Thanks so much for the help choosing a hotel in South Beach for one night prior to boarding a cruise. . . now can someone help me with restaurants and sight seeing?

We are a family of four, the kids are 15 and 12. We will have an afternoon and evening in South Beach and breakfast the next morning. We are staying at the Marriott Courtyard. I've seen some great recommendations for restaurants, but our kids probably wouldn't appreciate a high end meal. Anyone have a good idea for a unique dining experience with kids that wouldn't be outrageously expensive? Any great breakfast places? Anything specific we should see?

Thanks!

I am not sure where the Marriott is located but I recommend The News Cafe on Ocean Drive at 8th Street for maybe breakfast, or any of many cafes on Lincoln Road which is pedestrian way. One, The Nexxt Cafe (kind of like a Cheescake Factory menu, soup to nuts and cheescake too) is very lively and not expensive. There are many others in that area. Lots of choices. Menus are displayed outside and sample dishes. It is great place in the evening as the shops stay open late, and lots of seating is outside. There are street entertainers, ice cream parlors, etc. One of the best places to hang out in South Beach. Both Ocean Drive and Lincoln Road are great people watching.
There is also a place called Big Pink on the other side of 5th Street, I think that is kind of unique too.
Walk the beach or just hang out, that should be entertaining, too.

Gloria Estephan's place -- Lario's?? Fun, reasonable, buzzy, and the kids should love it.
For breakfast either News Cafe (almost next door to Lario's) or on Lincoln Road -- Van Dyke's?

I was just in South Beach a month ago. Lincoln Road was the place to be at night especially for families. There was one restaurant after another, and you could check out their menus and decide if there were meals to satisfy everyone. And all the restaurants has lots of outdoor space. It was great for people watching. We tried Van Dyke Cafe (which was very popular) and one of the small Italian places. Both were good.

I don't know if Next Cafe will let you order off their lunch menu for dinner, if not it will run you $15/person minimum. The burgers are 12 ozs. huge! There is a TGI Friday's on Collins Avenue, as well as a Johnny Rockets (think 1950's with singing line-dancing waiters, burgers, fries, shakes).

There is a Books And Books (local book store) on Lincoln Road. And there's a great gellato store on Washington in the first block south of Lincoln Road on the beach side.

For a truly unique and very cheap and satisfying meal that will not break your budget and give the boys an experience they will not forget, take a cab to the boisterous and large Versailles Restaurant in Little Havana on Calle Ocho (8th Street) for Cuban food and Latin atmosphere. Entrees will run you $8 and up. My 15-y-o son likes fried palamillo steak, which is a chicken-fried steak. Or the fried-pork chunks. You know-- anything fried will go over big with kids. They also have a bakery on site (but I think they'd like the gellato store better).

There must be a GameWorks around there. This is a Steven Spielberg video arcade that all the kids love.

The TGI Fridays is on the corner of 5th and Ocean Drive.

There is an Outback Steakhouse in the Holiday Inn on the corner of Collins Avenue and 22nd.

I think the kids would get a huge kick out of The Rascal House up around 172nd and Collins. It is a Miami Beach original. I think it opened back in the 1940s.

You may want to think about keeping the kids of Ocean Drive after about 9PM. A lot of the front porches of the hotels on Ocean Drive turn into bars at night and it can get rowdy.