This spot in Miami Beach serves the best nachos in Florida, food website says

You might think that the best nachos in the state of Florida — in any and every state, really — would be served at a Mexican restaurant. The chips would be buried under a pound of cooked meat and slathered in cheese.

But you would be wrong.

Health, wellness and food website Eat This, Not That has ranked the best nachos in each state, and in its estimation, the best nachos in Florida can be found at Sweet Liberty in Miami Beach.

Sweet Liberty isn’t a Mexican restaurant. It isn’t usually thought of as a restaurant, exactly, although it does serve food (think upscale bar bites like baked oysters, empanadas, kimchee fried rice, even Korean short ribs). It’s mostly known for craft cocktails so outstanding it was named one of North America’s 50 Best Bars earlier this year, along with Café La Trova and Broken Shaker.

Eat This, Not That, which calls nachos the “ultimate sharable comfort dish,” singled out Sweet Liberty’s vegetarian cauliflower nachos for praise ($19, serves two). They’re made with cheese, sauteed cauliflower, avocado crema, radishes, pickled jalapeño and pomegranate seeds.

“Sweet Liberty may be best known for its wide array of unique cocktails, but we all know not to drink on an empty stomach and the Vegetarian Cauliflower Nachos are a huge hit,” the website wrote. “You don’t need to be a vegetarian to love these nachos.” You really don’t: You can add chicken ($7) or shrimp or steak ($10).

Dan Binkiewicz, who created Sweet Liberty with award-winning bartender John Lermayer, who died at 45 in 2018, and restaurateurs David Martinez and Michelle Bernstein, said the nachos have been the bestselling item since they hit the menu.

“We knew right from the beginning they were going to be a hit,” he says.

What makes the dish special is the three-cheese blend that Sweet Liberty chefs use, he says. The spiced, sauteed cauliflower on top gives the dish a kick, along with what Binkiewicz calls “a nice acid pop from the pomengranate seeds.”

Binkiewicz says another reason for the dish’s’ popularity is that these are nachos you can eat without getting stuffed.

“It’s a great health version of nachos” despite the cheese, he says. “Pretty much guilt free nachos are absolutely delicious.”

Sweet Liberty

Where: 237 20th St., Suite B, Miami Beach

Hours: 4 p.m.-5 a.m. Monday-Saturday; noon-5 a.m. Sunday

More information and reservations: mysweetliberty.com or 305-763-8217

This story was originally published September 14, 2022 at 1:04 PM.