Welcome to Our Annual Guide
Coral Gables is nothing if not a city of superlatives. As any resident will tell you, it’s the best city in South Florida, if not the entire state. But just how that greatness breaks down is a matter of debate.
Each year, we look at the city in terms of its unique attributes, an atomistic look at the particulars of dining, entertainment, public spaces, retail options, services, and culture. We ponder each category based on our experience and journalistic probing and we also send out our ‘Best of the Gables’ query to all our readers and compile their hundreds of responses.
We don’t always agree with our readers. In fact, many of those Reader’s Choices are made with very close votes, where the just-missed No. 2 is our staff choice. In the end, a lot of these picks are subjective, which is inevitable considering how many close calls there are. Such is the burden of being overwhelmed by a wealth of good choices. So, read on, see what you think, and let us know how close we came to picking your top choices in this array of The Best Of Coral Gables.
Best Food by Type
Best Bakery
Staff Choice: Madruga
There are several good bakeries in town when it comes to making sweet treats. But for us, a good bakery has to first provide good bread. At Madruga, they bake loaves of life-sustaining multigrain and sourdough. And pastries, too.
Reader’s Choice: Madruga and Bachour
Yes, the pastries here are works of art.
Best Seafood
Staff Choice: CVI.CHE 105
A relative newcomer, they take seafood to new places with their mixed rice dishes and creative ceviches. But what do you expect from a restaurant from Peru, one of the world’s great centers for cuisine from the sea.
Reader’s Choice: Mesamar
Hard to argue when you can pick out the fresh fish you’re going to eat.
RELATED Vibrant Peru: CVI.CHE 105 brings bold Peruvian flavors to a dazzling setting.
Best Steak House
Staff Choice: Christy’s
This is what a steak house is all about: dark red walls, dim lights, an incredibly good Caesar salad and shrimp co*cktail to start. As for their Angus beef, thumbs up. And where else can you get prime rib? A Gables institution.
Reader’s Choice: Ruth’s Chris Steak House
Thick and juicy. We get it.
Best co*cktails
Staff Choice: Bulla
There is a great bar here, and it’s not just about the sangria or some of the best happy hour deals in the city. Try their Proper Gin & Tonic and the Spanish Margarita. They know how to make them, sweet, and tart.
Reader’s Choice: Hillstone and Cebada Rooftop Nice places to drink and people watch, or both.
Best Tapas
Staff Choice: La Taberna Giralda
There are tapas, and then there are tapas. At La Taberna they are authentically Spanish, many from northern coastal Spain. Think marinated anchovies, eggplant chips in honey, blood sausage on toast with caramelized onions.
Reader’s Choice: Bulla
Great tapas and comfort food, from patatas bravas to garlic shrimp.
Best Salad
Staff Choice: Seasons 52
Healthy, healthy, healthy, and not just because they count calories on the menu. We love their seasonal offerings, which ensure everything is fresh and guilt-free.
Reader’s Choice: Sweetgreen
Another healthy hotspot with bowls and salads loaded up to-go.
RELATED Looking to keep it healthy? Here are five spots for scrumptious salads in the city.
Best Pizza
Staff Choice: Piccola
We can’t get enough of our new favorite pizza joint in downtown Gables. The X-shaped “pixette” pies are our favorites, but with over 20 options to choose from — not including the pizza sandwiches — there’s something here for every pizza-lover.
Reader’s Choice: Miami’s Best Pizza
A well-loved institution for any UM alum.
RELATED We stumbled upon particularly bizarre iterations of pizza in the Gables.
Best Sandwich
Staff Choice: Tinta y Café
You might miss this place, in a former gas station off of Ponce. But once you find it, you’ll never forget their insanely good sandwiches, like their ham with cream cheese and strawberry preserve on media noche bread. Two dozen choices, from BLTs to goat cheese with cucumber.
Reader’s Choice: La Sandwicherie
Many swear by their roast beef and secret sauce.
