MIAGuide
Where To Eat Outside In South Beach
photo credit: Courtesy Tropezon
In Miami, any day that falls below 77 degrees is a day that demands an outdoor table. So save the air-conditioned dining rooms for our stupidly hot summer and use this guide. It has all our favorite outdoor spots in South Beach, including poolside sushi, pasta by the water, rooftop pizza, and more.
THE SPOTS
photo credit: Courtesy Blue Ribbon
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On the spectrum of $200-per-person omakase dinners and places that serve sushi rolls under $15, you’ll find Blue Ribbon just about in the middle, tilted slightly towards the fancier side of the scale. This spot serves high-quality fish (and a great fried chicken you should order) inside a cute little art deco hotel. It's a good option for a fancy-ish dinner in South Beach. We really like the outdoor seating alongside the hotel's pool, which is the move on a pretty night.
Macchialina is one of the absolute best Italian restaurants in Miami. The menu has about six phenomenal pasta options, and each one feels like a final draft, edited to near perfection without so much as one superfluous fragment of parmesan on the plate (dessert is a must-order too). This place used to be a small indoor restaurant, but they debuted some new outdoor seating during the pandemic, taking over the hostel next door. It's not only a very cute patio situation, but has made booking a table here a lot easier. Plus, it’s (mostly) covered in case of random thunderstorms.
Editor Pizza serves really solid pasta, salad, and pizza in a pretty, narrow space. We really like this place because it’s casual yet stylish, fun but not cosplaying as a nightclub, and (for the neighborhood it's in) reasonably priced. The dining room is an indoor/outdoor space, but if that's not outdoor enough for you, ask for a table on their rooftop patio, where they serve pizza, empanadas, cocktails, and there's no ceiling in sight.
photo credit: Adrian Gaut
Lido is an outdoor restaurant located inside The Standard in Miami Beach. The waterfront view (not the food) is definitely the main attraction here. Stick to small plates that are hard to mess up, like hummus or shrimp cocktail. But it is worth putting up with average, expensive hotel food for this view. And if we're judging by atmosphere alone, it's one of the best waterfront spots in town. They also have Happy Hour Mon-Thu from 4-6pm, with $5 beer and snacks from $4-8.
Tropezón is an an Andalusian gin and tapas bar on Española Way. And not only is it worth weaving through the street’s omnipresent crowd of tourists, but it’s one of our favorite spots in South Beach. The space—a 50/50 split between a bar and dining room—is exactly the kind of spot where you can spend a couple hours grazing on small plates and sipping gin. They don't have a huge outdoor seating area, but they do have a very cute little secluded courtyard that's a wonderful place to sit on a breezy night. Just make a reservation to guarantee a patio table.
Bebito’s is a cafe just off Alton Road—but far enough from the busy street to feel relatively peaceful. They have a decent amount of outdoor seating on their spacious front patio. This is a breakfast/brunch/lunch spot. They have coffee and a menu of egg dishes, bowls, short rib croquetas, sandwiches, and some sweet pastries. It’s walk-in friendly, so there's also no need for a reservation. It's also a good place to crack open a laptop and get some work done.
photo credit: Tasty Planet
There is no dining room or walls or ceiling at Sandwicherie, only a sidewalk counter you can sit at. So we're counting it as an outdoor restaurant. Plus, this place is a classic. It’s hard not to cross paths with this little sidewalk sandwich cafe eventually. Maybe it’ll be for some 3am late-night food after beers at Mac’s across the street, or 3pm after a long, hot beach day. But you will find yourself here at some point, and when you do, get the Napoli on a baguette, locate the squeeze bottle of vinaigrette, and shower your sandwich in sauce until you can’t see the bread anymore.
Bodega does the trick if you're looking for some casual tacos and a frozen margarita. This place also has a club in the back, which is why it sometimes looks obnoxiously crowded around midnight on the weekends. If you’re just there for tacos, walk past the line, go inside, and find the register to the left. Eat on one of the picnic benches outside and enjoy some top-notch people-watching.
photo credit: Cleveland Jennings
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This Argentinian restaurant is one of the best options in South of Fifth when you’re looking for something between take-out and take-out-a-loan, which is a small circle for this area. But Orilla is stylish enough to remind you that you are, in fact, in South Beach, and the outdoor seating along 5th Street is about as close as you want to get to eating on Ocean Drive. They have some small plates like excellent empanadas, but you're coming here for a big steak (and possibly a martini). They also have a very good wagyu cheeseburger that's worth ordering. When it’s nice out, the northern wall opens like a garage door, which makes every table feel like an outdoor table.
