MIAGuide
The Best Key Lime Pie In Miami
photo credit: Emily Schindler
Yes, the key lime pie capitol of the world is technically three and a half hours south of Miami. But we are still a city that loves its key lime pie. And thankfully for the folks who don’t feel like getting stuck in bumper-to-bumper traffic on the Overseas Highway, there are no shortage of places in Miami making excellent versions of key lime pie. Here are our favorites.
THE SPOTS
photo credit: Cleveland Jennings
No one messes with Florida’s favorite dessert as impressively as Sweet Delights Key Lime Pies in Florida City. This little one-baker operation takes the classic pie and infuses it with local tropical fruits to make flavors we’ve never seen before. Here’s how a visit to Sweet Delights Key Lime Pies goes: you walk into a small storefront and are greeted by baker/literal angel Debra Allen. After welcoming you, she conducts a brief interrogation about your pie interests, then returns with a big tray of samples—like banana key lime, mamey key lime, sweet potato key lime, and more hybrid slices that work exceedingly well. There are about a dozen more options, and they’re all, in our opinion, the best key lime pies in the state of Florida. This is strictly a takeout operation, so prepare to eat in your car or bring a cooler to protect your pies on the drive home.
Little River’s Cindy Lou’s is our favorite place to go when we want to stock up on desserts like the world is ending. They make cookies, brownies, and—the reason they’re on this guide—an outstanding key lime pie. Here’s the thing: it’s a special, not a regular menu item. So call them before you come and they’ll tell you if they have it (or when they’ll be making it next). It’s worth the effort. Cindy Lou’s version has a nice tartness to it, a layer of torched meringue, and one of our favorite graham cracker crusts of any pie on this guide. It has just enough butter holding it together so it’s crunchy but won’t chip a tooth. Also, if you get it while it’s fresh, you can experience the rare joy that is biting into a warm key pie.
Alright, before you launch your angry email/comment/messenger pigeon our way: We know. This is not a key lime pie. But Over Under’s sour orange pie does taste like a spiritual cousin to the key lime pie—the menu description for it states, “Picture key lime pie, except with a fruit that we actually get from Florida.” It’s got a very similar flavor profile. Plus, it’s so damn good. The sour orange gives off a perfect tartness. It's topped with a glob of torched meringue and built on a salty crust made from crushed Saltines. We actually like this better than about 96 percent of South Florida's key lime pies.
Blue Collar’s key lime pie is like everything else on the MiMo restaurant’s menu: big, comforting, and delicious. If the crust is your favorite part of a key lime pie, you’re going to like Blue Collar’s. The graham cracker crust accounts for nearly half the pie. The filling strikes a great balance between sweet and tart, and it comes with a huge plop of fresh whipped cream. These are made for Blue Collar (and their sister restaurant, Mignonette) by a local baker who goes by the excellent handle misspieami.
If you go to Joe’s and don’t end the meal with a key lime pie, the servers should be allowed to pelt you with stone crab claws until you apologize. Joe’s version is an absolute classic, perfectly thawed from the freezer to the ideal temperature with just enough of that tart citrus punch. You also don’t have to go through the effort of getting a table at Joe’s to have this. Just go next door to Joe's Take Away and get it to-go. If you order a whole pie, it’ll come with an entire can of whipped cream, too. We like that ratio.
photo credit: Courtesy DBakers
In the Miami key lime pie awards, Dbakers easily wins the category of Most Impressive Meringue. The layer of torched meringue that covers the slice is literally bigger than the pie itself, and quite satisfying to plunge a fork through. But Dbakers’ key lime pie isn’t just about looks. It’s also really good—especially if you like your pies more on the tart end of the spectrum. The crust ratio is also on point, and visiting this little Midtown spot means you can bring home more beautiful looking (and tasting) cookies, cupcakes, and slices of pie.
photo credit: Emily Schindler
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Eating at Kush Wynwood has always been about getting just a little too full. So their key lime pie is appropriately massive. The huge slice has an ultra-thick graham cracker crust that’ll require some effort to break through, and comes topped with a healthy scoop of fresh whipped cream and an additional crumble of graham cracker. It’s a maximalist pie for sure, but it’s got a nice sweet/tart balance too. You can find it on the menu at the many Kush locations throughout Miami as well as at their Coconut Grove sister restaurant, Lokal.