RELATED Looking for a quick bite? These sandwiches are amongst the best in the city.
Best Coffee House
Staff Choice: Crema
You can sit inside or outside on Miracle Mile at the Colonnade. Either way, you’ll drink rich, full-flavored coffee served in French-style coffee cups while watching the world march by. Good breakfast dishes, too.
Reader’s Choice: Café Demetrio
Elegant, old world, and simply delicious.
Best Hamburgers
Staff Choice: PINCHO
There is a reason why PINCHO wins the People’s Choice most every year at Burgerlicious: They have a secret sauce, and add a crunch to their burgers with potato sticks. And they keep inventing new burger combos that we can’t get enough of.
Reader’s Choice: Clutch Burger
Open wide because these burgers are huge, with local beer to wash them down.
Best Restaurant by Experience
Best Breakfast
Staff Choice: Bistro Café
Right from the start, the Bistro Café was a sensation, with their over-the-top pancakes covered in cream and blueberries. On a quiet street just north of the Shops at Merrick Park, it’s sometimes hard to grab a seat. So, be prepared to wait a few minutes.
Reader’s Choice: Threefold Café
Hard to miss with their all-day breakfast concept and specialty coffee.
Best Brunch
Staff Choice: Mamey
From the bottomless mimosas to the chicken & waffles to the cheddar jalapeño cornbread sticks, Mamey delivers sweet and savory combinations for brunch inside or outside in their breezy courtyard. The watermelon salad is the perfect taste of the place.
Reader’s Choice: Bachour
The best eggs benedict ever, with a beautiful, breezy courtyard as well.
Best Romantic Restaurant
Staff Choice: Noma Beach At Redfish
Not only is the food quite wonderful — seafood and Italian crafted by Chef Donatella Arpaia – but the setting on the waterfront, with Biscayne Bay in the distance and a flock of palm trees on the horizon, is unbeatable, especially at sunset.
Reader’s Choice: Zucca
Elegant, sophisticated, urbane, impressive. And a hotel upstairs to finish the perfect date night off.
Best Outdoor Dining
Staff Choice: Fontana
The Fontana courtyard, with its immense Venetian fountain, is the heart of the Biltmore Hotel. Tall colums surround, umbrellas shield during the day, and the sound of splashing water mixes nicely with a soundtrack of opera or Sinatra.
Reader’s Choice: Cebada Rooftop
A view of the stars on Giralda and great people-watching.
RELATED A Sunday brunch fit for a king at the Biltmore Hotel.
Best Cheap Eats
Staff Choice: Stephanie’s Crepes
This sweet hole-in-the-wall on Salzedo creates an array of crepes served as wraps, from savory to sweet, all at reasonable prices and with quality ingredients. This is one of those little gems that makes the Gables a foodie paradise.
Reader’s Choice: Coyo Taco
We wouldn’t necessarily classify the tacos as “cheap” but they’re definitely worth the price.
Best Fine Dining
Staff Choice: Tullio
Proprietor Lucio Zanon may be the most elegant host of any restaurant in the city, making you feel special. The food is also extraordinary, with many dishes served tableside — like their filet of branzino. Impeccable food and service.
Reader’s Choice: Fiola
The high watermark for plating and perfected dishes.
Best Happy Hour
Staff Choice: Sawa
It’s not so much the drinks that made us choose Sawa for this, but their offerings. Every day, there is a new special on top of regular happy hour and a fun after-dark menu. And yes, the drinks are still good!
Reader’s Choice: Cebada Rooftop
Hard to beat drinking at sunset on a rooftop.
Best Local Hangout
Staff Choice: The Globe
Is there any place more comfortable to hang out than The Globe? We don’t think so, with its European vibe, open layout, fabulous old bar, classic paintings, and a menu that has been honed for decades to be both easy and pleasing.
Reader’s Choice: The Bar
Break out the drinks and grab your dancing shoes!
