Paradis Books & Bread

Editor's note: Paradis is no longer serving pizza—but you can still expect to find a rotating menu of seasonal dishes and bread.

Throw a library, a wine bar, some tinned fish, and a glob of sourdough starter into a cauldron, stir a few times, and you get Paradis Books & Bread. If you are even marginally interested in at least one of those ingredients, you’ll probably enjoy this little North Miami spot. But if you happen to truly love all of the aforementioned things, this might become your favorite place in Miami.

Inside, Paradis is only one room, taken up mostly by shelves full of natural wine, a square bar, and rows of books. There are a few tables and bar seating, as well as an outdoor area with round tables that are better for bigger groups. You can certainly come here just to drink, read, and chat - either with a date, a friend you haven’t seen in nine months, or by yourself. But it’d be a shame not to order at least something to snack on from their menu, which revolves around bread.

They mostly have small, snacking plates that go perfect with a bottle of wine, like crispy rye crackers with fermented scallion dip or an assortment of tinned fish served with seaweed butter and slices of fresh bread. The pizza is outstanding as well, and really unlike any slice you’ll find in Miami thanks to a delicious light brown crust that tastes like whole wheat dough that just got back from a delightful vacation with a loaf of sourdough.

photo credit: Cleveland Jennings

But, even if you come here for a very specific chunk of Paradis - books, bread, or a quiet glass of wine - you’ll probably leave appreciating this place as a whole. Paradis is a lot of different things that all come together beautifully to form something cohesive and interesting and, no, we will not be ending this sentence with a very obvious bread metaphor.

Food Rundown

The menu at Paradis changes frequently, but here are a few examples of the kind of dishes you might find here.

photo credit: Cleveland Jennings

Tinned Sardines With Bread

If you’re not already a fan of tinned fish atop a slice of good bread, you owe it to yourself to try this. But even if you already appreciate a good sardine packed in oil, this dish gives you something new to love in the form of an excellent seaweed compound butter.

photo credit: Cleveland Jennings

Lamb Pie

They sell pizza by the slice, and at least one slice of the lamb pie needs to be on your table. There’s so much we love about this pizza - from the dough that has a great balance of sweet and bitter to the little dollops of cumin labneh that so perfectly complement the lamb.

photo credit: Cleveland Jennings

Marinara

It’s really hard for us to pick a favorite between this and the lamb slice - so just get both and avoid having a meltdown at the register. The marinara slice has perfectly charred toppings of za’atar, caramelized onions, and black garlic that make each bite a sweet and savory fireworks display for your tongue.