Matilda's Taco Bar - Mexican restaurant in Miami Beach — Restaurant in Miami Beach

Matilda’s Taco Bar serves some of the best Tacos I’ve ever tasted. The salsas go from mild to fire, however all have a delicious taste. The queso fundido was topped with an amazing, shredded chorizo that took it over the top and the chips were fresh and lightly salted.

My wife, daughter and I all ordered the Birria Tacos and WOW what a true surprise. The shredded beef was really tender and seasoned to perfection. The Oaxaca cheese was mild and fused the meat and shells in a tasty manner. The corn taco shells were tasty and toasted to a slight tender crunch. The consomé aka Birria is a rich stew served as a dipping sauce for the already juicy tacos. Amazing! Simply Amazing!

The service was spectacular! Our server was a lady named Belkis and she was very professional, attentive and served us with a warm and inviting style. She was friendly and managed the outdoor dining experience like a 5 Star establishment. Sergio was the cook, and I can’t describe what an excellent meal he prepared. The food and the plating were both excellent.

The décor was nice, outdoor seating was comfortable but I’m not gonna lie the only negative was that the tables were a bit sticky.

Now let’s talk dollars and sense not cents. Matilda’s is located on Prime real estate in one of the top destinations in the country and you’re not going to pay taco truck prices here. However, when we did the math we realized the Birria Tacos cost $8 each and again I promise you the taste is out of this world. The canned sodas were almost $4 each. The Chips were $8 and the queso was $5. Come on really? Does that sound crazy prices for Tacos 3 blocks from Ocean Drive in South Beach? Yes, there’s an automatic 18% gratuity but our server earned that and the additional we gave.

Overall this was a great dining experience that we’ll visit again...

Customers beware. We were charged a 20% auto-gratuity fee AND explicitly invited by our waitress to provide a tip. She must have been experienced as she was training a waiter during our visit. No bill was offered nor presented to us, even after paying. The whole thing just felt odd especially since the bill amount seemed much higher than the total cost of the food. It’s only when we specifically asked for the bill that we 1) got a bill and 2) could see the auto-gratuity fee and... that we paid almost as much in fees/taxes/tip as in food. There was no mention whatsoever of the auto-gratuity fee anywhere on the terrasse where we were seated nor was there one on the menu. We are not cheap people; however, when it comes to principles, we stand by them. We therefore asked why we were prompted to provide a tip when there is an auto-gratuity fée. This is where it gets even more interesting. We were told that “the auto-gratuity is imposed by all south beach restaurants and that the tip is different and to be paid separately”. In other words, this was not a case for a refund of the tip. Some reading on google and interestingly, some reviews of this restaurant, indicate we were mislead. We didn’t stay long enough to see if this is a systematic practice either on the part of the staff and/or of the restaurant. Food was tasty but nothing above average. Service, which was basic, didn’t warrant this generous tip. Obviously will not go...

After getting mentally blissed out from the yoga at South Pointe Park, finding Matilda's Taco Bar brought my belly pretty close to a happy place! It's located right by 4th and Washington, and has plenty of outside seating including a "VIP" area with turf. The inside space is pretty cool too, especially with the bathroom occupying what was the walk-in freezer of the previous tenant!

The menu is Tex Mex classics, with a pretty good bar program. Clarissa my waitress was attentive with my meal courses and sharp with her recommendations. Although the chips aren't complimentary they do come with three different salsas: pico de gallo as well both green and red salsas. The chips had a good crisp to them, and the green salsa had a nice sweet heat to it.

My mojito was a pretty good cure for the Sunday scaries, and the shredded chicken burrito bowl was keto friendly with a large amount of chicken, and not a lot of rice. It could have used a little more spice though. My cheating flan had just the right amount of the jiggle and wasn't overwhelmingly sweet. Definitely a wonderful spot for a day (or night)...