Best Business Lunch
Staff Choice: Zucca
Where once Caffe Abbracci ruled the business lunch scene, Zucca has taken the lead, with crisp service, modern décor (think Milan), and superb Italian food. This is now the place to see and be seen for the corporate elite.
Reader’s Choice: Hillstone
Consistency is their name, elegance their game. Get a reservation.
RELATED Ahead of Miami Spice, we take a look back at Zucca’s pre-fixe dining menu.
Best Late Night Dining
Staff Choice: Bodega Taqueria
Authentic and affordable Mexican food in a brick-lined, open space that stays open until 2 am Thursday through Saturday, and until 1 am on other nights. Right on the Mile, so an easy and comfortable place to roll into.
Reader’s Choice: John Martin’s Irish Pub
A good place to soak it up with fish & chips.
Best New Restaurant
Staff Choice: The Collab
Formerly the home of Niven Patel’s Orno, we wondered if it could keep pace. But Chef Nico Mazier has exceeded all expectations with his stunning fusions of Asian and Latin flavors, all under the banner of New American cuisine.
Reader’s Choice: CVI.CHE 105
A huge menu of fascinating flavors.
Best Place for a First Date
Staff Choice: Cebada
Take a date here and you will win instant street cred for knowing that this rooftop restaurant even exists. And once you take the hidden elevator up, you have an open sky, plus a view of the street, to help make the night one to remember.
Reader’s Choice: Vinya Table
Easy, streetside on the Mile, with a wonderful wine selection.
RELATED Kickoff that second date with the happiest hour in the Gables.
Best Place to Watch a Game
Staff Choice: Fritz & Franz
The space is cavernous, the screens are large, and the selection of beer — most notably German beer — is astonishing. They just signed a new five-year lease, so you know that future World Cup games can be watched here.
Reader’s Choice: Bay 13 Brewery And Kitchen
Owned by an Aussie, so cricket and rugby on the TV screens for sure.
Best Place To Celebrate
Staff Choice: Fogo De Chão
When the gauchos parade by with their skewers of meat, it’s like you’re at some sort of medieval feast. With their super high ceilings and adjacent loft bar, this is a larger-than-life place to go for any major celebration.
Reader’s Choice: Bay 13 Brewery And Kitchen
A massive outdoor patio for the good weather, clean interior for the bad.
Best Place to Eat at the Bar
Staff Choice: Americana Kitchen
First, the bar has to be massive and full. Next, the food has to be great. Third, the place has to be full of life. Americana hits all three notes with classic American fare. What other bar serves French toast and eggs benedict?
Reader’s Choice: Hillstone
You’ll never feel lonely amidst the upscale crowd.
Shopping & Retail
Best Furniture Store
Staff Choice: Arhaus
Not only is their design sensibility keen, their selection is immense, from formal dining ensembles to super creative lighting. Plus, their commitment to sustainable practices warms our earth-bound hearts.
Reader’s Choice: Artefacto
Hello Brazil!
RELATED What does it take to make a great home? Here’s the science and art of home design.
Best Children’s Store
Staff Choice: Barnes & Nobles
You come here for the largest collection of books, toys, puzzles, games, science kits, and dolls that you’ll find anywhere outside of FAO. Schwartz. Truly a vast selection for your kids. Not to mention, nurturing minds.
Reader’s Choice: Janie And Jack
Great classic and designer clothes for kids.
Best Jewelry Store
Staff Choice: Snow’s Or Jae’s Or Montica
With so many jewelry shops to choose from, we just had to go with the top three: diamonds at Snow’s, vintage at Jae’s, and handcrafted at Montica. Not that they don’t all offer these — we’re just noting their strength.
Reader’s Choice: Snow’s
Where a girl’s best friend can be found.
Best Men’s Clothing Store
Staff Choice: Pepi Bertini
Bertini has been on Miracle Mile for decades, and for good reason. This is where you go for all your sartorial needs, from slacks to shirts to ties, all tailored by the master to fit your body like a glove.
