The banyan tree-lined Coral Way is one of the incredibly rare Miami streets we actually enjoy driving down. But beautiful landscaping aside, Coral Way is also home to a great and diverse selection of restaurants. Options include Japanese, Spanish tapas, Portuguese pastries, old-school Greek moussaka, Levantine shawarma wraps, a one-stop-shop for all things cheese, and lots more. But what we love most about Coral Way is that it features a great mix of special occasion restaurants and more casual spots where you can pick up a sandwich in that pair of shorts you haven’t washed in three weeks. And even though Coral Way extends as far west as Islas Canarias, this guide is focusing on that scenic stretch between Brickell and Miracle Mile.
THE SPOTS
Like the name suggests, Majestic specializes in Portuguese baked goods. But this casual spot is also a Portuguese-by-way-of-Venezuela bakery, so you can also find great Venezuelan things, like some of Miami’s best cachitos. But don’t just come here for pastries. You should absolutely order one of the traditional Portuguese sandwiches, especially the francesinha—a behemoth with several types of meat between two slices of homemade white bread surrounded by crunchy fries, drenched in a beer-infused tomato sauce, and topped with a fried egg. But if you only have enough room for a small bite, then a custardy pastel de nata is the one thing you should be walking out of here with.
Mykonos is where you'll find old-school Greek comfort food that tastes like a hug: hefty bricks of moussaka, flaky triangles of cheesy spanakopita, and a fork-tender lamb shank. It’s a pretty casual space you can stroll into without a reservation, even on a weekend, and it’s equally perfect for a friend date, a romantic date, or when you need to ask your folks for a check because your partner moved out of the Brickell apartment you got together. The inside is cute, but the covered patio is where you want to sit. It's breezy and has a nice view of Coral Way while still being far enough from the street to not choke on exhaust fumes. Make sure to finish with the galaktobouriko: phyllo pastry stuffed with custard and drizzled in hot syrup. It tastes like the love child of crème brulée and baklava.
Xixón is one of the best places in Miami to get traditional Spanish food. You'll find no modernist gels or foams here. This restaurant has a massive menu that reads like Spain’s greatest culinary hits, from smooth as silk Andalusian gazpacho to pulpo a la gallega, a simple Galician dish of braised octopus and potatoes. If you love lechón, order the cochinillo a la segoviana, a roasted suckling pig leg served with panadera potatoes and caramelized apples. The one complaint we have about this place is that there are too many good things to order in one sitting, so definitely bring friends. But if you do happen to be here on your own and only have room for a few bites, the croquetas will give any Miami bakery’s versions a run for their money.
Coral House is an Italian restaurant where dinner feels like eating in someone’s front yard. The space looks more like a house than a restaurant, and the prettiest seating is on the front patio, so save this place for a night when the weather is cooperating. The menu is Italian and includes pasta, salad, and some really good pizzas that are almost—but not quite—Neapolitan. It’s all good, but also reasonably priced, which makes this place a great spot for a casual date night or group dinner where everyone can drink wine and share pizza.
Blink and you might miss this tiny Levantine market and deli while chugging along Coral Way. If you do, let your GPS recalculate and circle back to what’s about to become your new favorite lunch spot. Middle East Best Foods makes one of the tastiest shawarma wraps in Miami. It comes on their own homemade pita with a shower of zaatar that feels more like an August thunderstorm (i.e. very generous). Also make sure to grab a spinach pie, which has soft, fluffy dough encasing a lemony spinach and onion filling. This is a tiny store, and every millimeter of space is packed with food or something to cook food with, so it’s mostly a takeout operation. But there are two tiny tables near the front where you can eat and read all the old newspaper clippings from the owner’s past life as an acclaimed chef in the Middle East.
This tiny chocolatier has been a Miami staple for some of the best chocolates in town for over 20 years. Everything is made with dark Venezuelan chocolate (70% to be precise), which is naturally sweeter and not as bitter as other varieties. It’s a great backdrop for Romanico’s creative and very Miami additions, like guava and cheese in a truffle or plantain chips in a rich chocolate bar. It’s hard to walk out of here without buying almost everything in the store. This place will make you want to petition your insurance carrier to start covering “chocotherapy” so you can pay for it all with your HSA.
We’re not sure if it’s just a coincidence that this place's name sounds like chévere, which means super cool in Spanish, but we love the double entendre because this little cheese shop is super cool and does have a great selection of goat’s milk cheeses. This is the cheese shop Miami has desperately needed, and it is the best place in town to grab some harder-to-find European cheeses, like a sharp, nutty Paski Sir from Croatia or a Fourme aux Moeulleux washed in Vouvray. You can also grab some locally made mozzarella, some of the most delicious yogurt cups we’ve ever had, luxury meats, charcuterie, and some very fancy pantry staples. It’s a great place to stock up on supplies for that picnic you’re organizing for your partner to make up for yesterday’s unapproved shopping spree.
Sushi Chef is a great, casual Japanese restaurant on Coral Way with a huge menu full of sushi, gyoza, katsu, temaki, soups, and more dishes that'll guarantee that even your pickiest friend will find something to order. The food is all really solid—although we usually focus mostly on sushi here. Not only is it good, but it's really affordable, and you can get a 34-piece sushi platter for under $50. You won’t need a reservation, and it’s a perfect low-stress weekday dinner. They also have a little market with pantry items for sale, so you can grab some yuzu extract on your way out.
We wish every gas station in Miami was like Mendez Fuel. You can definitely pick up a Zephyrhills and a pack of American Spirits here, but please don’t let that be the only thing you do. This convenience store located in a Mobile gas station is so well curated that it puts a lot of so-called gourmet shops to shame. We love it for its selection of sake and craft beers along with adaptogen-infused tonics that are perfect when you’ve discovered that last night’s partying has come at a price. The snack selection is solid, too, and includes some made-in-Miami favorites like Exquisito Chocolates and Pastelito Papi.
The Gibson Room (which used to be The Mighty) is a bar and restaurant on Coral Way. This spot comes from the Ariete team, which explains why the food menu is a lot more creative (and tasty) than what’s at your average bar. They serve an impressively crispy chicken schnitzel, strozzapreti with diced ham, foie gras flan, and more dishes that range from uni butter popcorn to oxtail and shrimp ramen. Coming here hungry is certainly a good idea, but it’s a great place to hang out regardless. Sit at the perfectly dim bar with a martini, think of names for each of the animal heads lining the wall, and enjoy the live music and vinyl DJs they host every night.
photo credit: Tasty Planet
Doggi’s is a casual Venezuelan spot with two locations in Miami. The Coral Way restaurant is the original brick and mortar, and it’s a great place to tear into a huge arepa, hot dog, or generously-stuffed pepito. Arepas are what we usually focus on here, particularly the arepa Santa Barbara filled with churrasco, tomato, avocado, and cheese. Whatever you end up ordering, take full advantage of the squeeze bottles on each table, which are filled with an outstanding garlic and parsley sauce.
The Wagyu Bar calls itself “a casual steakhouse” and it’s the only place we’re aware of where you can show up in shorts and flip-flops and order a $180 wagyu tomahawk steak or a $225 olive-fed wagyu ribeye. There are slightly more affordable things on the menu too, like some tasty tequeños, burgers, and a ton of steak options ranging from a four-ounce filet mignon to that $180 tomahawk. It is, indeed, very casual here. The dining room is small and bright, and there are TVs on the wall playing random cooking shows. This place makes a little more sense when you learn that they’re run by Meat N’ Bone, the butcher shop next door. It can be a good call if you’re ever craving some special occasion protein and aren’t in the mood to put on nice clothes.
