Best Miami Takeout Dishes, And Other Ways to Support the Service Industry

Despite mumblings to the contrary, date night is not dead. Granted, you can’t just doll yourself up and head out for a shmoopy candle-lit dinner. But you can still order-in some food from Miami’s best restaurants, a bit of wine or beer to set the mood, grab some prayer candles at Publix, and do the next best thing.

If you’re wondering who to order from, check out Miami Eats from the Greater Miami Convention and Visitors Bureau, where more than 600 restaurants with takeout and delivery options have their menus online. If that’s a little overwhelming, we've also narrowed it down to these awesome dishes that’ll be just as good when you get them to go.

Let’s be honest: You’ve more or less forgotten what day it is by now anyway, so why not make every day Taco Tuesday? The blue corn tacos from Taquiza hold up particularly well with delivery, and there is really no better time than a quarantine to try tacos filled with grasshoppers.
Cost: $15; available for takeout via Toast and on Uber Eats

Fear not, Tiger King fans, the Pubbelly boys didn’t make this Netflix-themed roll out of spoiled Walmart meat and meth. Instead, it’s got shrimp tempura, king crab, and spicy tuna -- topped with masago, foie gras, avocado, chives, spicy mayo, eel sauce, and possibly a pending cease-and-desist order.
Cost: $18; order delivery through Grubhub, Doordash, Postmates, and Uber Eats

It would seem easy enough to recreate a sauce as simple as pecorino cheese and black pepper pasta by your own damn self. But for the same reason you’ve never been able to mix Monster and malt liquor to re-create Four Loko, you just can’t seem to do it the same as Casa Tua. So go ahead and order a big bowl of it at home -- it’s enough for almost two meals.
Cost: $21; available for delivery on Uber Eats, Postmates, and Grubhub

Though Niven Patel’s menu typically changes almost-daily based on whatever’s in season on his Homestead farm, the limited offerings he’s putting out during the COVID-crisis are nearly ALL driven by whatever is freshest. Last week, it was a tomato-eggplant curry. And if you head down on Friday, you can even buy some of the fresh veggies to take home.
Cost: Varies; order takeout online and delivery through Postmates and Uber Eats

You wouldn’t immediately think a Vietnamese-Cajun restaurant would be the place to get fried chicken to go. But then you’d remember that, before they were slinging crawfish, Aniece Meinhold and Cesar Zapata ran The Federal, which had highly-addictive biscuits on the menu and some of the city’s best fried chicken. It returns on Fridays with only 30 orders, so make sure to get yours early.
Cost: Three-course dinner for two is $55; order online or by calling 305.602.3710

Who better to get your food delivery from than the place that’s literally mastered it over the past five years? In addition to doing a banging dining room business, Crust has absolutely killed delivery, offering up a massive plate of chicken parm that can literally feed a normal person for three days. Or your teenager for, like, lunch.
Cost: $22.95; order online

Soup, and pho in particular, is almost indistinguishable in its delivery format from when you eat it in the restaurant. And though you may not have hit up this Vietnamese stand at Politan row, now’s the time to try it with a hot bowl of steaming chicken pho, and maybe some shrimp chips to throw in there.
Cost: $15; order online or through DoorDash 

Nobody ever likes to hear this (because masks look way cooler on Instagram), but one of the best things you can do to fight off illness is eat tons of leafy greens. They’re especially delicious when coming from a chic Nikkea restaurant like Osaka, whose plating up this chicken, cucumber, brasa sauce, spring mix, tomato, and citrus soy salad.
Cost: $17; order through Grubhub and Postmates

There are a great many things you’ll only be able to do during this bizarre period of history. Like do wind sprints down Ocean Drive. Or have Thomas Keller prepare a three-course meal for you at home. Ok, so he won’t actually be the one making the food, but you can get three courses of his Surf Club creations – which change nightly – to take back home and act like you cooked yourself.
Cost: $29 per person; order takeout through Tock

Sure, you could go down to Publix and try to find a pre-roasted bird to take home to your family. But if last week’s Hurricane Season Preview Event was any indication, that’ll be like the grocery shopping equivalent of rush hour on the Palmetto. Better to order from D-Wade and UD’s pizza shop, who’s bringing this Bell & Evans Pennsylvania chicken with a 48-hour marinade and Peruvian green sauce right to your door.
Cost: $24 half chicken, $38 whole chicken; order through Uber Eats, Doordash, Grubhub, and Postmates

Be the toast of your next Zoom happy hour by busting out some champagne and oysters. Ella’s can help you with half that equation, with a $10 menu featuring a dozen oysters with all the fixings. And they’re guaranteed a lot fresher than that guy still selling camarones from a Styrofoam cooler a few blocks away.
Cost: $10; order by calling 786.332.4436

The term “comfort food” never made more sense than it does right now, when your anxiety can be easily quelled by a big, savory side of beef. Nobody does brisket better than Blue Collar, where you can still enjoy that braised beef with mashed potatoes and jus, with nothing to clean up after your food coma.
Cost: $20; Orders by calling the restaurant at 305.756.0366

Your brunch, dinner, and late-night cravings haven’t changed just because you’re staying safe indoors. Fortunately you can still get all of your favorite dishes delivered right to your door, while also supporting the restaurant industry that has given you so many meals and memories. Uber Eats is making it possible for you to give directly to your favorite restaurants at checkout, and 100% of contributions go directly to the restaurants. You can also eat, save, and support local restaurants with a one-month free trial of their Eats Pass. Uber will give $1 to the Restaurant Employee Relief Fund for every new Eats Pass subscriber. See app for details.

