MIAGuide
The Best Restaurants in Little Haiti
photo credit: Cleveland Jennings
In the pie chart of foods that define Miami, Haitian and Caribbean both deserve a massive slice. And Little Haiti (as you might have guessed) is the epicenter of those foods. The oxtail and jerk chicken here are resources to be cherished like precious stones or perfectly-fitting pants. But this huge neighborhood is hiding a lot more delicious things worth your time, like a cheesy empanada we’d like to nominate for president of empanadas. You can find that and more in these Little Haiti restaurants.
THE SPOTS
If you are even in the slightest mood for Jamaican, all roads in Miami lead to Clive’s. This classic Little Haiti spot makes our favorite versions of so many Jamaican dishes, like their excellent jerk chicken. But there are more phenomenal staples worth ordering: curry goat, oxtail, ackee and saltfish, and conch served steamed, fried, or in a curry. Needless to say, making a decision here can be a difficult thing. But whatever you get will probably fall right off the bone and come with a side of rice and peas big enough to use as a pillow. Clive’s works for both takeout or dine-in, and we firmly consider a fork full of equal parts Clive's mac and cheese, plantain, and jerk chicken to be the best bite one can have in Miami.
It doesn’t take a detective to figure out that Fiorito is an Argentinian spot. Their logo incorporates Diego Maradona’s jersey number and the very good menu includes quite a lot of beef. But you don’t have to just eat red meat here. They also have some tasty octopus, butternut squash soup, and quite possibly our favorite empanada in town. It’s called the empanada de choclo, and it’s a circular little disk filled with a stretchy center of cheese and sweet corn. Order it.
Piman Bouk is a classic Haitian bakery in the heart of Little Haiti. The main event here are Haitian patties, which are flaky and more similar to a croissant than a Jamaican patty. They come filled with either cod or beef. Piman Bouk keeps them warm and ready to eat all day—which is probably why they almost always have a line out the door. Other good things here include coconut bread and tablet pistache, a crunchy Haitian peanut brittle. And just know that it’s cash only, so hit up an ATM on the way.
photo credit: Cleveland Jennings / @eatthecanvasllc
A Bavarian Alps après-ski-themed restaurant in Little Haiti sure feels like the suggestion of a chatbot someone spilled water on. But we're glad to have another good German food option in a city without many. Cuckoo Clock serves schnitzel that stays juicy despite being pounded ultra-thin and pretzels that go well with käsefondue—just about the only fondue you'll find in Miami outside The Melting Pot. Bring a group of friends to down cold German beer and big portions of crispy pork in a room that feels like a ski lodge, and briefly pretend we live in a city that gets snow.
The food at Naomi’s is great. The jerk chicken, oxtail, and fried snapper are all just about as good as you’ll find in Little Haiti, but the food isn’t even our favorite thing about this place. We love Naomi’s little garden seating area, which you could easily miss from the street. It’s a lush, comfortable courtyard where you can befriend a rooster, lay in a hammock, and really feel like you’re eating on an island in the Caribbean.
photo credit: Cleveland Jennings
If you're in need of a lunch break that'll help you forget how bad the first half of your day has been going, go to Sur. The casual spot has a small menu of sandwiches, empanadas, and salads. It's all really delicious—especially the simple brie and salami sandwich. Their empanadas are also some of our favorite Argentinian empanadas in town. But please try to come here on Friday, when they make excellent Argentinian pizza by the slice. The dining room has counter seating good for solo diners and tables perfect for a lunch date. It's a great place to work or just hang out for a lazy meal.
Adelita’s is a great Honduran restaurant that works for takeout, breakfast, or a casual dinner. We loved everything we tried here, which includes the pupusa de chicharron y quesillo and chicken tacos, which came crispy and rolled up into little cigar shapes. But, whatever you order, don’t skip the baleadas. The baleada con pollo comes with chicken, refried beans, and sour cream folded inside a thick and fluffy flour tortilla.
Chef Creole is to Miami Haitian food what Pitbull is to Miami music. It’s probably the first name that comes to mind, and for good reason. Chef Creole not only has a location in the Miami airport, but it’s a classic Little Haiti spot—serving solid versions of dishes like griot, oxtail, and fried fish. It’s also got a lovely outdoor dining area that’s a great place to have a beer and really concentrate on getting every molecule of meat out of your oxtail.
The Vegan Marie is a vegan restaurant and shop where the food options change just about daily. It's one of those places where you find out what's on the menu by having a conversation with the chef, who'll happily tell you what they have that day. It could be a spicy seaweed wrap, or a filling platter of legumes, chickpeas, veggie balls, and perfectly ripe avocados. But it'll probably be very tasty. The space is sort of a cross between restaurant, botánica, and market. They also sell a housemade cocktail called Chiré Pantalèt (translation: you don't want to know). It's a dangerously good mixture of sugarcane moonshine, passionfruit, and ginger that you most definitely want in your fridge.
Piman Bouk is an essential stop for anyone looking to get into Haitian food. It’s located right in the heart of Little Haiti, with a simple setup inside of wooden tables, low ceilings, and an air-conditioning unit that could use an update. But you can cool down with a soursop juice while you look over the menu, which reads like a greatest hits of Haitian food. The fried goat, oxtail, stewed pork—it’s very good—so maybe come with a couple friends who are down to split things. Just a head’s up: it’s cash only.
The name of this cash only Haitian bakery explains what you should be eating here: ice cream. It’s rich and creamy, almost closer in consistency to sorbet. Their tropical flavors come in a handful of varieties like pineapple, passionfruit, strawberry and more refreshing scoops that are incredibly appropriate on a hot summer day. But they also serve a handful of very tasty meat patties here, which resemble pastelitos in the texture and flakiness of the dough. They’re stuffed with chicken, beef, and herring, and are the perfect size for a snack before dinner if you happen to have a late reservation at Boia De down the street.
Chez Le Bebe is another spot in Little Haiti that focuses on a handful of Haitian dishes—specifically griot, which they do very well. Here the fried chunks of pork are super fatty and come with big piles of rice and beans, a salad, and a pork jus for dipping. It’s a portion you can easily split with a friend at one of the plastic-lined tables inside this little restaurant, which is cash only, by the way.
