“The World’s Most Famous Cuban Restaurant”...and you’re most recommended Miami restaurant. Founded in 1971 by a Cuban refugee who bought a spot for a restaurant on Calle Ocho and named it after the French mirrors etched into the walls. For over fifty years, this is where the Cuban diaspora has gathered - for cafecito through the ventanita walk-up window and for ropa vieja, croquetas and steak in the mirrored dining room. Celebrities eat here. Presidents campaign here. The James Beard Foundation named it an American Classic. A Miami experience wouldn’t be complete without it.

Fans recommend: Vaca frita. Palomilla steak. Ropa Vieja. Pan Con Bistec.

If Versailles is the most famous Cuban restaurant, Sanguich is the most famous Cuban sandwich - maybe our most recommended sandwich in any host city. The shop opened as just a shipping container on Calle Ocho in 2017 and now has five places around the city. The secret to the sanguich? Make everything from scratch. The ham is brined for days. The lechon is marinated for 24 hours. The mustard and pickles are made in-house. The bread is brushed with rendered lard before pressing. Michelin Bib Gourmand four years running. Men in Blazers Gourmand now.

Fans Recommend: Cuban Sanguich. Croqueta Preparada Sanguich.

You can’t say you’ve had all the best Cuban food in Miami without the West Miami institution that is Islas Canarias. The croqueta kings since 1977 - ask any local and they’ll tell you the same thing. The ham croquetas are made in-house from original family recipes, golden and crispy outside, creamy within. The full menu runs deep into classic Cuban - vaca frita, oxtail stew, fried whole snapper, bistec empanizado - but the croquetas are the reason people drive to Westchester. Grab some with a cafecito and your afternoon is all set.

Fans recommend: Croquetas.

Our Cuban tour ends with the place to get dinner and a show - Cafe La Trova in Little Havana. Opened in 2019 by a legendary cantinero and a James Beard Award-winning chef, La Trova is the upscale end of Little Havana's Cuban experience. The cuban-inspired food is fine-dining quality - croquetas, empanadas, skirt steak ropa vieja. The drinks set up is elite - bartenders are suited up, mixing classic daiquiris and mojitos with the ceremony of old Havana. And the music sets the ideal Miami atmosphere - live trova musicians play every night. Local fans recommended it a ton. Dress code enforced. If you’re trying to feel a little fancy during your tournament trip, this is the spot.

Fans recommend: Croquetas. Empanadas.

Before Wynwood had murals, before it had galleries, before it had anything, there was Enriqueta's. Owned originally by Jose Luis Pla and now his daughters, this counter-service sandwich shop has been feeding construction workers, galleristas, food critics and celebrities from the same short-order kitchen for decades. You specifically called out the Pan con Bistec - steak, onions, potato sticks and Swiss cheese on Cuban bread - and the Croqueta Preparada - a Cuban sandwich with a croqueta pressed inside (which is madness). The only thing more beautiful than the food is the artwork on the building and the Dwyane Wade mural inside. Closes for regular service at 3pm, grab takeout til 9pm.

Fans recommend: Tostón Sandwich. Pan con bistec.

A diner on Biscayne Boulevard that dates back to the 1960s and is one of our fans’ most beloved Miami breakfast icons. All booths, all-day breakfast and all-world size omelettes exactly how you’d want at your classic diner. They’ve got no instagram and no real website, yet one of the final scenes of an Oscar-winning movie - Moonlight - was shot here in 2016. One of the beautifully archaic juxtapositions in a city filled with combinations of old and new. Opens at 7, closes at 3:30pm.

One of your favorite breakfast spots in the city is the Venezuelan bakery and cafe Caracas Bakery. Founded by a Venezuelan father-and-son in 2014, their concept is Venezuelan-French - croissants and baguettes made with the technique of a Paris boulangerie and the flavors of Caracas. The cachito de jamón, a buttery pastry packed with savory ham, is the signature. James Beard nominated twice for Outstanding Pastry Chef or Baker. The MiMo location on Biscayne has an open kitchen where you can watch the bakers work

Fans recommend: Tequeños. Cachito de Jamón. Pan Dulce.

Your Miami bagel king: El Bagel. A local bagel shop borne from a food truck, everything is done in house - they mix, shape, hand-roll, slow ferment and bake every bagel. Bagels, breakfast and sandwiches every day until they sell out. Bon Appétit named it one of the best bagels outside New York in 2023. They also now have a space in the Fontainebleau Las Vegas. Legit excellent bagels in Miami. Order online ahead — weekend waits can stretch over an hour, and they sell out. Closed Tuesdays.

