While the Magic City food scene heat index may have shifted more towards the mainland in recent years, during the city's two-month Spice promotion, there's nothing quite like crossing the causeway to dine at Miami Beach's best restaurants for nearly half the price.
This year, there's even some big news on the beach: Joe's Stone Crab has finally joined the promo for the first year since its inception, offering diners the opportunity to explore the menu outside their seasonal stone crab sessions.
Along with that announcement, we've put together four more menus in Miami Beach that you'd best not miss out on during Miami Spice.
If you haven't tried the fried chicken at Joe's Stone Crab, Miami Spice is a fine excuse to darken the door of this venerable South Beach institution.
Joe's Stone Crab photo
Joe's Stone Crab
11 Washington Ave., Miami Beach305-673-0365
joesstonecrab.comThis is it. This is the moment you've been waiting years for. Joe's — among the Magic City's most revered restaurants — has finally put together an affordable tasting menu. Just one tiny detail: There are no fresh stone crabs. That's because they're not in season. But that makes now the perfect time to discover why Joe's is so much more than stone crabs. After all, if Joe's only knew how to do crab claws, they wouldn't have lasted more than a century. In fact, they're just as well-regarded for their fried chicken as they are for the famous black-tipped delicacy. Their $60 Spice dinner menu puts both front and center with a "Taste of Joe's," featuring (defrosted) crab claws and a fried quarter-chicken. Entrées such as mahi-mahi in tomato creole sauce, shrimp (fried or sautéed), and miso-glazed cod with soy ginger rice and grilled asparagus feature on the lunch menu. Stone crab fiends can still get their fix with a stone crab bisque for an appetizer. Don't miss dessert — Joe's famous key lime pie, crème brûlée, or a chocolate lava cake. Miami Spice is offered for lunch Friday to Sunday and dinner Wednesday through Sunday.
Joliet
1209 17th St., Miami Beach786-527-2869
jolietmiamibeach.comNow is the time to go to 17th Street to try the Cajun-inspired menu at this neighborhood bistro with a concise Spice dinner menu. You'll start with a choice of Johnny Cakes with pimento cheese and country ham or gem lettuce salad with radicchio, pickled shallot, avocado, and ranch dressing. It's the entrées that will make you feel like you've swapped Miami for New Orleans, however: blackened red snapper with grits, collard greens, and crawfish butter or a classic jambalaya, andouille sausage, Carolina gold rice, and all the fixings. Treat yourself to a strawberry sundae with cheesecake and a graham streusel encased in a magic chocolate shell for dessert. Miami Spice is offered for dinner Wednesday through Sunday.
Orilla
426 Euclid Ave., Miami Beach305-397-8806
orilla.restaurantSometimes all you want in life is a big, juicy steak — and Spice is a great time to grab one on the cheap. While the big, sexy steakhouse can be a common hype trope of the Miami food scene, we're going to recommend Orilla, a smartly appointed Argentinian restaurant on Euclid Ave., just south of Fifth. They're serving up a classic 14-ounce New York prime steak with herbes de Provence-dusted fries to satisfy your beef cravings ($10 upcharge). Additional main options include homemade bucatini with shrimp, roasted free-range chicken with mashed potatoes, or a six-ounce grilled swordfish with Champagne garlic sauce and roasted Brussels sprouts. Be sure to save room for dessert with the housemade flan, a tropical fruit pavlova with acai, hibiscus, and labneh cream, or — a true steakhouse classic — baked Alaska ($10 upcharge). Miami Spice is offered for dinner Sunday through Wednesday.
Pao by Paul Qui
3201 Collins Ave., Miami Beach786-655-5600
faena.comOne of the best ways to celebrate Miami Spice is to go to the most opulent, flamboyant restaurant while pretending you're a regular. Pao, housed in the Faena Hotel with a swanky dining room that threatens to outdo Damien Hirst's gold-plated elephant skeleton, certainly fits the bill. And not just because it has a gold-plated unicorn at its center. The food by chef Paul Qui, which mixes influences from across the globe (especially Asia), is also quite stylish and experimental. Their Miami Spice dinner menu features entrées like roasted fish with chili patis and garlic-ginger jasmine rice, a wagyu short rib served over tteokbokki (pasta-shaped Korean rice cake) with shiitake bacon and braised greens flavored with crab fat and coconut milk. Don't miss the chocolate mille crepe cake layered with whipped chocolate ganache, Cantonese cashews, and banana brulée for dessert. Miami Spice is offered for dinner Tuesday through Saturday.
Enjoy brunch, lunch, and dinner options like these grilled lamb chops during Miami Spice at Santorini by Georgios.
Santorini by Georgios photo
Santorini by Georgios
101 Ocean Dr., Miami Beach (in the Hilton Bentley)305-672-6624
santorinibygeorgios.comYou had the hotel picked out. You cleared your schedule at work. Then you looked up flights to Greece and realized airfare is really, really expensive this summer. And while not all of us can afford a splashy vacation on the Aegean Isles, thanks to Santorini by Georgios, the Hilton Bentley's in-house Greek restaurant, you can pretend you're in your very own Hellenic paradise for a fraction of the cost. The menu is seafood heavy, with shrimp and branzino flown in from Mykonos. Meat lovers can feel spoiled with the mixed grill platter ($5 upcharge) or lamb chops with a spinach salad. No matter what, everyone should sample the classic Greek appetizers, including spanakopita, dolmades, and Greek salad. Dinnertime desserts include Greek yogurt, poutinga (Greek tiramisu), and a vanilla pastry known as galaktoboureko ($10 upcharge). Miami Spice is offered daily for lunch, brunch, and dinner.
