Restaurants in North Miami Beach

Pizza Volante's meat-and-cheese disks are fired to Roman-style crispy perfection in a wood-burning oven. The signature Volante pie is a margherita, stacked with prosciutto di parma and sun-dried tomatoes ($16). Dissolve the sea's ionic bonds with a Sicilian-sea-salted circle (marinara, garlic, anchovies, Sicilian sea salt, $12) or touch multiple types of cheese on the Bianca, crafted with fontina, chenel goat cheese, arugula, thyme, local cow's milk mozzarella, and bufala milk mozzarella ($15). As a mozzarella bar, Volante champions the soft, milky ropes and curdles; choose a type of mozzarella to try (Burrata D.O.P costs $15, locally made cow's milk varieties cost $8) and accompany it with zucchini salad, Florida tomatoes, olives, capers, organic arugula, and more. Salads, sandwiches, paninis, and a weekly changing selection of pasta (try gnocchi Bolognese for $12 on Sundays) round out Pizza Volante's menu into a melty cheese wheel rolling down a marinara hill and leaving rich cheese deposits in its wake.

Metro Bistro's executive chef artfully assembles a menu that focuses on the simplicity and seasonality of local, organic ingredients. Beef, such as the house-smoked NY strip carpaccio ($15), is organic and grass fed. Metro Bistro's chickpea cakes pile-drive organic avocado, butter beans, red onions, and tomatoes before delivering the knockout blow of organic lemon vinaigrette ($15). Grilled, wild-caught mahi swims in shaved organic fennel and organic watercress with organic cilantro drizzle ($17). A tongue-tickling selection of wine and organic beers slakes the thirst of parched humans and experimenting flamingoes.

Calming breezes waft throughout Uvas Restaurant, emanating from the sea wind drifting across the patio lounge and the refreshing drafts from the dining room’s air conditioning. The aromas of chorizo simmering in spicy chardonnay broth and sizzling Angus beef mingle with these gentle gusts, filling the 1920s Mediterranean-style building with the robust fragrances of European dishes. Chefs swaddle burgers in focaccia, fill empanadas with sweet plantains and fresh mozzarella, and, for brunch, souse poached eggs in hollandaise sauce and top vanilla pancakes with strawberries and white chocolate shavings. They serve up mimosas and champagne with late morning dishes, while pouring an extensive selection of international wines at dinner.

The chefs at Julio's Natural Foods Restaurant concoct fresh, vitamin-packed dishes from healthy ingredients. They boil up pots of organic brown rice and quinoa to accompany grilled organic tofu and fish fillets, and they pack their turkey burgers and zero-fat tuna sandwiches with fistfuls of sprouts, alfalfa, carrots, and other veggies. Signature dishes include Julio's special quesadilla, a popular plate of tortilla, cheese, tomatoes, spinach, and secret sauce. Fresh squeezed juices and complex smoothies wash down these feel-good foods and make guilt-free filling for water balloons.

In the bygone era of the saloon, few cowboys got to munch on endives stuffed with crabmeat and cilantro. And though The Lost & Found Saloon bears old-fashioned decor—a long wooden bar, rustic tables, and a wagon wheel converted into a ceiling light—visitors aren't confined to period eats. Instead, they bite into marinated eggplant with three melted cheeses or grilled shrimp with sage and thyme. Chipotle is a favorite seasoning, flavoring burgers, salads, mahi mahi, and even tofu melts. For breakfast, diners enjoy scrambles and omelets made with eggs from free-roaming hens. The rest of the day, sips of cold beer offset the heat from dabs of various hot sauces, including a house blend made with real chunks of house.

Nearly a half-century ago, Jose Choi's parents emigrated across the globe from China to Barranquilla, Colombia. There, they opened a restaurant called Jardines de Confucio and taught their son everything involved in running the operation—from searing vegetables to perfection in a wok to masterfully folding napkins into medically accurate swan replicas.

A grownup Jose eventually moved to South Florida, bringing along his love for food as well as his extensive experience in the kitchen in order to create his own branch of the family eatery. At the resulting Confucio Express in Brickell, his clan’s brand of Latin-influenced Chinese cuisine introduces diners to dishes of shrimp tossed with jalapeño, deemed "perfectly cooked" on the Miami New Times blog. The menu, whose contents range from classic beef lo mein to enhanced chicken-and-shrimp fried rice, was also honored with the Best Chinese Take-Out distinction in 2012.