Where to Find the Best Latin Food in Miami
- September 17, 2026
Latin food is everywhere in Greater Miami and Miami Beach. With the city’s diverse population from across the Americas, you can find delicious, authentic restaurants from nearly every country in the region.
Whether you’re looking for a smoky, savory Argentinian grill, or a laid back Cuban cafe, you're never too far from amazing Latin American food. These are our picks for the top Latin restaurants in Miami, including Venezuelan taqueños, Peruvian ceviches and so much more.
Fogo de Chão
Common in Brazilian steakhouses, “rodizio” is a style of dining in which servers roam the dining room carrying skewers of savory grilled meats and stop to carve portions whenever guests flag them down. It’s a true feast for the eyes and stomach, and it’s best experienced at Fogo de Chão's flagship restaurant in Coral Gables, or the location in South Beach.
The waiters – or gauchos, as they’re called – are all specially trained in preparing, cooking and cutting meat, bringing an exquisite level of service to the rodizio experience. You’ll also be treated to a full salad bar that could be a meal on its own, plus plenty of traditional Brazilian sides, including rice, beans, polenta and farofa.
Los Fuegos by Francis Mallman
Chef’s Table star Francis Mallmann operates his signature steakhouse inside the opulent Faena Miami Beach hotel in Mid Beach. You’ll know you’ve found Los Fuegos By Francis Mallman when you smell the distinct aroma of its wood-burning grill, which fills the luxurious red and gold dining room.
The steaks absorb the smoke of the grill, resulting in delicious servings of prime beef with flavors unlike any other grilled meat. The balance of the menu features a tasty sampling of Argentine plancha cuisine (high-temperature searing with a small amount of smoking), with dishes such as wood-fired prawns, artichokes and beef empanadas.
5 Esquinas
An unassuming shopping center in South Beach is home to some of the best ceviche in Miami at 5 Esquinas. This in-the-know Peruvian restaurant on Alton Road offers generous portions of the soft white fish in leche de tigre and might give you a shot of the sauce to start your meal.
While the typical Peruvian dishes like ceviche and lomo saltado at 5 Esquinas are spectacular, it’s also one of the few Peruvian restaurants in Miami that serves sandwiches. The Pan Con Chicharron comes with pork belly, fried sweet potato and rocoto aioli between French bread, and the Pan con Lomo al Jugo is essentially lomo saltado on a bun. For a true taste of Peru, order the 5 Esquinas Platter, which brings ceviche, fried fish and yucca, and a special potato causa.
Cotoa
One of the destination’s most lauded new restaurants is Cotoa, a gourmet Ecuadorian gem set along NW 125th Street in North Miami. It’s the creation of chef Alejandra Espinoza, who uses traditional Ecuadorian ingredients with international techniques to give classic dishes a spin.
The result is creative stuff like mahi mahi ceviche with peanut and coconut sauce; plantain-stuffed tortellini in a chicken stew, and cornbread with palo santo butter. It’s a fresh take on Latin American dining, and that distinctive approach has already earned Cotoa a place on lists of Miami’s best restaurants.
If you find yourself at Miami Central Station in Downtown Miami, hit Cotoa’s fast-casual offshoot Cotoita.
La Latina
For Venezuelan food nearby, head to La Latina, a small neighborhood spot centrally located in the shadow of Midtown Miami’s high-rises. The menu runs the gamut of traditional Venezuelan food, but La Latina consistently makes some of the best arepas in Miami.
The corn-based, pocket-like stuffed sandwiches come filled with everything from spicy shredded chicken to rice and beans. They’re big enough to be a meal on their own, but to get the full flavors of Venezuelan cuisine, grab an order of tequeños, too.
Whatever you decide on, be sure to ask for a squeeze bottle of guasacaca, an avocado-based vinegar sauce that makes every flavor pop.
Versailles
While debate may continue over the best Cuban restaurant in Miami, if any can call itself a landmark, it is the venerable Versailles on Calle Ocho in Little Havana.
This massive restaurant has become a gathering place for Miami’s Cuban American community, where abuelos and abuelas gather to sip coffee and talk about the old country, and families fill the mirrored dining room for arroz imperial, ropa vieja and pollo a la plancha.
Waiters wear dress shirts and ties, and the place is somehow elegant and casual at the same time. It’s a must on any visit to Miami, though locals love it, too.
Guayacan Miami
Guayacan is one of the longest-running restaurants on Calle Ocho, serving traditional Nicaraguan food since the 1980s. This Little Havana restaurant sits hidden in a little shopping plaza right off the main drag. Inside, you’ll find a family-run spot that looks like a Central American ranch house, with exposed wooden beams and big leather seats.
Its typical Nicaraguan menu includes lots of grilled meats – order with a group to sample them all, including churrasco steak, chicken, sausage and gooey fried cheese, called queso frito. Guayacan is also one of a few places where you can try the Nicaraguan take on ceviche, mild white fish cooked in citrus juice and a tangy leche de tigre sauce.
Club Tipico Dominicano
To immerse yourself in Dominican food and culture, head to the longstanding Club Tipico Dominicano in Allapattah.
This restaurant and club has been the go-to for Miami’s Dominican community since the mid-1980s, offering up classic dishes like stewed goat and fish in coconut sauce by day, then transforming into a Latin music club by night.
It’s won the Miami New Times’ “Best Latin Club” award, but Club Típico is family-friendly, and a perfect place to kick back and enjoy delicious food and the warmth of Dominican hospitality.
Elcielo Miami
Chef and owner Juan Manuel Barrientos earned a MICHELIN star for his modern take on Colombian cuisine at Elcielo Miami, a waterside beauty in Brickell.
The restaurant’s 18-course tasting menu provides a dining experience in which each dish outdoes the next, starting with exotic drinks, like passion fruit Mistella and soursop champagne, then heading into a slew of delicious dishes, including crab empanadas, seasonal soups, cumin rice with duck and lobster rolls.
The menu is for those who want a dining adventure like no other, as the experience also includes the Tree of Life, a yucca bread served to look like a bonsai tree, and Chocotherapy, in which the server pours chocolate directly into your hands.
Special-occasion dining at its finest, Elcielo will leave you with food memories you’ll savor for years.
Dando La Brasa
In many Latin American countries, especially ones near the Caribbean, roadside rotisserie chicken is a way of life. Families pick up a whole chicken on the way home, and it’s dinner for everyone. On Coral Way just outside Brickell, Dando La Brasa brings a little of that culture to Miami.
Each chicken is marinated in a secret blend of spices for 48 hours then roasted in a rotating oven. For pollo purists, a whole, half or quarter chicken is the obvious order. The deep, smoky flavor of Dando’s roasting process lends itself well to other dishes, like the rotisserie chicken lasagna, empanadas and croquetas. Order a whole bird, and you’ll feed four people for under $35.
El Rinconcito Latino
Among locals, El Rinconcito Latino is one of the most beloved Cuban restaurants in Miami. With six locations from Westchester to West Miami, you’ll always be able to find this tasty Latin American restaurant nearby. El Rinconcito has become a go-to for Cuban-Americans looking for the flavors of home.
The simple, approachable menu makes it one of the more affordable restaurants in Miami, with options for the whole family. The best dishes are traditional ones like arroz con pollo desmenuzado, vaca frita, picadillo and lechón asado. El Rinconcito also ventures into Mexican cuisine with a full lineup of fajitas, and offers some spaghetti dishes, too.