A Miami Beach icon and elder statesman of Miami seafood, you made sure we had Joe’s Stone Crab on our list. Opened as a lunch counter in 1913 (!), before Miami Beach even had paved roads (!!), it’s still owned by the same family over 100 years later and has grown to legendary status. It’s been Michelin recommended, it’s been named a James Beard American Classic and is now one of Men in Blazer’s Starting XI. The treble. It can’t all be perfect - stone crabs are unfortunately out of season during the summer…but the lobster rolls, fried chicken and key lime pie will not be.

Fans recommend: Stone Crabs. Fried Chicken. Lobster Roll.

A vibey, one-of-a-kind low-and-slow BBQ joint with great cocktails and amazing desert…Apocalypse BBQ. A Miami-only combination that our fans are obsessed with. They serve up what they call “Miami Style” BBQ. That means Cornbread Churros. Brisket Empanadas. CAFECITO RIBS. Traditional BBQ techniques with Cuban flair and creativity has made this place pop since it opened in 2022.. Come early - weekends will have a decent line, but they hand out free beer while you wait…so hopefully the line is really long! Closed Mondays and Tuesdays usually but let’s hope they let it rip for the World Cup.

Fans recommend: Cafecito ribs.

Our first Miami triple threat is local gem Gramps Getaway. The rare spot to get high praise as a watering hole, a place to watch the game and as a must-eat. With the Wynwood location closing in January, the waterfront outpost in Key Biscayne takes all the shine, as it should. Right on the Rickenbacker Causeway, you’ve got an open-air palapa bar with views of the Brickell skyline and a food menu that’s insane. Smash burgers, blackened fish sandwiches, conch fritters, smoked fish dip, oysters, lobster rolls. Elite beach bar vibes with a well above average restaurant.

Fans Recommend: Lobster Rolls

A “ subtroppi honki tonk” in the historic DuPont Building downtown, Over Under straddles the line between DRINK and EAT, worthy of inclusion in both. You said it’s a great watering hole and it’s open til 3am, so we file it in the libations column - but the food is serious enough that Miami New Times named it Best Chicken Sandwich in 2025. It leans in the Florida of everything wonderfully - a neon mosquito behind the bar, fried alligator on the menu, burgers made with local beef. Come for drinks, stay for dinner, end up doing karaoke. Open until 3am Thursday through Saturday.

One of your favorite Miami dives is a strip mall brewpub and pizzeria named after Japanese kaiju - Strange Beast. House-brewed beers on tap and gas-fired pizzas, all with Godzilla v. Mothra energy. Happy hour weekdays 5-to-8, $20 bottomless mimosas on Sundays. Karaoke. Trivia. Dog-friendly patio. Get stuck in at a real and real weird local Miami gem. Open until 2am on weekends.

Another rec that finds itself firmly in two categories is a legendary Coral Gables bar named simply…The Bar. It has that name because it wasn’t taken when it opened in 1946 as the only bar in a previously dry town. It’s a soccer spot that can carry a big crowd to watch games - it’s the Arsenal headquarters in Miami - but it originally opened as a beer hall and that’s the spirit of the place, an awesome space to gather and drink. Another great Miami neighborhood bar that has all the food, screens and space you need.

Founded in 2005 by Miami-raised siblings from Cuba, Tinta y Café - ink and coffee - is an elevation of the ventanitas (walk-up windows) Miami is known for. They took the window concept and turned it into a full coffee shop that also makes a hell of a Cuban. Ventanita gigante. Cafecitos and croquetas in the morning, more cafecito and sandwiches in the afternoon. Michelin Bib Gourmand. MiB approved. Open til 5pm on weekdays, 4pm on weekends.

Miami is a coffee and cafecito town, so you had to get in another coffee recommendation, this one the first specialty roaster in the city - Panther Coffee. Founded in 2010 in Wynwood just after the Wynwood Walls, Panther’s been roasting small-batch single-origin beans in the neighborhood since it was still a raw, industrial space. It’s got recognized quite a bit since then, including multiple places saying it’s one of the best coffee spots in the world. It’s been so good in Miami for so long, they’ve got five locations across the city and local shops in Traverse City, MI and Greenwich Village in NYC.

