South Beach
 

My boyfriend and I will be staying in the South Beach area in mid November.
Can anyone suggest some excellent restaurants and nightclubs?
We are in our late-forties and enjoy good food and dancing.
We like sophisticated places without the stuffiness!
Any suggestions are welcome.

I don't know about sophisticated but there are a bunch of outdoor restaurants on Lincoln Road just a short walk from South beach.

As a Miami Beach resident - I can tell you South Beach can be AMAZING and can also be a big tourist trap!!! Be wary of those fixed prix menus - a sure sign of yuck!!
Restaurants that are great
Bond St. in the Townhouse hotel $$$$
Joe's Stone Crabs - a South Beach Institution since 1913.
La Sandwicherie (229 14th St. )- tiny sandwich shop that has a few outdoor stools or you can takeaway and have a picnic on the beach. - sooo yummy!!!
Miss Yip on Lincoln Rd is great Chinese food.
Front Porch Cafe on 14th & Ocean Drive has a delicious breakfast which is available most of the day - the best pancakes I have ever had!
The IceBox Cafe off Lincoln Rd has amazing cake go for dessert!! There are lots of places to go to check out the "scene" maybe a glimpse of someone famous - is that what you are looking for?
HTH!!!

Thanks for the responses and suggested restaurants.
I will have a look at their websites and menus.
We are not into celebrity hunting and could care less if we see someone famous or not!

What about nightclubs / jazz spots for the forty plus crowd?
Any suggestions?

Try Jazid, a nice club on Washington
http://www.jazid.net/

There is also a cafe/bar on a corner on Lincoln Road that for the life of me I can't remember the name. It has red awnings. On the second floor, they usually have a jazz singer on weekends.

Salsa dancing at Yuca, also on Lincoln Road. Pretty good fancy Cuban food too.

Restaurants

Davids II
Michy's (not in South Beach)
The Forge (not in South Beach)
Prime 112
Marks
Tantra
Nobu
Vix
The Restaurant

Cocktails

The Sky Bar
The Delano pool bar or Rose Bar
Rooftop of The Hotel
Pool Bar at The Raleigh (Sunday party)
Pool Bar at The National

Nightclubs

Mansion
Mynt
Rok Bar

Do Not Go:

Mangos
The Clevelander
Porch Restaurants on Ocean Drive except News Cafe and Larios

http://www.miamibeach411.com/Restaurants/vandyke.html

the name of the place is Van Dyke cafe and it seems to have jazz every night.

I had an excellent dinner at Nemo.

Thanks for all of your responses, especially GoTravel on 'Places Not to Go'!!
I'm sure we'll have fun, we are staying within walking distance to Lincoln Road, and I'm sure that most of the places mentioned will be easy to find.

One of my favorites for Italian food is Tiramesu on Lincoln Rd across (more or less) from Van Dyke.

Don't eat indoors. Make sure you're outside.

They take reservations. 305-532-4538. 721 Lincoln Rd.

Table 8 at Regent South Beach.