After a positive experience at Versailles in Miami Airport, I took my son Augustine to the real Versailles in Miami’s Little Havana neighborhood where we enjoyed a late-afternoon lunch
A Delicious Cuban Lunch At Versailles In Miami
Versailles, calls itself the world’s most famous Cuban restaurant and has been a Miami staple since 1971. Known as the “gathering place and unofficial town square for Miami’s Cuban exiles,” Versailles offers a full-service restaurant, bakery, and walk-up coffee.
We showed up for a late lunch and experienced a wait for a table, which apparently is quite normal during the day.
There was a large outdoor waiting area and even an outdoor bar, though we ended up only having to wait about 15 minutes for an indoor table.
The menu is very large but I knew just what I wanted. I ordered a Cubano sandwich (sweet ham, roast pork, and Swiss cheese on toasted Cuban bread with mustard and pickles) and ropa vieja (shredded beef, cooked with garlic, onions, bell peppers, wine, and tomato sauce and served with white rice and sweet plantains).
It only took five minutes for the food to arrive and while the portions were small, the food was excellent, particularly the ropa vieja. I’ve had a better Cubano at Porto’s, the Cuban bakery near my house, but the sandwich was excellent too (Augustine and I shared both dishes).
I concluded the meal with a cortaditdo with evaporated milk…the specialty of the house. It was good, though I’ve got to say I liked the cortado at the airport better (it was stronger).
It was a fun lunch and I was happy to introduce Augustine to Cuban food in Miami.
Are the Miami Versailles restaurants affiliated with the ones in LA?
Versailles food is pretty good. My parents just went to Miami and I asked them to bring me a box of guava pastries. Fun fact: It’s the same place where Trump visited after leaving court after his first indictment, where he offered free food for everyone dining there, then left without paying.
Classic Trump lmao! Play the victimized hero of the people and then take credit at someone else’s expense. I saw that infuriating clip on Instagram – where all the cubans are saying “I love you trump” in their heavily accented broken English -blissfully ignorant of the fact that Trump can’t wait to get rid of the Latinos. So sad
You mean people who came here illegally in droves and shouldn’t be here, yes?
How’d the cubano compare to Tortas Frontera at O’Hare, my personal gold standard?
Tortas is better. No doubt about it.
lol my wife’s favorite travel food is still frontera in Ord.
Wow! Hard to beat at that price in Miami.
As a Miami native I can attest that Versailles is pretty overrated. Miami is swimming in Cuban restaurants and your best bet is to find one where they speak little to no English. Prices will be lower, the food will generally be better, and the experience much more genuine.
¡Pero mi español es patético!
Y hablo solo gringo pero necesitas solamente un poco de Espanol o La Google Translate.
Surely there is a mistake.
I don’t see a service charge, credit card fee, convenience fee, employee health insurance fee, back-of-house appreciation fee or entertainment fee.
….and the prices seem….gasp…..reasonable.
Are you sure this was Miami?
Or, you could go to Tampa for real Cuban food in the United States. There are plenty of Cuban restaurants there that are decades older than the existence of Miami. It’s not even a real Cuban sandwich without salami.
Versailles is really good. Slightly better than La Carreta
However, you should have tried Sergio’s. IMO, that is the best Cuban food in Miami (I lived there for 9 years)
Best Cuban food in Miami Dade is Paraiso Tropical. Better quality, more generous portions and at the same price.
People …why are we politicizing food? Give me a break!
I was born in Cuba, and raised in Los Angeles from the time I was a toddler. Every summer we visited Miami and I can say hands down La Carreta is the place to go for authentic Cuban food. It’s pretty darn good and very reasonable. Cuban food is comparable to Cajun in that it is a mix of European and ancient African flavors. Savory, sultry and exotic! Try it…I promise you will be hooked.
You picked the most over rated Cuban eatery in Miami ,the legend that was no longer there , service is poor and food now takes forever to come out its simply another tourist TRAP, Miami Dade county and Broward have many Cuban restaurants much better than Versailles