Guayaba Restaurant - Doral — Restaurant in Doral

Decided to try Guayaba yesterday, on Valentines Day since I live in the Doral area. First things first, the decor is lovely. Chandelier is gorgeous and walls are very artsy. Reminds me of Wynwood. The dining area is very spacious and I appreciate that tables aren’t extremely close together like many places. There’s an area for a live band, didn’t get to hear any band play but I’m sure it’s wonderful.

So here’s the thing, we went on Valentines Day - around 5ish; we were the only customers there, as I imagine most people were just leaving work and/or in traffic. We were presented with the regular menu as well as a flier for some Valentine’s Day special meal that included wine or something like that. We aren’t drinkers and weren’t interested in that meal so we proceeded to order from the menu. We ordered an appetizer. My friend ordered a steak entree. Since I’m a light eater, I decided to order a steak salad bowl. As I started to order, the waiter told me I could not order that. When we asked why he said it’s because they want us to order larger meals and the salad is “more of a lunch thing” yet the menu mentions nothing of that sort. After he saw that I was frustrated, he said he’s “going to do it this time but he’s not supposed to”. So then I kindly thank him and ask if I can add avocado. He told me that I can’t because they do not have avocados. Imagine my surprise. Then I said to him “well it looks like the burritos have an option for guacamole, can I add that” and he said “no, sorry”. Then my friend said to him “but why can’t we order it for an extra cost if you have it available” and then he said “you can’t add anything extra but he’s going to do it for us this time”. My friend also asked him if the guacamole was fresh, considering they apparently don’t have avocados.. and he proceeded to tell us it’s fresh and made there daily.. hmmm…

So then my friend started asking about side options for her steak. He said to her that the tostones were frozen from a bag but the maduros were fresh so he recommended those. The maduros were fine. My steak sals bowl was tasty. We ordered an appetizer that was bacon wrapped maduros with some sauce. I must say it was a good appetizer but extremely sweet.

Overall, I probably will try the place again and hope for a different waiter, hopefully one that can speak English also.. maybe the waiter was new, as I’m hoping it’s not their policy to withhold (especially if the customer is willing to pay for it) common food staples like avocados or give people a hard time about ordering bowls after a certain hour (otherwise they should make a note on their menu about it) because not everyone is a heavy eater and would prefer a bowl or...

Sad to say, but below average food.... Came here with the wife for a quick lunch, ordered the croquetas which were good, then I ordered the Ribeye steak with fries and salad, my wife did the Skirt with tostones and salad, sadly food quality was below average, the ribeye stake was super dried and very difficult to chew, burned on the tips and I ordered medium, it came super well done, I adventure to say this was a reheat... sad, my fries and my wife's tostones were fried on oil thet seemed used before on fish, bot sides had a strong smell and taste of fried fish, disgusting. Service was average, the guy tried his best but kitchen ruined the whole lunch. I will not be coming back nor recommending this place, best cooking practices are not followed here which is concerning. By the way, be careful when paying, they enforced 18% tips and then expect you to tip more...

Went with a large group for what turned out to be an "unhappy hour," thanks to the sour attitude of the servers. Took some convincing for them to finally let us see the happy hour menu, and they still acted like it was the worst inconvenience ever. Rolling eyes, sarcasm, the whole works. This was the first and last time we come here. We were probably their only customers that night, and had plans to stay late for the salsa event. We felt unwelcome. The food and drinks were alright, though.

They have no toilet paper, by the way. So unless they have a secret employee...