Since the last post on Little River Miami, lots has happened, so it was time for an update with new restaurants and things to do along with the tried and true. As you’ll read, there’s plenty to do to spend a few hours or a day exploring. And in case you missed them at the end are links to other posts in my “A Day In” series. Enjoy!
Overview of Little River Miami:
Known as a neighborhood with low rise warehouse buildings and single-family homes, this vicinity takes its name from the Little River that runs along its northern edge.
Located north of Wynwood, the Design District, and Little Haiti and south of El Portal and Miami Shores, Little River has become one of the city’s newest art enclaves as well as foodie destination and special shopping stores, resulting in a must try threat.
You still can find some shuttered buildings and cargo trains going by, but also murals painted on the walls and a group of local talents and developers reshaping the area with innovation.
SHOPPING in Little River Miami
Carolina K
7924 NE 2nd Ave Suite #103
Coming from a family lineage of textiles and design that started in Bolivia and then Argentina, Carolina Kleinman utilizes her extensive knowledge to create thoughtful collections that showcase intricate details, timeless silhouettes, and conscious materials. As a pioneer in working with communities of artisans, her brand is known for its hand-embroidered details made authentically from remote regions of Mexico, Peru, and India.
160 NW 73rd Street, Miami
Eliou is a boutique selling fashion and accessories for men and women. designed by the two Brazilian owners and made by hand . Find interesting crocheted pieces, everything from tops and sweaters to skirts and even hats, along with novel jeans and some lace and cutout pieces that will show you know your fashion. I also really liked the fashion jewelry, most of it chunky and chic, in silver, gold and pearls. They’re made on the premises, in a spacious workshop behind the retail area.
Rose Coloured Floral
7338 NW Miami CT
https://www.rosecolouredfloral.com/
Approaching floral design with a truly artistic expression, Rose Coloured is not your typical flower shop. From a daily stem bar of fresh flowers and a large selection of dried florals to custom bouquets and arrangements and good from a variety of featured artists and designers, find it all.
Eating in Little River Miami
150 NW 73rd Street
(Watch for my review shortly)
After a highly anticipated five-year hiatus, the cult-favorite Fooq’s has officially entered its “2.0” era with a massive reopening in the booming Little River neighborhood as of January 2026. Transforming a 14,000-square-foot former warehouse into a “hippie chic” sanctuary, the new space manages to preserve the soul of its original downtown “closet” through intimate, layered design zones filled with Persian rugs, mid-century furniture, and a signature floor-to-ceiling bookshelf stocked with owner David Foulquier’s childhood artifacts. The kitchen, helmed by Executive Chef Andrew Bazzini, centers around a custom wood-fired grill, turning out “New American” dishes with deep Persian roots—think whole wood-fired ducks, charcoal-grilled shawarma, and the Fooq’s Feast, a communal prix-fixe spread featuring tahdig (crispy rice), delicious house baked bread and mezze. The experience extends late into the night at Lion’s Den, the restaurant’s upstairs vinyl lounge, which prioritizes “happy music only” and high-fidelity sound.
Ogawa
7223 NW 2nd Ave
Here comes the simplicity of Japanese cuisine in this one star Michelin restaurant (2024), the 10-seat intimate sushi bar features omakase with high-quality ingredients. Guests can decide the number of pieces they want and ask for their preference of fish, matched with premium whiskeys and sakes from the land of the rising sun.
Restaurateur and art dealer Alvaro Perez Miranda, who runs other Nipponese eateries in Miami-Dade, designed the restaurant which features wood, silk and gold leaf walls, including a Japanese garden, which serves as an outdoor lounge area for dinners and drinks.
7289 NW 2ND AVE
Neutral interiors welcome you into this neighborhood restaurant serving naturally leavened sourdough pizza, vegetable forward starters, and natural wines in a relaxed, indoor-outdoor space. Voted one of America’s best new restaurants of 2021 by Esquire.
7357 NW MIAMI COURT
Will Thompson and Carey Hynes, the duo behind Jaguar Sun, have created the most Miami steakhouse possible and one which has gotten numerous accolades as “the best”. Famous for their Parker House Rolls, ice-cold martinis, and unique cocktails, Sunny’s brings you a new take on old classics. Born as a pop-up during the start of the pandemic, this local and out-of-towner favorite is now a permanent fixture of Little River. It offers indoor and outdoor dining.
Cindy Lou’s Cookies
7320 NE 2nd Avenue
Cindy Lou of Cindy Lou’s Cookies. She learned about baking from the best, and has worked with some of the top chefs in the US. We’re talking everyone from Jean Georges Vongerichten, Charlie Trotter and Emeril Lagasse to Charlie Palmer. Palmer tapped her to co -create the desserts for the Emmy Awards in 2003. Her creations have been featured everywhere from Gourmet and the Wine Spectator to People magazines.
She calls her creations the All American cookies. They’re chewy and full of flavor. Thirty different flavors rotate on a weekly basis. Most popular are the classic chocolate chip; red velvet (cocoa scented red velvety cookie dough swirled with sweet cream cheese frosting that tastes just like the cake); Nutella swirl (chocolate chip cookie base minus the chips with heath bar candy and swirled with Nutella); and guava coconut macaroons. Find other delicious baked goods, too. Well worth a visit.
