11 Black-owned restaurants in Miami to try right now

Have you ever had a meal so memorable you countdown the days until you can have it again? It happened to us the day we tried Rosie’s wild mushroom polenta for the first time, and we’ve been looking forward to it ever since. The Overtown pop-up restaurant evolved to Rosie’s: The Backyard, an expansive courtyard where guests can enjoy brunch Friday through Sunday under the cover of large Banyan trees. Here, you'll find Chef Akino West's Southern-inspired dishes with hints of Italian flavors and techniques. 

Back in the darkest days of the lockdown, three local chefs made life a little better when they started slinging barbecue and sides from a cul-du-sac. That turned in early 2022 into a Saturday-only spot at Wynwood’s food market Smorgasburg. Currently, you can order pick up and delivery from their website, or dine in to enjoy the smoked meats, buttery cornbread and gooey mac and cheese at their original spot. 845 NE 151st S

Miami’s only outpost of Ethiopian cuisine takes first-timers and enthusiasts down a journey of the country’s well-spiced cuisine, with meats and vegetarian platters as big as the simply adorned tables. For the uninitiated, the delectable little piles sit atop of injera, a spongey bread made of tef grain that's used to scoop up the stews in lieu of utensils. 

The fact that Chef Marcus Samuelsson teamed up with Grove Bay Hospitality to open this Overtown spot sounded good enough to make it a thing. But then they brought in chef de cuisine Tristen Epps, who’s among the most creative kitchen pros in Miami. The menu is always changing, focused on whatever's fresh, but be sure to start with the curry buttered cornbread before moving on to dishes with influences as wide as the Deep South, Italy and West Africa.

While everyone waited for Rosie’s to reopen in early 2022, luckily the team behind it also put together this Allapattah breakfast and lunch spot. It puts out everything from egg sandwiches to a “basic ass burger” that’s anything but, plus pastrami that's made right there.

Sometimes all that’s needed to improve a day is something gooey and cheesy, and, as you might guess from the name, that’s exactly what’s on the menu here. Former Pitbull manager Derrick “Chef Teach” Turton turned this food truck concept into a Wynwood restaurant (and now North Miami Beach) by spiking his mac with pizza toppings and lump crab and dropping balls of it into a fryer, a crispy and golden cure to a bad day.

There’s a good chance you’ll find a line out the door at this Miami Lakes spot. But it’s undeniably worth the wait when sliced-to-order Texas-style brisket ends up piled high on a bun with a side of cheesy corn topped with more chunks of that well-charred meat.

Usually, in South Florida, authentic island restaurants are tucked away in soulless strip malls, but Dukunoo is smack in the middle of bustling Wynwood. That explains why the jerk chicken here is served in an atmosphere that feels like a street festival, often with banging music and a crowd dressed for a Friday night.

With locations in the Citadel food hall and the outskirts of Wynwood, Manjay puts out dishes that update favorites from every corner of the Caribbean, like Haitian slow-braised pork, panko-fried Jamaican jerk, and a "neo Cubano" with prosciutto that's out of this world.

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Owners Nicole Gates and Kariym Bryant created a cozy Overtown restaurant that immediately became a neighborhood hangout, in part for the casual vibe and also for the soul food classics like biscuits and gravy and a banana pudding with vanilla wafers. Oprah Winfrey and Gayle King paid a visit to the family-owned restaurant in 2020, so you know it's legit. 

This Overtown mainstay is still serving up big plates of soul food that have made it a favorite since 1946, with a second location on South Beach, where you can also find hearty breakfast plates of eggs and grits and griddled potatoes for days.