Your Guide To: Miami, Florida
Versailles “The first thing you have to do after you arrive at the airport, even if your luggage stays in the car, is go to a place called Versailles. This place is a really old-school restaurant and you don’t even have to go inside — there’s a small window you can order from — but you have to go there and have a shot of Cuban coffee and a little bit to eat and get Cuban pastries. That’s the go-to place when you arrive in Miami. It’s like going to In-N-Out [Burger] when you get to Los Angeles.”
3555 Southwest 8th Street; 305-444-0240; versaillesrestaurant.com
Beach Baby “Checking out any Miami beach is one of the other first things I would do. The water is amazing there, the color and the warmth of it. You can walk really far out, it’s very shallow, and it’s a beautiful place to go. I used to wear my bathing suit to school so I could go to the beach after.” miamiandbeaches.com/things-to-do/beaches/miamis-best-beaches
Calle Ocho “Historical Calle Ocho is a place in the city called Little Havana, which is populated mainly by Cuban-American families and has a lot of small shops that have Cuban stuff — ice cream, food, music. There’s a place to play dominoes outside, and on Friday nights, they play music there and they invite super-famous artists in the Latin world to play on that small, little street. So it’s a place to get a feel for the Cuban-American culture in Miami.”
Southwest 8th Street, Little Havana
Pérez Art Museum Miami “There’s a really cool museum called the PAMM and I actually got engaged at this museum! It’s beautiful. It has the backdrop of the MacArthur Bridge and the bay and all the cruise ships, and this museum is populated with some of the most beautiful post-modern art there is. Every couple of weeks, they change out exhibits, but they have standing exhibits there and they’re amazing.”
1103 Biscayne Boulevard; 305-375-3000; pamm.org
Joia Beach “Joia Beach is a really cool place because it’s an outdoor space, and especially with Covid right now, it’s better to be outside. It’s an all-outdoor kind of bar/lounge and it has Tulum [Mexico] vibes. So you’re out there, you’re close to the ocean.”
1111 Parrot Jungle Trail; 305-400-7280; joiabeachmiami.com
Shelborne South Beach “The Shelborne is really historical and beautiful. There’s a great pool there. It’s super-modern and they’ve totally revamped it so I would check it out.”
1801 Collins Avenue; 305-531-1271; shelborne.com
Dadeland Mall “This is my favorite place for shopping. It’s one of the most beautiful malls in Miami and has pretty much everything you need.”
7535 North Kendall Drive; 305-665-6226; simon.com/mall/dadeland-mall
El Tiesto Cafe “This is a really cool restaurant that is a smaller-style restaurant. It’s in an area called Wynwood, which is really popular right now. It has a lot of street art and it’s where they have Art Basel. This is one little restaurant that is a fusion between Dominican and Japanese. I was blown away by this place. They have the most elaborate, intricate fusions that I’ve seen with Dominican food ever. It’s so good.”
3023 Biscayne Boulevard; 305-639-8096; eltiestocafegroup.com
Casa Juancho “You don’t think about food from Spain when you think about Miami; you think about mainly food from the Caribbean or South American countries. This is one of the oldest restaurants in Miami. It’s exceptional Spanish food and the restaurant is very romantic. They have these singers that go to each table and they sing these beautiful old Spanish songs to you.”
2436 Southwest 8th Street; 305-642-2452; casajuancho.com
