South Florida Sun-Sentinel Palm Beach (Sunday)
Any top restaurants found in Miami Beach, Boca Raton or the Keys? Nope, says Yelp
The top places to eat in 2019 are not in hip havens such as Miami’s Wynwood or Brickell neighborhoods, according to a new nationwide survey from Yelp.
Boca Raton and Miami Beach? They got nada from the crowd-sourced online review forum in its Top 100 Places to Eat list published this week at YelpBlog.com.
But Yelp had a lot of love to give restaurants in Fort Lauderdale, Homestead, Hollywood, Hialeah, Pompano Beach and Tamarac.
In an email, a Yelp spokesperson explains: “Yelp’s list covers all restaurants -- a wide range of places to eat -- from white tablecloth to food trucks and hot dog carts. It’s more accessible than a list of all fine dining establishments and really reflects the uniqueness of the Yelp community. It’s also powered by the people, not a small group of restaurant critics, so it’s really representative of places consumers are loving right now.”
This is the sixth year Yelp has compiled the list.
So why the cold shoulder to SoFlo’s famous dining destinations?
The reason some wellknown restaurant enclaves might have been shut out may have something to do with the list’s methodology. Yelp explains in the blog entry that they looked at the rating and the volume of reviews in compiling the list.
But they also took into consideration the number of reviews in each business area. We don’t know the formula that Yelp used, but that calibration could explain why dining destinations such as Delray Beach’s Atlantic Avenue, West Palm Beach’s Clematis Street and CityPlace, or Miami’s South Beach were left off the list.
Here are South Florida’s entries
No. 10: Yardie Spice
225 S. Krome Ave., Homestead. 786-349-5138. Facebook.com/pages/ category/Jamaican -Restaurant/Yardie-Spice -1750418601870226.
This eatery with Jamaican and Haitian fare was also on the 2018 list.
No. 13: Cafe Club by Les
13 Johnson St., Hollywood. 754-263-3436. CafeClub.co.
There are breakfast items and various sandwiches on the menu, but crepes are what this oceanfront bistro is known for.
No. 25: Franky’s Deli Warehouse
2596 W 84th St., Hialeah. 305-827-5366. Frankys Deli.com.
This deli’s namesake started out training franchise owners at Subway Corporation. Also, Franky’s was on Yelp’s top 100 list in 2017 and 2018, so it’s a hat trick this year.
No. 42: Amy’s French Bakery and Bistro
1441 S Dixie Highway, Pompano Beach. 954-781-4211. Facebook.com/amysbakery andbistro
In addition to sandwiches, quiches, burgers and all-day breakfast, there are lots of baked goodies. But it’s the croissants that get the most mentions.
No. 53: Alamo Restaurant
1665 W 68th St., Hialeah. 786-773-1144. Alamo-Restaurant .business.site
The Cuban food’s authenticity is what many of the Yelp reviews mention with this eatery.
No. 54: J28 Sandwich Bar
1854 N. Young Circle, Hollywood. 754-208-2902. J28SandwichBar.com.
The Sun Sentinel raved about this restaurant owned by brothers Marco and Javier Rondon in a 2015 review, giving the Hollywood eatery four stars. J28 was also on Yelp’s 2018 list. No. 66: Inkanto Peruvian Cuisine
1672 E. Oakland Park Blvd., Fort Lauderdale. 954-533-5147. InkantoRestaurant.com.
Yelpers seem to appreci- ate the freshness of the dishes and the stellar service at this restaurant. The ceviches were singled out by a lot of people as being on another level.
No. 70: Rejoice Cafe
8001 W. McNab Road., Tamarac. 754-222-8199. CrisToss.com.
They say they make everything from scratch every day and the Yelp reviews back them up.
rhagwood@sunsentinel.com