It seems fair to start this guide with the most famous restaurant belonging to Miami’s most prominent ethnic group. Tourists invariably ask about Versailles, and while it may not serve the city’s best Cuban food, it’s hard to argue with its claim as “The World’s Most Famous Cuban Restaurant.” Inside the palatial dining room, you’ll find solid interpretations of traditional Cuban dishes—but the place to be is always at the ventanita outside.

This city has a lot of places claiming to make the best versions of key lime pie, but no one messes with Florida’s favorite dessert in such a beautiful, Miami-specific way as Sweet Delights Key Lime Pies in Florida City. Sweet Delights takes the tart, creamy classic pie and infuses it with local tropical fruits, like guava, mamey, and the owner’s own backyard soursop (AKA guanábana).

Joe’s has been open in South Beach for more than 100 years, making it Miami Beach’s oldest restaurant. And everything about this place is still unapologetically old school—from their limited reservation system to the formally dressed waitstaff. As fancy as this place feels, everyone’s coming here to do the same thing: rip apart a pile of stone crab claws, the best kind of crabs in the world. Everything is à la carte, and must-order sides include the hashed brown potatoes and creamed spinach.

What do Paul Rudd, the theory of relativity, and Caffe Abbracci have in common? They’re timeless. This Italian restaurant in Coral Gables is probably where your parents went on their first date. But if you like generous portions of linguine with clams or homemade agnolotti with spinach and ricotta, look no further. And once you try their veal parmesan (it’s off-menu, but ask for it), you’ll crave it like a late night pizza.

Tropical Chinese has been one of Miami’s best Chinese restaurants since 1984, and is responsible for introducing a large portion of Miami-Dade County to the wonders of dim sum. The Bird Road spot has a huge menu of Chinese classics, but the reason we make sure to come here more often than we see our dentist is for that dim sum, a traffic jam of over 50 dishes wheeled around the dining room on huge carts.

This Allapattah market/restaurant has been around since 1980 and still serves some of the city's best seafood—in soups, ceviche, and fried to crispy perfection. They also have a seafood market that smells like a fishing pier and has fresh snapper, grouper, lobster, shrimp, and more sitting on ice, ready to come home with you. If you're not in the mood to cook, order the fried shrimp and fried fish butterfly from the counter.

Jackson Soul Food is an Overtown institution and one of the best (and only remaining) places in Miami serving classic soul food for breakfast, lunch, or brunch. They’ve got a big selection of dishes like smothered pork chops, fried catfish, black-eyed peas, as well as the requisite grits, buttery biscuits, and sweet cornbread. Order it all—just make sure to get their super crispy fried catfish. It’s cooked perfectly and has a really crunchy exterior.

2002 brought us the Nokia 3510—a cell phone so indestructible, you could drop it from your roof. That same year, Miami was introduced to Pepito's Plaza. Back then, it was just a Venezuelan hot dog stand in Doral next to a gas station where you could order hot dogs and pepitos—both drenched in their glorious six sauce combo: ketchup, mustard, mayonnaise, pink sauce, garlic sauce, and tartar sauce. It’s the kind of stuff you crave if you’re sloshed or recovering from said sloshing.

Miracle Fry is a Liberty City classic in a small blue building in the center of a parking lot. The menu has wings, burgers, a chicken sandwich—all well under $10. But if you're coming here, you're getting conch fritters. Miracle Fry's are thin, crispy, and flat like a pancake. And they’re really good too, a perfect little golden brown snack. Ask for a double, and a brown paper bag full of them will emerge from the little hole in the front window. Just be sure to bring cash.

Pinolandia is our favorite fritanga in Miami for several reasons: the Little Havana location is open 24 hours a day (useful information when you’re leaving Space), they have ample off-street parking, a 24-hour Nicaraguan bodega, and the food is dependably great. The best thing to get here is the carne asada, which you can watch being grilled while the aroma of flame-licked beef marinated in naranja agría fills the restaurant. You’ll also want to grab a slice or two of queso frito.