Usted no tiene que hablar español. Eso es justo lo que el viejo hombres blancos de Nueva York pensar.
Pascal forgot to mention that aside from plastic and styrofoam place settings at Monty's, you're also likely to get bad service. Even so, I'm a fairly regular visitor there, particularly if I'm in the mood for fried seafood and beer with a view. I prefer the location in SoBe inside the Miami Beach Marina. It seems cleaner and has a less restricted view of the water. There's also another all-you-can-eat Brazilian steakhouse there (churrascaria).
Copied from my post in the Miami hotel thread, you might also enjoy the Mary Brickell Village area:
Notable mentions: Rosa Mexicano, "Dolores, but you can call me Lolita", Pericones and up one more block, River Oyster Bar. There's also a steakhouse that I've heard good things about.
My favorite restaurant in the entire area is in the Grove, and fortunately, JUST enough off of the beaten path (a single block) that tourists aren't likely to stumble across it. It's called Calamari. It's relatively new, but it's part of a legacy that included a restaurant a few blocks away that was famous for customers dancing on the tables after the kitchen closed for the night. When a new est went into that location, they had to post a sign that said, "please don't dance on the tables". lol (and the fun-lacking replacement restaurant failed quickly)
Other Grove places:
- Jaguar - mexican, kind of loud
- Mr . Moe's. (a log-cabin theme with covered, swinging tables/benches on the sidewalk) Honestly, it's mostly bar-food, but that doesn't matter much when you're sipping a huge beer at a swinging table on a sidewalk on Commodore Place.
- Greenstreet - classic Grove "funkiness" with surprisingly good food - not on "green st" btw
- Berries. Indoor/outdoor grill/bar. Great, food, great service, great atmosphere with good prices. Even the whiners and snobs on the restaurant review sites have to like this place, and it's very "Grove".
- The Yard House. It's a chain, and it's in a mall that's technically in Coral Gables, but the YH is in the courtyard and has outdoor seating if you want. They feature more beer on tap than I've ever seen. It's full of people and has a huge menu. The mall, Merrick Park, is between Coconut Grove and Coral Gables. There's also a sister restaurant to Calamari in the same courtyard as the Yard House, but I've lost the name...