Reader’s Choice: Nordstrom
Good deals and great brands.
Best Women’s Clothing Store
Staff Choice: Origen
The matching two-piece sets here are to die for, with vibrant colors and eye-catching designs. The swimwear, made from Colombian artisans, is one-of-a-kind too. And they even have some fun, affordable jewelry.
Reader’s Choice: Nordstrom
A wide choice of garb with an exceptional selection of shoes.
Best Place to Buy Men’s Formal Wear
Staff Choice: Sartori Amici
Fine Italian designer clothing, from tailored suits to fitted shirts, made from exotic cashmeres and silk blends produced in the top mills in Italy. If the clothes make the man, Sartori will turn you into a young Marcello Mastroiani.
Reader’s Choice: Nordstrom
Good for off the rack clothes.
RELATED Looking for gifts for him? Take a look at this year’s Father’s Day shopping guide for year-round inspiration.
Best Place to Buy Formal Wear (Women)
Staff Choice: Mayda Cisneros
Mayda Cisneros is one of the great doyens of design in the Gables, and has for years created exquisite ball gowns for the ladies who attend the most important galas in South Florida. Now, she has an atelier at La Palma.
Reader’s Choice: Nordstrom
Plus, the place smells great.
RELATED The restoration of La Palma, a piece of the city’s historic fabric.
Best Place to Buy Gifts
Staff Choice: Coco Bella Gift & Home
Off the beaten path on Alcazar, the offerings here run deep: candles, soaps, beach bags, towels, dishware, wine bags, cards, baby gifts, teacher gifts, personal care items, jewelry, party accessories, and celebratory gifts.
Reader’s Choice: Coco Bella Gift & Home
Such good taste!
RELATED Little Finds: Where to shop for trinkets and gifts in the Gables.
Best Facial
Staff Choice: Silver Mirror Facial Bar
The newest wellness offering to hit the Gables with a simple but effective menu, including a facial for men! Perfect for a lunch break stopoff to brighten your day, we love the 30-minute party-prep facial, or, for a longer break, the seasonal hydrating facial.
Reader’s Choice: Silver Mirror Facial Bar
We can’t help but agree.
SEEN ON INSTAGRAM Great skin is just a facial away at Silver Mirror.
Best Massage
Staff Choice: The Biltmore Spa
Where pampering and self-care become one, with the most luxurious services and offerings across the board, from body wraps to skincare, hair treatments, massages, and mani/pedis. The best place to relax.
Reader’s Choice: The Biltmore Spa
What else spells out elegance quite like a trip to a historic hotel spa?
Best Mani/Pedi
Staff Choice: Mytime Nail Bar
In a world where manicures can cost hundreds of dollars, MyTime Nail Bar stays affordable and luxe at the same time. If you call ahead, you can even get two technicians to work on your feet and hands at the same time.
Reader’s Choice: Mytime Nail Bar
We’ll see you there!
Best Hair Salon
Staff Choice: Ad Beauty Atelier
The AD stands for Adys Duardo, a trendsetting hair stylist who has won the hearts and heads of her growing clientele over the last decade. A talented crew as well.
Reader’s Choice: Avant-Garde Salon And Spa
Truly upscale.
Best Barbershop
Staff Choice: Mankind
There are barbershops and salons and then there is ManKind, which not only has those old-fashioned barber chairs with TV screens in front, but also a full bar and a pool table in the antechamber, plus spa treatments. Talk about full service!
Reader’s Choice: The Sport Barbershop
I’ll take a fade.
Arts & Entertainment
Best Live Music
Staff Choice: Armstrong Jazz House
It’s hard to beat The Globe on Saturday night, but Armstrong puts jazz out seven nights a week, right on Miracle Mile, from 6 pm until midnight, with lots of local talent and a sax player when the bands rest.
Reader’s Choice: Armstrong Jazz House
Play on.