El rey of watching futbol en Miami is of course a German bierhaus. Fritz & Franz in Coral Gables is your undisputed belt-holder of soccer bars in the city. A Miami bierhaus and sports bar that’s been around since 1997 and is beloved by the community, you recommended it more than anywhere else to watch the beautiful game. German beers, schnitzel, sausages, long communal tables indoors and the “largest indoor screen in Miami”. They will go jamon for the World Cup, as you could expect - they’re already planning on shutting down the street outside and making the whole thing a block party for straight tourney.

A family-owned, authentic Irish pub in downtown Miami across from the courthouse, The Auld Dubliner makes the esteemed shortlist of Vice City soccer bars. The Miami Celtic Supporters Club calls it home, which should give you all the validation you need for the place. It has all the trimmings of the authentic Irish pub, including the shepherds pie and the atmosphere. You called it out as a place to be during the games, but also a good pregame option if you want to get to the stadium (15 miles north) from downtown. A train and shuttle or rideshare are going to be your best options from anywhere, a spot like The Auld Dubs isn’t a bad starting point.

The official Liverpool bar of Miami, run by a true Liverpudlian - Mickey - holds down the soccer watching on Miami Beach and is one of your most recommended bars for soccer. It’s got the English pub roots to make a Liverpool fan feel like home, but levels up with just the right amount of Miami sports bar shine. Craft cocktails, local brews, great food…throw in some live music and a last call that doesn’t ring until 4am on weekends and you’ve got the perfect South Beach version of a great soccer bar.

The first sports bar in Wynwood, one local fans said needed to be on the list - Grails. This is your space eater sports bar executed at a high level - 70+ TVs, a massive outdoor patio and a sneaker-themed interior decked out with rare kicks and one-of-a-kind art. You can even get cocktails in ceramic glasses shaped like Jordan 1s and 3s. The energy is high, the crowd is international and for the Cup this will be one of the loudest rooms in the city. If you’re with a group, this is the place that can hold you.

A Coral Gables neighborhood bar with a great gameday breakfast that you said is one of Miami’s best soccer watching spots. The Brightside was transplanted to Coral Way by a New Yorker who bartended for ten years in Manhattan before moving to Miami and building the bar the area was missing. It’s a Man U bar and a Buffalo Bills bar - a combo in America that usually means people very fun to watch a game with. The happy hour every day 4-to-7 and all day Tuesday confirms that. Feel the Western New York roots with their signature Beef on Weck sandwich.

An extra entry into our Drink 5-A-Side, you made sure we included Lost Boy Dry Goods, a downtown soccer dive that started its existence as a denim shop. It officially became a bar in 2018 and has been a Downtown anchor ever since. It resides in the historic Alfred duPont Building on Flagler Street, one block from the courthouse. You could call it English pub meets Colorado saloon: a long wooden bar, vintage cowboy boots on the shelf and an old piano in the middle of the room. Throw in some pool tables and awesome pizza on top. Open until 3am Monday through Saturday.

A classic cars and vintage guitars shop in Wynwood, Walt Grace’s is a truly unique Miami spot our fans love. The owner quit his advertising job to start this dream shop in 2017, named it after the John Mayer song of the same name and almost a decade later it’s one of the cooler spots in one of Miami’s coolest neighborhoods. Vintage exotic cars on the floor, rare vintage guitars on the walls and a cafe inside with great coffee. Guitar World named it one of the five best guitar stores in the world.

Built between 1914 and 1922 as the winter estate of agricultural industrialist James Deering, Vizcaya was designed to look like an Italian villa that had stood for 400 years — 34 decorated rooms, ten acres of formal Italian Renaissance gardens, and a mangrove shoreline on Biscayne Bay. At the time construction began, Miami had a population of around 10,000. More than 1,000 workers built it. Deering was a Great Gatsby figure — unmarried, fond of lavish parties, and reportedly smuggling drinks through Prohibition for his guests. A National Historic Landmark, now owned by Miami-Dade County. Closed Tuesdays.

Miami's locally owned independent bookseller, specializing in art, design, and architecture, with a bustling café and a community gem atmosphere. The most highly-cited shop/store, recommended as a great place to wander around, get coffee, and enjoy the community.

An independent music store and all-ages event space in Little Haiti, selling new and used vinyl, cassettes, and more, with a coffee bar and a reputation as a local cultural hub. A highly-cited, unique spot for music lovers and record collectors in the Little Haiti neighborhood.

Miami's premier sneaker boutique, known for its curated selection of limited-edition footwear, street-style apparel, and collaborations with major brands. A consistently recommended shop for sneakers, apparel, and clothing.