Miami Restaurants

[AKtraveling]

I will be staying in Miami Beach and I am looking for South Beach restaurant recommendations. I am not into the club scene, but I would like a dining experience with great food and great people watching. A friend mentioned Touch and Nobu.

Also, what is the best time for Tuesday-Thursday night dinner at South Beach. I made the mistake of making a 7pm on Saturday reservation at a restaurant in LA (Bridge) and we were the only ones there!!!!

Thanks!

[netmover]

OLA
Osteria del Teatro
Nemo

[scubadoo97]

I really had a great meal at Pacific Time

[Frodnesor]

Nobu has very good food (quite pricey) and is definitely a people-watching spot, although some complain that they don't like the space (it does feel a bit like you're sitting in the bottom of a drained pool). Can also have drinks outside at the SkyBar before your meal.

Touch is a sort of silly place and the food is so-so.

Social in the Sagamore Hotel is another "in" place. Menu was done by celeb chef Michelle Bernstein, lots of small dishes so you can try several things. I've only been once and it was a bit hit or miss but still fun.
http://www.chinagrillmgt.com/socMI/main.cfm?pp=0

Prime 112 is another hot-spot. I've not been so can't personally vouch for it, but several other 'hounds regularly recommend, especially for the side dishes.
http://www.prime112.com/

I had a good meal at Table 8 (14th & Ocean in the Regent Hotel) and the open space with the big bar also probably makes it a good people-watching space. We were there on Boat Show weekend and so it was filled with a luxury yacht crowd, but I imagine most times it's a little less blue-blazer-ish.

7 is early by South Beach standards, most places start filling up by 8 - 8:30. Nobu does not take reservations for small groups and I've found the best way to get in is to get there early, have a drink, and mill around till they open the doors to the restaurant.

[johnloomis]

Another spot in the same strip of SoBe that I had my first experience at this week is David Bouley Evolution, located in the Ritz Carlton on Collins/Lincoln. Great food, interesting design/decor, but expensive as well.

I'm not sure if anyone else has had this problem at Bouley, but our party was pretty put off by the restaurant's rule that their tasting menu must to be ordered by the whole table, and not per the individual diner. The policy really seems pretty ridiculous to me, and I have never run into that before.

[lax2mia]

I don't think it's unusual for a restaurnat to require the entire table to get a tasting menu just because the logistics of getting the food out at the same time are tough. I think what the restaurant wants to avoid is having persons at the same table with a differing number of courses. Imagine half the table orders a la carte and is done, waiting for dessert and the other half is only on course 3 of 5 or 6 courses. I don't think it's an onerous thing of the restaurant to ask.

[Frodnesor]

I've seen restaurants that require all diners to have the tasting menu and others that do not, but I'm not surprised by it. What I've often seen in places that do not require all diners to have the tasting menu is that they will often fill in for the other diner with a couple "gratis" dishes so they're not just staring at their dining partner while he/she gorges him/herself.

I should qualify that by saying I've seen that done in other cities - SF, NY. Don't know that I've seen it anywhere in Miami, though there are actually not many places I'm aware of that even do tasting menus here. I can think of Nobu (the omakase chef's choice), Norman's, Chef Allen (haven't been in ages), I think Talula is now doing a 7-course, and Timo does a nice 4-course. Haven't tried Evolution yet. Any places I'm missing?

[johnloomis]

I've had that happen as well... where the restaurant will fill in the dead space for the 1 member of your party who isn't interested in a tasting menu. It seems like there are a growing large handful of places in Miami who have tasting menu options... 8 1/2, Cacao, Talula, and probably several others the two of us can't think of...