Do these tangy, spicy wings taste nearly as good without a complete panoramic view of Miami from the 40th floor? Find out as Sugar offers this plus the rest of its menu for delivery. Cool off from all the spice with the Audi and Ramsa ice creams, which are made with various types of alcohol. So even if they melt on the way, they’ll still be worth drinking.
Cost: $16; available on UberEats

If you’ve got a decent-sized group to feed, the family platter from this Downtown/Coconut Grove Greek smash is a pretty fantastic value. You’ll get a heaping plate of seasoned beef, chicken, and lamb patties served with veggies, Greek fries, and pita bread. And it’s available for two of four people -- or really any even number if you know how to order.
Cost: $30 for two, $55 for four; order directly from the restaurant

Even before you had to order everything takeout, this was one of the best to-go values in Miami. Seriously. The hearty, thick, lasagna filled with kobe beef Bolognese, buffalo mozzarella, and fresh pasta is two-to-three meals worth of food, or enough to feed a whole family for dinner.
Cost: $32; order free directly from the restaurant by calling 305.695.8484

The self-proclaimed purveyors of the “original Cuban taco” are a far better delivery play for their massive bowls. Which not only don’t soak through the tortilla, they’re also two meals’ worth of food for under $20. The vaca frita will fill you up the most, with the fried cow over a heaping bed of quinoa, cucumbers, black bean pico, cotija cheese, avocado, and aioli.
Cost: $16; order direct from the restaurant in Coral Gables, UberEats everywhere else

Carboload with this over-the-top Italian pasta from Executive Chef Marco Giugliano. Like the name implies, it’s a massive plate of hearty, beefy noodles with a thick cheese fondue, which should be enough to fill you up for a day. If it’s not, go ahead and order two, because when you order delivery straight from the restaurant you’ll get HALF OFF your order.
Cost: $24 (before discount); call 786.953.6946

The duck carnitas tacos at Coyo can make a pretty legitimate claim as the best tacos in the city. If you eat them at Coyo. Much as we love those guys, no taco shop on earth can conquer the pure physics of a juicy taco and a corn tortilla made to ride in a delivery car. So for the same phenomenal flavors in a not-soggy concoction, opt for the quesadilla, which also brings an extra helping of cheese on a toasty flour shell.
Cost: $14; available on  Uber Eats, Postmates, GrubHub, and DoorDash 

Rice-based dishes also hold up well when transported, and you’ll learn when you order this traditional Spanish dish from the Doral or Coral Gables outposts of Bulla. It features Valencia-style rice, shrimp, chicken, calamari, red sofrito and saffron, and can probably last you a couple days if you’re not a huge eater.
Cost: $29.09; order delivery or takeout though Uber Eats

Ok, so you won’t get to enjoy it with half of the Florida State class of 2014 surrounding you, but depending on your allegiances that might be a good thing? Either way, it’s tough to beat the gooey mix of parmesan, Vermont cheddar, and cave-aged gruyere mixed with flame-broiled steak.
Cost: $20.25; order takeout (which is 20 percent off!) by calling 305.223.7005 and delivery through Uber Eats, Grubhub, and DoorDash

Those who’ve been around Miami a minute know “a minute” means a lot longer than that, and also may recall the legendary La Pollita food truck. The people behind that beloved poultry on wheels opened Boia De last year, and will be bringing back the truck’s signature fried chicken sandwich as part of the curbside ventanita menu starting on Thursday.
Cost: $11; takeout only

Always ones to be ahead of the technology curve, Sunny Poke has developed its own delivery app, so you can order straight from the restaurant without having to navigate a website. You’ll get 15% off your first order, which we recommend you use to try this high-protein meal filled with fresh tuna and spicy mayo.
Cost: $14; order from Sunny Poke’s app

Plant-based eaters, don’t despair! You’re not sentenced to endless weeks of lettuce and kale, as the folks at Fooq’s are offering this rice dish with raisins, carrots, eggplant, and split peas as part of their delivery menu. And best of all, you’ll get 30% off all wine-to-go orders, with a free wine consultation by request.
Cost: $24; 10% off if you call-in to pick up at 786.536.2749; delivery through Uber Eats and Postmates.

Nice to know that the more things change, then change again, then get downright effing surreal, some things stay the same. Like how Night Owl Cookies will still bring you a dozen cookies at almost any hour of the night. And, though you can still go into the store to pick them up for now, you’ll have to wait outside until you get a text saying they’re ready.
Cost: $2.75 a cookie; order through Postmates

Sign up here for our daily Miami email and be the first to get all the food/drink/fun in town.