Best Live Theater
Staff Choice: Gablestage
A tough choice, in competition with Actors’ Playhouse. But we had to go with the intimate and serious take on theater which Bari Newport has brought to this local mainstay, with comedy now in the mix.
Reader’s Choice: Actors’ Playhouse at the Miracle Theatre
Broadway, watch out.
Best Movie Theater
Staff Choice: Coral Gables Art Cinema
The Art Cinema is one of those Gables institutions that defines the city as a culturally sophisticated place to live. Foreign films, indie films, classic films, special events, new releases — it’s a cinematic smorgasbord.
Reader’s Choice: Coral Gables Art Cinema
Queue up for celluloid adventure.
Best Place to Drink
Staff Choice: Copper 29
Just when you concluded that there was no super cool, sexy, club-like place to let it all hang out, there is Copper 29, the place to go when you want to get dressed up and go “clubbing” without leaving the Gables.
Reader’s Choice: The Bar
A little more raw, but clearly fun.
Best Art Gallery
Staff Choice: Americas Collection
The Americas Collection presents just what its name implies: a tapestry of works from across North, Central, and South America, with some avant-garde and local artists.
Reader’s Choice: Cernuda Arte
An institution for lovers of Cuban art with three gallery spaces.
Best Performance Venue
Staff Choice: Sanctuary Of The Arts
What is wonderful about the Sanctuary, besides repurposing the historic First Church of Christ, is the variety of performances, including music of all varieties and performances of dance, previously absent from the city.
Reader’s Choice: Actors’ Playhouse at the Miracle Theatre
Historic, elegant, beautiful.
Sports & Recreation
Best Gym
Staff Choice: Legacy Fit
The place to meet attractive, fit, young people. There are no days off here so you’d better be committed!
Reader’s Choice: Life Time
A “luxury health club” with all the fixings.
Best Yoga Studio
Staff Choice: Lipé House Of Wellness
For the yogis, but also for the dedicated health nuts. Choose from yoga classes, breathwork classes, cold plunges, and out-of-the-box detoxifying treatments.
Reader’s Choice: Trufusion
Heated rooms for the maximum detox.
Best Place to Swim
Staff Choice: Venetian Pool
The water is ice-cold and replaced every night from underground springs. And then there is the grotto and the waterfall and the gondolas and the hamburgers. Oh, just stop! One of the great reasons to live here.
Reader’s Choice: Venetian Pool
Pass the towel and sunscreen please.
Best Picnic Spot
Staff Choice: Matheson Hammock
There is really no other beachfront in the Gables, but when you throw in the lagoon and the water sports and the charcoal grills with benches, it’s a matchless location for families to unpack their goodies and unwind.
Reader’s Choice: Matheson Hammock Park
Can we join you?
Best Tennis Courts
Staff Choice: Salvadore Park
There is a reason that the Hackers United tennis club of Coral Gables shows up at 7:30 am here on Sunday mornings. Well-maintained courts in a shady residential neighborhood that is centrally located can’t be beat.
Reader’s Choice: Salvadore Park Tennis Center
Deuces.
Best Golf Course
Staff Choice: Biltmore Golf Course
This magnificent course was renovated and updated just a few years ago. And, unlike the Riveria, it is open to the public — and home to one of the best golf schools in the country. Good post-golfing eats and drinks at Fairways, as well.
READER’S CHOICE: BILTMORE GOLF COURSE
Tee it up!
SEEN ON INSTAGRAM Our recent dining experience at the Biltmore’s latest culinary addition, Fairways.
Best Pickleball
Staff Choice: Youth Center
Easy access, good location, and a credible civic response to the new craze of pickleball, which has become the sport of choice for many Gableites. Play on!
Reader’s Choice: Salvadore Park Tennis Center.
Just don’t tell tennis players their courts are cut.
