Things to Do in Surfside, Florida: What We Send Guests To
By Maison Felix ·
Quick answer
Surfside is a small beach town between us and Bal Harbour, and most of what you'd want sits on two streets. Harding Avenue between 94th and 96th is the everyday stretch: shops, delis and casual dinners, including the MICHELIN-recommended Josh's Deli. The Surfside Farmers Market sets up at the 96th Street beach entrance from October through May, 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. The Ké, Mother Turtle sculpture stands at the 95th Street beach entrance. For a long dinner, the Surf Club Restaurant on Collins Avenue holds a MICHELIN star. We're on Harding Avenue ourselves, at 7418, so you reach all of it by walking north up our own street.
Surfside numbers its beach entrances by street. The farmers market uses the one at 96th. · Photo by Tyler Martoia on Unsplash
Surfside is small on purpose. A few blocks of beach town sitting between us and Bal Harbour, with a business district you can cross in minutes and a beach entrance at nearly every street. Guests ask us what there is to do up there, and the honest answer is that Surfside isn't a list of attractions. It's a place to eat well, buy fruit, and walk back.
We're at 7418 Harding Avenue, the same street Surfside's shops and restaurants sit on, so you get there by walking north and not turning. That's the whole set of directions. Below is what we actually recommend, with enough detail to decide whether it's worth the walk today.
This is the slower Miami. Nobody up here is trying to impress you, and after a day or two that stops feeling like a lack and starts feeling like the point. If you'd rather not move at all, the courtyard pool is open sunrise to sunset and nobody will ask you where you're going.
Harding Avenue between 94th and 96th
· North along Harding Avenue from 7418
This is Surfside's business district: a short, flat, pedestrian-friendly run of shops, delis and casual restaurants. Use it for breakfast, takeout and an unfussy dinner rather than a dressed-up night out. Walk, don't drive. Parking on those blocks is the one genuinely annoying thing about Surfside, and you don't need a car to get there from our gate.
Josh's Deli
· Harding Avenue, Surfside
A deli on Harding Avenue that is MICHELIN-recommended, which is an unusual sentence to write about a deli and the reason we send people. Treat it as a daytime stop rather than a dinner plan. If you want one proper meal between the pool and the sand, this is the one we'd pick, and it sits on the same walk as everything else in the district.
Surfside Farmers Market, 96th Street beach entrance
· 96th Street beach entrance, Surfside
An open-air market at the 96th Street beach entrance, running October through May, 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Worth building a morning around if you're here in season: walk up, buy fruit and flowers for the room, carry them back. Out of season there is nothing there, so check the month before you make the trip. Mornings are the kinder hours for a walk up Harding in any case, before the heat settles.
Ké, Mother Turtle, at the 95th Street beach entrance
· 95th Street beach entrance, Surfside
A sculpture at the 95th Street beach entrance, part of Surfside's Turtle Walk public art installation, with a plaque explaining the ancient inspiration behind it. It takes five minutes and costs nothing. We mention it because it makes the natural turn-around point for a walk: up Harding, east at 95th, back along the sand instead of the street.
The Surf Club Restaurant and Lido, Collins Avenue
· Collins Avenue, Surfside
The Surf Club Restaurant holds a MICHELIN star, and Lido, in the same building, serves Italian. This is the dressed-up end of Surfside and the one place up here that wants a reservation and a collar. Book ahead rather than walking in, and save it for the night you want a long dinner. Everything else on this page you can decide on an hour beforehand.
