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A Local’s Guide to Lincoln Road

A Local’s Guide to Lincoln Road

August 01, 2011 By Jess in Miami: Travel News, Miami: Things to Do | 11 Comments

Lincoln Road is one of the main tourist destinations in Miami Beach. It is a pedestrianized street stretching over a mile long, spanning the entire width of South Beach. Packed with shops, bars, restaurants, art galleries and a movie theater, the area is known for its vibrant atmosphere, people watching, street performers, holiday parties and strange sightings of local characters that you can only find here in South Beach.

Lincoln Road has much to offer for all who visit. The shops range from tourist traps selling shot glasses and postcards to the designer stores selling Fendi and Balmain clothing. Restaurants are everywhere, offering outside dining throughout the year to all the visitors from colder climates. There are art galleries including a showcase for the famous Miami based artist Romero Britto, while on Sundays you will find other local artists selling their drawings at the busy Sunday market. With so much to see and do it can take days to get to know Lincoln Road. So for those of you visiting Miami for only a short time, here are my five top picks.

Best Store: Pink Palm

Pink Palm has been in business over 14 years and can be found between Euclid and Meridian Ave. It is a store full of fun and fabulous trinkets, cards, books, jewelry and candles and is great to browse through for something for yourself or for presents for friends. With a flamboyant theme, it displays a pink Christmas tree during the month of December and the rest of the year sells items you wonâ€™t find anywhere else on Lincoln Road. Visit for an outfit for your pet pooch, an Ugly Doll for your friends, a charm for your bracelet or just to enjoy their unique merchandise.

Best Place to Visit: Peter Lik Gallery

Lincoln Road is lucky to boast one of the only thirteen galleries in the world owned by Peter Lik, the famous landscape photographer. His photographs are of amazing shots of nature, blown up in size and lit by spotlights, giving the effect of a painting or a work of art. The gallery is welcoming, with big comfy sofas and armchairs allowing you to sit and take in each and every photo. Chalked on the wall are quotes reading â€œMother Nature sets the scene, I simply capture itâ€ and as you look around you to take in the photos and their names such as Zen, Splendor and Romantic Skies, you canâ€™t help but feel that you have stepped into another world when you are in his gallery.

Best Happy Hour: Doraku

Doraku is a sushi restaurant in the newly rebuilt Alton Road block. Their daily happy hour is a must, with the lunchtime deals from 12-3pm and the popular evening deals from 5-7pm. They offer wine and beer for only $3 and a fabulous lychee martini for $4. The food is also included in the specials, with the california roll starting at $3 and the tuna avocado or crunchy crab roll for $4. The outdoor seating area is always full with a great atmosphere so arrive early to get a table. Youâ€™ll find both locals and tourists taking advantage of this great happy hour, so come to enjoy the drinks and people watching at this busy end of Lincoln Road.

Best Restaurant Deal: Spris

Spris is an Italian restaurant between Euclid and Meridian Ave, offering over 30 different pizzas on their menu. Many restaurants on Lincoln have special offers but Spris offers a deal with a difference. They call it â€˜Beat The Clockâ€™ starting at 5:30pm and ending at 7:00pm. The price you pay for your pizza depends on the time you place your order for the specials they have listed. For example, if you order at 5:30pm, you pay $5.30, order at 6:15pm and you pay $6.15. They offer 3 different pizzas on the specials menu, and it is a fun and cheap way to start the evening on Lincoln Road.

Best Dessert: Ghirardelliâ€™s

San Franciscoâ€™s chocolate company is open on the corner of Meridian Ave. Inside is a chocolate lovers dream, with free Ghirardelliâ€™s squares handed out all day plus a mouth watering pick and mix range to create your own boxes to take home. They have indoor and outdoor seating and offer a dessert menu of shakes, cookies, floats and hot fudge sundaes. You can build your own sundae, choosing toppings such as banana or butterscotch. My favorite menu item is the sea salt caramel hot cocoa, which is great to indulge in when the temperature cools off during the winter months. Use your Miami Incard to get 5% or 10% off your check, and make sure you take home a sample of chocolate before you leave.

More Lincoln Road Local Info

Now that youâ€™ve read my top five Lincoln Road picks, here are a few more local secrets and great reasons to visit:

There is a Starbucks on nearly every corner. So whether you need a caffeine hit as you shop or you want to sneak in to use their restrooms, you wonâ€™t have to go very far.
Tasti Delite gives away free samples of frozen yoghurt daily. Stop by and pick some up between Meridian and Jefferson Ave.
Zekes Bar offers over 200 different beers from around the world, all priced at $4 each. It’s open till 2am and with prices like these, it is a great place to end your evening.
The Books and Books store is South Beachâ€™s only independent book store. It has been here 24 years and host book signings and author events. Stop by to browse their travel section, or read a magazine on the terrace with a coffee and cupcake.
The Movie Theater at Alton Road is a 3 story multi complex with all the latest releases. So if you need a break from the hot weather or it ends up raining for the day, this is the place to go.

