Ariete

Chef Michael Beltran's Coconut Grove kitchen turns out Italian-American plates with a Cuban backbone, served in a dining room that feels like your coolest friend's house.

The foie gras arrives with crackling pan de mariquitas for scooping, a dish that tells you exactly what Ariete is about: technique with no pretension. Beltran cooked here as a teenager before buying the building himself, and that history shows in a menu that treats Miami's Cuban-Italian overlap as fact rather than gimmick. Get a seat on the patio if you can. The string lights and the hum of Commodore Plaza make the wait for a table feel like part of the plan.

Best for: A date night or a long dinner with people who actually like to talk about food