Best Dog Walker
Staff Choice: Equipaws
The team behind Equipaws are true lovers of dogs. Plus, they come to your home, spoil your little beast, and make sure they get the exercise and affection they need when you don’t have the time or energy.
Reader’s Choice: My Kids
Thank you Mom and Dad!
Architecture & Public Places
Best Historic Landmark
Staff Choice: The Biltmore Hotel
A prototypical piece of Gables architecture that has as much history as the city itself. It served as a hospital during WWII, the site of an infamous gangster’s murder in 1929, and was “saved” and restored in the late ‘80s. Thank heavens!
Reader’s Choice: The Biltmore Hotel
Hard to argue with the most iconic Gables building.
Best People-Watching Spot
Staff Choice: Giralda Plaza
Ever since the city shut down Giralda between Ponce and Galiano and turned it into a pedestrian plaza, it has become THE place to stroll, and to see and be seen. Truly a parade of humanity, free of pesky automobiles.
Reader’s Choice: Giralda Plaza
Keep on trucking!
Best Place We Miss the Most
Staff Choice: Lion & The Rambler
When it came to culinary adventures, few places could match the . Maybe it was too edgy for the city, or maybe it was too much on the edge of the city. Either way, we miss it.
Reader’s Choice: Tarpon Bend
Even years later, the heart wants what it wants.
Best Place to Walk Your Dog
Staff Choice: Around Granada Golf Course
What South Florida’s urban core misses the most is a wide open space. The Granada Golf Course provides that in the city’s center, and the long walk around its perimeter is heaven for a pup.
Reader’s Choice: Country Club Prado
A long corridor of green grass, which Fido loves.
Best Public Art
Staff Choice: The Plaza Coral Gables
While we love the giant bench at Balboa Plaza, the sheer weight of public art at The Plaza’s open courtyard is amazing, from the golden “Mean Average,” to the giant “Waiting” mice, to the shimmering balls of the “Coral Fountains.”
Reader’s Choice: The Plaza Coral Gables
Right on.
RELATED Art for Everyone: How the Art in Public Places Program celebrates the culture and beauty of our city.
Best Park
Staff Choice: Salvadore Park
What doesn’t this park provide? There’s green space. A dog run. Tennis courts. Pickleball courts. Plus, great interactive devices for the kids, including slides, a zip line, and tree houses, all under umbrellas.
Reader’s Choice: Salvadore Park
The site of our fondest childhood memories.
RELATED A Passion for Parks : A look at the city’s parks system as it undergoes a historic expansion and upgrade.
Best Place to Take Out-Of-Towners
Staff Choice: Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden
We may all be used to living in the only semi-tropical environment in the USA, but for people from elsewhere, the experience of palm trees, rainforest, butterfly houses, and the occasional alligator is truly magical.
Reader’s Choice: Fairchild Tropical Botanical GardenTourists and locals align.
BEST BETS Don’t miss out on the juiciest event of the summer — the Mango Festival!
Best Place To Meet Women Staff Choice: Books & Books
Since we are a city of great learning and high culture, this is the natural place to meet someone of the fairer sex. Just don’t ask them if they’re into Kafka or Bukowski. If they are, just walk away.
Reader’s Choice: The Bar
Where books fail, booze is the next best social lubricant.
RELATED Check out our extensive guide to summer reading.
Best Place To Meet Men
Staff Choice: Hillstone
If you meet a man here, you’ll at least know that he is a member of the white collar club, and someone with reasonably good taste. Plus, they have a great happy hour, so you’ll at least drink well.
Reader’s Choice: Books & Books, Hillstone, And Bulla Gastrobar (All Tied)
Best Parking Place
Staff Choice: Alhambra Circle
We hate to even tell you this, because it means you’ll take all the places. But when it comes to cruising Giralda Plaza or Aragon or even the Mile, there always seems to be a place on Alhambra. Just have to walk a block or two.
Reader’s Choice: Aragon Ave./Museum Garage
Yes, the best place for events.
