Whether a regular at synagogue or a less-structured believer who enjoys worshipping in the sun and sand, there’s a fit for everyone in our diverse and inclusive Sunshine State. The same goes for restaurants — for those wanting a kosher-friendly meal, these spots offer plenty of flavor to keep diners coming back year-round.
1. Motek Aventura – Mediterranean Cafe & Restaurant
19565 Biscayne Blvd #938
Aventura, FL 33180
(305) 974-2626
Like its original location in Downtown Miami, family-owned Motek Cafe’s second outpost serves eye-catching kosher-style Israeli Mediterranean dishes like Jerusalem grilled cheese and Malawach Yemenite pancake. There are six hummus iterations to choose from, customized majadra rice bowls, and the tempting Arayes burger on pita bread, stuffed with Lebanese grilled beef that was just awarded the winner of Burger Bash 2021. Glasses of refreshing limonama and challah bread pudding are the perfect final touches. The spacious indoor/outdoor restaurant is open on the Sabbath and on most Jewish holidays.
2. Fresko
19048 NE 29th Ave
Aventura, FL 33180
(786) 272-3737
This casual kosher restaurant gives a nod to its South American roots with breakfast offerings like tequenos and an arepa platter. Lunch explores other culinary corners of the world with dishes like Greek pizza, crispy fish tacos, sushi ceviche, and gnocchi in a creamy pesto served with sun dried tomatoes, goat cheese, and toasted almonds.
3. Etzel Itzik Deli
18757 Dixie Hwy
Miami, FL 33180
(305) 937-1546
This bustling Aventura staple tucked away in a nondescript strip mall is the quickest way to get to Tel-Aviv without purchasing a plane ticket. As soon as diners sit they are greeted with a generous (free) assortment of salatim — small samples of beet, corn, and carrot salads, which are the typical start to a meal in Israel. The menu is plentiful and diverse, with comfort foods, a doting safta (grandma) would serve. Orders of hummus and falafel, Yemenite beef soup, chicken liver with onions, schnitzel, or lamb chops are common favorites among Israeli regulars. Make sure to wash it down with a lemonnana a refreshing lemon and mint slushy.
4. Fuego by Mana
3861 NE 163rd St
North Miami Beach, FL 33160
(786) 520-4082
This restaurant combines Latin American steaks with a Texan smokehouse, all under a kosher stamp. Starters include pastrami egg rolls and chicken wings with a choice of three sauces. There are tacos, flatbreads, and empanadas filled with pulled brisket, caramelized onions, barbecue sauce, and roasted red peppers. Grilled dishes are plentiful like the Argentine churrasco, asado chef platter, and Fuego chicken skewers, alongside smoked dishes like smoked pastrami back ribs and smoked fried chicken breast.
5. 26 Sushi & Tapas
9487 Harding Ave
Surfside, FL 33154
(305) 570-2626
Inventive kosher-friendly sushi and nikkei-style dishes are the star at this Surfside mainstay. Think dishes like nitro “scallops” (made from flounder tempura), causa grab tower, nikkei tuna salad, and nao ceviche ball, a traditional corvina ceviche tempura-battered with panko and that’s deep fried. Other highlights include the tropical roll (tuna, salmon, kiwi, guava and dynamite sauce topped with tuna and rococo aioli), crispy kani roll (soy paper, plantains, avocado, scallions, and cream cheese topped with Krab tempura, masago, and curry aioli) and the acevichado roll made with whitefish tempura, sweet potato, and avocado topped with corvina ceviche.
6. The Harbour Grill
9415 Harding Ave
Surfside, FL 33154
(305) 861-0787
The upscale kosher restaurant, and the recently-opened the Harbour Bistro next door, aim to serve kosher fare in a modern setting. Truffle Cesar salad, smoked beef risotto, a charcuterie platter for two, and a Outlaw Steak, may signal this spot to be solely meat-centric, but the extensive sushi, chicken, and fish options prove there is something for everyone.
7. Zak the Baker
295 NW 26th St
Miami, FL 33127
(786) 294-0876
Beyond the mandatory loaf or two to take home at this cult-followed bakery, diners can swing by for breakfast or lunch with specialties like the breakfast sandwich: a cheddar cheese omelette, avocado, and tomato folded into toasted sourdough country wheat bread or the salmon reuben sandwich topped with sauerkraut, thousand island dressing, and Swiss cheese hot pressed on sourdough Jewish rye bread.
8. Plant Miami
105 NE 24th St
Miami, FL 33137
(305) 814-5365
Set inside wellness-focused the Sacred Space Miami, this upscale vegan and raw restaurant is where art, health, and food combine. Luckily for kosher diners, by nature of such formula, all dishes are kosher-friendly. The menu features items grown from its own farm in Homestead and includes dishes like kimchi dumplings, melon ceviche, kelp truffle noodles, and super green flatbread.
9. Smoke’D BBQ
723 Lincoln Ln N
Miami Beach, FL 33139
Inspired by traditional smokehouses, all meats used at Smoke’D BBQ are kosher and prepared with a special house rub. There are house-smoked sausages, a Texas style half chicken, and a bacon burger and vegan beyond burger, along with smoked brisket, which is smoked for up to 18 hours, or the ribs that are smoked from five to eight hours. The restaurant works closely with Rabbi Manish Spitz, so feel free to do a double-take on that bacon that tastes just like the real stuff.
10. Marble & Rye – A Modern Deli
723 Lincoln Ln N
Miami Beach, FL 33140
(305) 401-5492
Inspired by the traditional New York deli food he grew up with, founder Stuart Morginstin serves delicatessen staples like matzo ball soup and pastrami and rye. Although this is his first restaurant outpost, Morginstin, who has been at the helm of Danziger Kosher Catering for 37 years (having clients like Jewish United Fund and The Trump National Doral Resort) knows the ins and outs of tasty, kosher grub.
11. Papi Steak
736 1st St
Miami Beach, FL 33139
(305) 800-7274
This exclusive steakhouse from David Grutman is a partnership with David “Papi” Einhorn, who grew up in Brooklyn in a kosher household. While this restaurant is not kosher, it does play homage to some of Einhorn’s favorite childhood dishes by offering kosher-friendly latkes, wagyu pastrami, and chicken schnitzel. There’s also the namesake Papi Steak, a 32-ounce glatt kosher dry aged bone-in ribeye.
12. Planta South Beach
850 Commerce St
Miami Beach, FL 33139
(305) 397-8513
This Toronto-based vegetarian and vegan favorite has found a home on South Beach, which serves dishes like cashew mozzarella and smoked mushroom croquettes, udon noodles with truffle mushroom cream and the Planta burger with tajin fries.
https://miami.eater.com/maps/best-kosher-restaurants-map-guide-miami
