1. Greenstreet Cafe
City: Coconut Grove, FL
Category: Restaurants
Telephone: (305) 444-0244
Address: 3468 Main Hwy.
Insider Pick:
Description: Greenstreet is an all-around ideal spot for a variety of crowds; there is a solid menu, beautiful outdoor seating, and great happy hour specials throughout the week. The outdoor seating offers prime people-watching real estate in Coconut Grove and is known to attract celebrities from time to time. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner are served and there is a mixture of food types to choose from. Standard American, Mediterranean, and Italian dishes overwhelm the menu, so it’s simple to find agreeable dishes for everyone—think hummus, sirloin burgers, and pasta dishes on the same menu.
2. George’S In The Grove
City: Coconut Grove, FL
Category: Restaurants
Telephone: (305) 444-7878
Address: 3145 Commodore Plaza
Description: Modern French cuisine and disco balls? While it may seem like an unlikely pairing, at highly animated chef and local celebrity Georges-Eric Farge’s namesake restaurant it seems to somehow make sense. Farge set out to bring innovative French fare to Coconut Grove along with his natural panache and showmanship. He maintains the standards diners have come to expect from a good French restaurant—an excellent wine list, well-executed entrees, and lavish desserts. The salmon tartare, steak au poivre, and slow-cooked lamb shank are all menu highlights. While a meal at George’s will most likely not be a quiet one, it will almost certainly be fun and delicious.
3. Bombay Darbar Indian Restaurant
City: Coconut Grove, FL
Category: Restaurants
Telephone: (305) 444-7272
Address: 3195 Commodore Plaza
Description: Try not to fill up on the crispy papadum wafers once seated at this tiny Indian restaurant. The menu is full of rich, unexpected dishes like lamb roganjosh (lamb cooked in tomato sauce and yogurt) and butter chicken (chicken cooked in a tomato cashew sauce). Vegetarians have plenty of soups, curries, and vegetable entrees to choose from as well. And any carb cravings can easily be satisfied with an order of warm naan.
City: Coconut Grove, FL
Category: Restaurants
Address: 3067 Grand Ave.
5. Mary’S Coin Laundry And Cafeteria
City: Coconut Grove, FL
Category: Restaurants
Telephone: (305) 443-6672
Address: 2542 SW 27th Ave.
Description: What began as a neighborhood laundromat in 1982 acquired a coffee window and then grew into a Coconut Grove staple for late-night grub. It’s open 24 hours a day so it attracts an eclectic crowd. Don’t leave without ordering the medianoche sandwich, a Cuban staple with ham, roast pork, Swiss cheese, pickles, and mustard. Other best sellers include the cafe con leche and milkshakes.
6. Monty’S Stone Crab And Seafood
City: Coconut Grove, FL
Category: Restaurants
Telephone: (305) 856-3992
Address: 2550 South Bayshore Dr.
Description: Florida stone crab season runs from mid October through mid May, but Monty’s is busy year-round. Monty’s serves stone crabs throughout the year from other locales when Florida is out of season. It’s the ultimate casual outdoor joint to scarf down seafood, especially during happy hour when stone crabs are half the price. The late-night crowd flocks to Monty’s for outdoor dancing and drinking under the stars. There is a second Monty’s location in Miami Beach at 300 Alton Rd., Miami Beach (305-672-1148; www.montyssouthbeach.com).