With these local tips, you will be able to fit in everything and more as you stroll down Lincoln Road seeing all it has to offer. These are only my top picks, so make sure you explore to find some of your own, and enjoy your time in Miami Beach!

Related Categories: Miami: Travel News, Miami: Things to Do,

A SoBe resident for 5 years, Jessâ€™s writing focuses on healthy living in South Beach with a dose of British humor and a cheerful outlook on life in Miami. She can be found moderating the forum Miami Beach 411.

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11 Comments on

"A Local’s Guide to Lincoln Road"

FredGarvin says:

AWESOME guide, Jess!

Posted on 08/01/2011 at 9:29 AM

Scott says:

Great guide, Jess. Just wanted to add that as for the Peter Lik gallery, the photography is unreal. The framing technique employed (so that the photos look more like paintings or art) is not, though.

For photographers, Tropicolor located on Alton Road provides its customers with the exact same framing technique which involves mounting the image on acrylic glass. (I have heard there are other shops in the area which provide similar type framing, though I can’t confirm their existence.)

Lik’s landscapes and panoramas are absolutely jaw-dropping and when you look at them in the gallery, they appear backlit. No such lighting exists, though. While the front lighting enhances the photography somewhat, it is almost entirely the framing alone that makes the images so brilliant. I had a print done in acrylic glass for a gallery show two or three years ago and numerous people during the exhibition walked up beside the print and tried to look behind it to see where the light was coming from.

Just wanted to pass along that tidbit for local photographers. Lik’s gallery is a must-see for anyone, no doubt. For the photographer, if you’re unfamiliar with acrylic glass framing, it is an absolute must see. It will change your perspective on possibilities. There is no way to convey in words or even in online photos how much the framing technique changes presentation. The colors explode and the image has a much deeper feel, enveloping the viewer. I would encourage photographers to visit Tropicolor’s store, actually, too. Throughout the front of their store they have numerous massive acrylic glass prints from other artists which vary greatly in style from Lik’s work so you can see how the technique impacts other types of work beyond landscape photography. Definitely worth a visit. (Also, for the art afficionado, prints hanging there are available for purchase as well.)

Posted on 08/02/2011 at 10:23 AM

Mirna says:

I love the pictures and places you recommend. Great guide, jess! I used to spend hours at the Peter Lik Gallery. There is one in Key West as well, but not as comfy as the one in South Beach.

Posted on 08/02/2011 at 11:28 AM

Mike LaMonica says:

I love this and it’s been too long since I’ve just “done Lincoln Road.” I usually go to one place, walk around a bit and split. Great guide.

There is a part of me that misses Lincoln Road before it was redone. Same goes for south of 5th. Eh, nevermind.

~Mike

Posted on 08/02/2011 at 12:02 PM

Maria de los Angeles says:

Nice recap, Jess. I’m glad you picked long-standing businesses. So much is fly-by-night on Lincoln Road, especially in recent years. Do you know when Pink Palm reopened?

Posted on 08/02/2011 at 7:23 PM

jess says:

Thank you for the comments everyone. I love Lincoln Road so I hope my article gets people to try out some new places.

Scott, the first time I visited Peter Lik’s gallery, the staff turned down the spotlights for me to show the photos were not backlit. I was convinced they were. The photography in there is unreal.

Maria, as I understand it, Pink Palm never actually closed. The manager told me that they just moved locations. They used to be next door where Aldo is now.

Posted on 08/03/2011 at 9:21 AM

Maria de los Angeles says:

Yes, that’s correct. Pink Palm used to be in between Spris & the Starbucks (is that where Aldo is now, also?) circa 1990s. After they moved, I never found them again, at least not on Lincoln Road. Do you know where they moved to?

Pink Palm moved at a time when a lot of great, unique businesses left Lincoln Road in what seemed like a mass exodus after the larger chains started creeping in and rents skyrocketed. Pink Palm was one of them, as well as Store 24 (you would have loved that boutique!) and Condal y PeÃ±amil (best mojitos ever in South Beach history).

I used to love going to Pink Palm because it’s just fun to browse all their stuff.

Posted on 08/03/2011 at 9:40 AM

jess says:

Pink Palm is next door to their old location, right next to Spris. So you will be able to find it easily. Aldo is in their old location.

I usually go in just to browse, but every now and then I have to indulge, even if it is just a greeting card or magnet.

Posted on 08/03/2011 at 9:57 AM

Doug says:

Wonderful suggestios, Jess! I didn’t know Doraku had such great deals. I would forgo the Starbucks in favor of local businesses whenever possible, though. I don’t want Lincoln Road to turn into just another cookie-cutter strip mall!

Posted on 08/03/2011 at 11:23 AM

Christy & the G-bunny says:

Now I miss it! One of my favorite stores is the little vintage store. Love it! Ginger likes Starbucks because of the the shady seating and the fresh glasses of ice cold water. She refuses to drink out of the boiling, germy dog bowls.

Posted on 08/07/2011 at 3:03 PM