Top Five BYOB Restaurants in Miami

via stephen-bolen's Flickr

​Restaurant owners are usually not big fans of forgoing a wine list filled with marked-up bottles. But from a customer perspective, BYOB restaurants are simply awesome. You can get all fancy and dust off a bottle of vintage blah blah blah and ball out over Thai grub. Or you can waltz in with a $5 Chateau Ste Michelle from CVS and a Colt 45 in a paper bag to a classy joint.

Either way, nobody cares, and you can spend the money you saved on some lobster or at least one more inadvisable serving of fried ice cream. So without further ado, Short Order's list of five favorite restaurants that welcome your store-bought booze. (Note: In coming up with the list, we eliminated restaurants with super-high corkage fees.)

5. Egyptian Pizza

No corkage fee.

The minds behind Egyptian Pizza were going out on a limb when they settled on a Middle Eastern/pizza/Middle Eastern-pizza concept for this casual eatery. But you know what?

Bill Wisser

Pad Thai at Sawaddee

​Falafel on a pizza is kind of awesome. Go ahead, judge us. 3201 N. Miami Ave., Miami; 305-571-9050

4. Lifefood Gourmet

No corkage fee.

Two ways to do it at this vegan and raw spot: Take a bottle of organic, sustainable wine to complement your meal. Or go on a full processed, crappy beer binge but feel okay about it because you're eating seitan protein patties garnished with alfalfa sprouts. (We kid: The food here is creative and well-crafted, which is why the place was named "Best Vegan/Raw Food Restaurant" in this year's Best Of awards.) 1248 Coral Way, Miami; 305-856-6767

George Martinez

Lobster at Anacapri

​3. Sawaddee Thai-Sushi

No corkage fee.

Just look at the Pad Thai picture that accompanies food critic Lee Klein's recent review of this Normandy Isle joint. You're feeling hungry, aren't you? 6968 Bay Dr., Miami Beach; 305-866-8111

2. Pilar Restaurant

$10 corkage fee.

Named "Best Restaurant in a Shopping Mall" in 2008 and "Best Restaurant When You're Paying" in 2005, Pilar offers unpretentiously good seafood at reasonable enough prices to justify the ten bucks you'll have to dish out to bring your own booze. 20475 Biscayne Blvd., Ste G1, Aventura; 305-937-2777

1. Anacapri Italian Market & Restaurant

$15 corkage fee is waived on Mondays.

Named "Best Restaurant in South Miami-Dade" this year, Anacapri is a quartet of old-school Italian joints that features "large family portions... at eminently affordable prices." And it's even more affordable on Monday nights, when bringing your own bottle of wine won't cost you a thing. 2530 Ponce de Leon Blvd., Coral Gables; 305-443-8388 and three other locations.

Follow Short Order on Facebook and Twitter @Short_Order.