MIAMI

Enjoy fine Italian dining here in South Beach on the heels of your visit to the oldest zoo in the Sunshine State: Zoo Miami!

Tropical Landscaping & an Extraordinary Menagerie at Zoo Miami

Established back in the late 1940s and now occupying nearly 750 acres, Zoo Miami—aka the Miami-Dade Zoological Park & Gardens—is not only the biggest and most venerable zoo in Florida, but also unique in the country for the tropical climate it inhabits. South Florida’s steamy weather allows critters from equatorial and subtropical landscapes around the world to flourish here.

Better than 3,000 animals call Zoo Miami home. They include such huge and charismatic showstoppers as Asian and African elephants, black rhinos and reticulated giraffes and the enormous Asian cattle called gaur, hefty lowland gorillas and the biggest antelope in the world, the giant eland. Stare into the fiery eyes of an African lion or Neotropical jaguar, marvel at the human-like expressions of a chimp or orangutan, admire the mottled coat and whopping ears of an African wild dog (aka painted hunting dog).

On the reptilian side of things, more giants await you: from crocodiles and green anacondas to the hulking Galapagos tortoise and the planet’s heavyweight lizard king, the Komodo dragon.

The Zoo Miami aviary, meanwhile, is a rainbow of colors evoked by everything from great Indian hornbills and saddle-billed storks to North America’s own wood ducks and huge American white pelicans. (Naturally, you’ll find some flamingos among the roster…)

Activities & Programs at Zoo Miami

Simply enjoying an up-close look at creatures from all around the biosphere—from the savannas of Africa to the depths of the South American rainforest—is the prime attraction at Zoo Miami, but there’s plenty more on offer here. A host of special activities provide fun for the whole family: from hands-on animal feeding and various zookeeper presentations to various rides and pedal-boat rentals.

Zoo Miami also offers a range of guided tours, including behind-the-scenes experiences well worth considering.

Join Us at Mercato della Pescheria on a Zoo Miami Day

After you’ve spent some quality time with the lemurs and meerkats and tree frogs at Zoo Miami and had your fill of the rides, we invite you to cap everything off with a family-friendly feast here at Mercato della Pescheria! Our crowd-pleasing Italian menu has something for everybody to enjoy, and you’ll love our happening South Beach location along Espanola Way.