Imperial Moto Café
7299 NW 2nd AVE
Owner Matt McKenna combines two of his passions: third wave coffee and motorcycle culture to create a space where you can gather, work, and play. Enjoy their own brand specialty coffee, loose-leaf tea, fresh pastries, and lunch options like empanadas and sandwiches. Whether you’re stopping by for a coffee or comedy night, Imperial Moto always has something going on.
Naomi’s Garden
650 NW 71ST ST
Whether you’re ordering at the window for take-out or enjoying live music and a fresh juice in their backyard garden, this family-run establishment serves some of the best Haitian and Caribbean food in Miami. Founded in the late 70’s as a vegetarian food truck, they now serve oxtail, whole fried snapper, jerk chicken, and a lot more dishes that come in big portions with sides of rice and plantains. Don’t forget the pickles!
The Plantisserie
https://www.theplantisserie.com/
7316 NE 2ND AVE
Since 2015, The Plantisserie has been serving nutritious, organic and fresh plant-based food by the pound. All their ingredients are free from pesticides, GMOs, chemicals, hormones, preservatives, colorants, or additives. At this plant-based organic deli and market, you’ll find not only fresh food but delicious and healthy products and snacks from local artisans.
The Citadel
8300 NE 2nd Ave
The Citadel Miami is always worth a visit with its food court with 13 eateries serving up a variety of global cuisines, an inviting bar and a rooftop lounge with live entertainment that also serves food and a number of shops. It also offers a great happy hour seven days a week.
Ebb and Flow Miami
8200 NE 2nd Ave
A busy commercial strip and restored Federal Savings Bank house a variety of local artisanal foods, specialty cocktails, and maker driven retail. Whether you’re looking for an acai bowl or a mezcal bar, this two blocks south of the Little River has you covered. Some of our favorites include La Santa Taqueria and Tran An Vietnamese fare,
For an earlier review about La Santa Taqueria , click here.
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NOTE FROM KAREN: Sorry to say that one of the more popular eating spots in Little River, Hachidori Ramen has recently closed. I heard they may reopen in another location.
CULTURE in Little River Miami
101 NE 79th Street
At 4,500 sq. ft. Dimensions Variable accommodates five artist studios, a Main Gallery, a Project Gallery, a Corridor Gallery, and a special collaborative space in habited by Women Artists Archive Miami (WAAM). The emphasis is on emerging international artists and others who are underrepresented. They also feature talks by leaders in the art community.
297 NE 67th St, Miami, FL 33138
Locust Projects is Miami’s longest-running alternative art space and a premier incubator for seeing large-scale ambitious new work by local, national and international artists at all career stages. Located in Little River since 2023, it serves as a hub for artistic risk-taking, public programming, and some of Miami’s best artist-centric parties and events. locustprojects.org
Stanek Gallery
8375 NE 2nd Avenue, Miami, FL 33138
https://www.stanekgallery.com/
Stanek Gallery is a Philadelphia-based fine art gallery that is woman-owned,all-women-run gallery where 50% of represented artists are also women. With a focus on quality, Stanek
Gallery presents a diverse collection of representational, abstract, figurative, and conceptual works of
in a wide range of styles, techniques, and subject matter. The approach is
modern and multifaceted, offering not only an opportunity for artists to maximize exposure of high caliber
work, but also provides an intimate experience for collectors and patrons. Stanek Gallery works with an
international community of aspiring and experienced art collectors to provide opportunities to acquire
highly regarded modern masters and intriguing new works by emerging talent.
Primary Projects
7410 NW Miami Court
https://www.thisisprimary.com/
Primary Projects is a context and research driven curatorial collective focusing on public arts. The gallery and private residence, designed by famed architects Keenen/Riley, explores modern ideas about live/work and connecting new voices in contemporary art with growing audiences and collections.
Oolite Arts
7297 NW 2nd Ave
Oolite Arts is a non-profit resource for the advancement of contemporary visual arts and culture in Miami’s Little River, formerly known as ArtCenter/South Florida in Miami Beach.
Oolite Arts hosts weekly events and art classes in its location in Little River, at their new arts campus with expansive artist studios and exhibition spaces, bright and open spaces for the community to learn, and energy-conscious solar chimneys and wind catchers.
Classes can range from Drawing Fundamentals and Introduction to Screen Printing, Watercolor Techniques, In-Studio Painting with Acrylic or Oil and Human Figure Drawing and more.
Check out my other posts on A Day In…
An Afternoon in the Miami World Center
12 Responses
Cindy Lou’s Cookies, right next to Plantisserie, is a must-visit in Little River!
Absolutely! They’re delicious. Plus, they deliver. Here’s a link to my earlier writeup on them. https://www.miamicurated.com/food/best-miami-desserts-with-delivery/
Wonderful little find thank you Karen!
Wonderful area and now I get to visit places I didn’t know about, thanks!
Looks like you skipped “Pasta Market” next to Santa Taqueria. The quality of the pasta and sauces is superb for a no-frills meals, better than anywhere else I know in Miami – without the price tag. Just like when you stumble on one of those little no-name places on a side-walk somewhere in Rome, Florence or Naples.
Sounds great, have to go!
Thank you Karen !! I look forward to trying these spots out.
Love this post! Little River will be our first outing when we return to Miami!
Is there a guide who can take a bus group on a tour of Little River ?
I don’t know of any tour operator that specializes in Little River, That being said there’s an organization of Miami tour guides (tours by locals) that’s part of an international organization. I’ve used them in my worldwide travels. You might check them out and see if any of them mentions little river. Hope this helps.
This is very exciting. A whole new world to explore. Thanks.
Great update, thank you.