Where To Eat Healthy Food In Miami

Eat healthy at one of these Miami restaurants.

Miami is definitely a health-conscious city. With an eternal summer climate and swimsuit season all year-round, residents take serious stock in looking and feeling great. To keep those workout and bikini bods in check, Miami has an abundance of healthy, organic, and natural restaurants with vegetarian and vegan options. Whether you’re a health food devotee or just want to stay looking good, here are some great picks around town for healthy eating options that happen to be delicious, too.

Everyone wants to look good at the beach, so healthy restaurants on Collins Avenue will never go out of style. Tucked in the 1 Hotel & Homes South Beach, Plnthouse is the brainchild of award-winning, plant-based chef Matthew Kenney. Just steps from the sand, pair that refreshing ocean breeze with rejuvenating plates like cold pressed juices, smoothies, açai bowls, avocado toast with shaved vegetables, toasted muesli with coconut yogurt, and zucchini noodles with ricotta and pistachio pesto. A little further north, Essensia Restaurant & Lounge, in The Palms Hotel & Spa, gives farm-to-table a gourmet flair. Using handpicked ingredients from the hotel’s Organic Chef’s Garden, Chef Idle Ferrer serves modern Mediterranean cuisine, sustainable and organic wines, and cocktails made with organic spirits and natural ingredients.

Away from Collins Avenue you’ll find even more options. At Soul Tavern, Miami’s first vegetarian gastropub and elixir bar, plant-based comfort food, craft beers, cocktails with house-made Chinese herbal elixirs, cold-pressed juices, mushroom-based burgers and pizzas are served in a fun, eclectic setting. The newest addition to the healthy food scene is Planta, from Miami nightlife king, David Grutman. Now in the South of Fifth (SoFi) area, this Toronto transplant is entirely plant-based, so expect Korean fried cauliflower lettuce wraps, pizzas made with cashew cheese and almond parmesan, coconut ceviche with avocado, and even entirely plant-based sushi from Executive Chef David Lee.

Spilling out into the beautiful Sacred Space Miami garden, Plant Food + Wine was Matthew Kenney’s first debut. Operating out of an entirely raw kitchen (there are no stoves or ovens!), the Plant Food + Wine team whips up cutting-edge, plant-based dishes like cheese plates with white truffle, smoked cheddar and mixed peppercorn cashew cheese; banana leaf tamales with cacao molé; and sweet potato pie with a chocolate-almond crust and coconut cream. If you love the food, you can learn how to make it — Plant Food + Wine is connected to Matthew Kenney Culinary Miami, a state-of-the-art raw food culinary school helmed by the vegan guru, himself.

If you want multiple healthy options in one place, head to The Wynwood Yard. There, you can go to della for organic plant-based bowls, smoothies and desserts that are gluten-free, processed sugar-free, dairy-free, and peanut-free. When you’re done there, visit the Yōko Matcha food truck. Fusing the ancient Japanese matcha tea tradition with Miami’s modern Cuban roots, the menu includes tasty matcha-green drinks like “matchaladas,” matcha limonada, matcha frappes and even a matcha kombucha tea. Just next door, CHARCOAL Garden Bar + Grill is a sit-down restaurant from Miami caterer and restaurateur Ken Lyon. Sustainable in every way, it is built entirely out of modified shipping containers and takes diners back to the basics with seasonal dishes, herbs and botanicals from CHARCOAL’s organic garden, and locally-sourced meat, seafood and vegetables.

Right at the start of Miracle Mile, Seasons 52 serves good-for-you good food you don’t even know is healthy. Inspired by the farm-to-table craze, this upscale grill and wine bar prides itself on having a seasonal menu of lunch and dinner plates made with ingredients at peak ripeness. In addition to signature plates like cedar plank-roasted salmon, filet mignon, flatbreads and dessert “shots” with 300 calories or less, this haunt has vegan, vegetarian, gluten-free and lactose-free menus, and an ever-changing collection of more than 100 wines.

Further into charming Coral Gables and you’ll come across two healthy cafés, Green Gables Café and Green Berry. A cozy and charming spot on Alhambra Circle, Green Gables Café serves organic, Latin-inspired food made with pastured, grass-fed, and hormone- and antibiotic-free meats and dairy. If you’re there for breakfast, order omelets, Paleo-friendly breakfast bowls or avocado toast with eggs, house-made juices, hummus and even bacon. For lunch, there are different salads, sustainable burgers, sandwiches, and “wonder bowls,” like a deconstructed turkey burrito bowl with black beans, basmati brown rice, turkey “picadillo,” avocado, scallions and jalapeño aioli. Just up the road, Green Berry is a triple-threat: restaurant, smoothie spot, and juice bar, and coffee shop. Start your day with an açai bowl with greens, banana, pineapple, mango, granola and honey, then detox with a detox dragon smoothie made of fresh fruit, organic pitaya and coconut water. Fit for any diner, you can also enjoy healthy twists on classic lunches, like a bean burrito with chicken, kale, organic guacamole, quinoa and sriracha.

When former Miami Heat star Ray Allen and wife, Shannon — who have five children, one with type-1 diabetes — wanted a healthy fast-food option for their busy family, they decided to create one themselves. Enter: Grown. Sitting in a South Miami strip mall, this breakfast, lunch and dinner spot offers a menu of local, organic, and nutrient-rich smoothies, cold-pressed juices, salads, soups, sandwiches and wraps. Sit down in the restaurant, or get it to go. For this superstar duo, it’s all about health and convenience.

Michelle Posada spent much of her career as an actress or a marketing professional, but she’s always had a passion for cooking. She bought a food truck at the age of 18, made a “Michi’s Kitchen” YouTube channel with her original recipes, and now owns her own restaurant, Michi’s. Perfect for all ages and tastes, Michi’s serves everything from Italian and Latin-American classics, to more trendy smoothies, juices, and Hawaiian poké bowls. The best part? Every dish is created with healthy ingredients; promising guests full flavor with only half the calories.

As healthy dining gets more popular in Miami, we’re seeing some restaurants open multiple locations across South Florida. American Harvest—a farm-to-table, clean-eating concept with fast-casual bites, handhelds, salads, and harvest bowls and skillets—has locations in Brickell City Centre and South Miami. DIRT rose to fame when it first opened in South of Fifth in 2015. Since then, its menu of salads, wraps, toasts, smoothies and more (all with vegetarian, vegan and sustainable protein options) led to its expansion in Brickell and Sunset Harbor, as well.

Finally, Dr. Smood, the go-to for organic and health-beneficial fast food, has locations in Wynwood, Brickell City Centre, South Miami, Sunset Harbor and Aventura. With the slogan “smart food for a good mood,” go here for coffees, teas, sandwiches, salads and desserts focused on six health benefits: immunity, energy, general health, beauty, detox and power.

Forget packing on vacation pounds when you travel to Miami! With these tasty options, you’ll both look and feel your best.