30 p.m. to 1 a.m. Friday and Saturday.

Photo by FujifilmGirl

At this quaint spot in Miami's fast-growing Little River neighborhood, well-known restaurateur Barclay Graebner's crew treats you like family. It starts when you take a seat and a server presents you with a massive wheel of Grana Padano, then encourages you to take a hunk. A stack of oversize, house-baked cookies sits nearby. They're perfect for dessert, but before you try them, a regiment of servers in hipster attire will tend to your every need and skillfully guide you toward the menu's best offerings. Dedicated carnivore? Go for bone marrow ($14). Vegan? Try the chief's bowl ($18) with sweet potato, coconut curry, brown rice, and lentils. The big winner, however, is the rabbit potpie ($18), boasting a buttery, flaky, crisp pastry crown and a rich gravy that could instantly transport the most harried office worker to a place of pure delight.

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Five-time James Beard Award-nominated chef Jose Mendin is responsible for Habitat, a Spanish-influenced restaurant in the former Beachcraft space at the 1 Hotel South Beach. The indoor/outdoor property is stunning, exuding a strikingly warm glow through rustic wooden decor and gold and copper accents. But the real treat is the patio, where you'll find a canopy of trees draped in dangling lights. Its centerpiece is a small vintage camper stocked with cafecitos and cocktails. Sip Habitat's popular tequila cocktail, the Fifth Element ($15), made with avocado, agave, and tropical fruit and rimmed with citrus sea salt. As night falls, enjoy an order of the Skuna Bay salmon coated in crunchy everything-bagel seasoning ($24), octopus a la planxa ($21), or patatas arrubravas drizzled in a light aioli ($13). Though the patio borders Collins Avenue, the mixture of fine food, tasty cocktails, and a beautiful setting wipes away the chaos of South Beach. Try Habitat from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily, 6 to 11 p.m. Sunday through Thursday, and 6 p.m. to midnight Friday and Saturday.

Courtesy of Biscayne Bay Brewing

Sure, it's fun to experiment with beers that taste like candy bars and gummy bears. But when you want a no-frills, locally made beer that's just damn good, go to Biscayne Bay Brewing. The brewery opened about three years ago in Doral, so why the name Biscayne Bay? Well, the beers are made with water from the Biscayne Aquifer. That's Miami AF, dude. Brewmaster Chris Gil's approach to beer is classic. That means when you pour one of the brewery's core beers — whether it be a saison, a pale ale, an IPA, a kolsch, or a porter — you'll get a fresh beer that tastes like beer and not a glass of liquefied Lucky Charms. Even the limited-edition and experimental beers aren't gimmicky; think a good ale aged in a whiskey barrel. Hang out at the brewery, where a pint costs about five bucks (or $2.50 from 3 to 7 p.m. daily), but you don't even have to drive out to Doral. Biscayne Bay's beers are sold at most Whole Foods, Publix, and Total Wine locations. The brewery's hours are noon to 10 p.m. Sunday, 3 to 11 p.m. Monday through Thursday, and noon to 1 a.m. Friday and Saturday.

Photo by Amadeus McCaskill

Miami's beer game is strong, with breweries popping up in unexpected places such as Opa-locka and the Upper Eastside, but let's not forget Miami's OG brewery — Wynwood Brewing. Because it was the first production brewery in the city of Miami, the father-and-son team of Luis and Luis Brignoni had to actually help write local laws. When it opened, the brewers strove to integrate themselves into Wynwood's artistic community. Indeed, that's happened, with the brewery hosting art shows and fashioning its tap handles to look like spray-paint cans. But what also happened is that the brewery was the catalyst that turned Wynwood into the heart of Miami's beer scene. Now the neighborhood boasts four breweries, with more on the way, and restaurants and bars in the area proudly serve craft beer made just a short walk away. Tourists and day-trippers from points north and west come to Wynwood for a beer crawl as much as for its famous murals. You could say beer imitates art, but, more accurately, beer is art. Wynwood Brewing is open from noon to 10 p.m. Sunday through Tuesday and noon to midnight Wednesday through Saturday.

Courtesy of Rácket

After spending the day in the hot Wynwood sun posing for selfies with Trump, Yoda, and all the other wall paintings, you need shelter and a drink. Enter Rácket, two bars in one, where your thirst can be sated depending upon your mood. Feeling a little tiki? The atrium room has you covered with rum-and-tequila-based drinks such as the Pinky and the Bat, made with Bacardi Superior, St-Germain, guava, strawberry, and pink pepper. If your spirits are soaring, the sky-lit room offers a place where you can drink under the stars. Gin and vodka cocktails take center stage in this area. Try the Divine Oddities, a bubbly concoction made with Hendrick's gin, rose hips, and a hint of cayenne to tingle your lips. Cocktails cost about $14 each. Best of all: Rácket opens daily at 1 p.m., so you can day-drink whenever you want. Hours are 1 p.m. to 3 a.m. daily.

Best Of Miami®

Best Of Miami®