Pikio Taco — Restaurant in Miami Beach

As far as pairings go, tacos and tequila win every time. But even perfect matches can be perfected—and that’s along the lines of what you’ll find at La Hoja Taqueria inside the Generator Miami in Mid-Beach. The Mexican restaurant from the Bar Lab team (as in next door’s Broken Shaker, and most recently Margot Natural Wine Bar in Downtown) takes over the former Jim & Neesie spot, where it’s maintained the venue’s moody lighting and homey atmosphere.

La Hoja draws all of its inspiration from Oaxaca, down to the different types of corn that grow in the Mexican state. From the tacos to the quesadillas to the crunchy chips, every type of tortilla-based dish is made in-house using masa from corn sourced directly from family-owned farms in said region. La Hoja and its suppliers have such a tight-knit relationship that the types of corn you’ll see on the menu could even change daily, depending on what’s fresh and available. Expect tortillas that are rich in texture and flavor with a discernible difference from what you might find at your neighborhood restaurant—not that we’re knocking your local taco joint. These are toothsome and, well, different.

The menu is pretty straightforward with classic dishes starring a tortilla and a protein. Beginning with the starters and small plates, some favorites from the evening included the Queso Fundido with Chorizo (bring on the cheese!), the Ahi Tuna Ceviche with shirodashi, avocado purée and salsa roja (so light and fresh) and the Sweet Potato Tostada—which deserves its own moment. This vegetarian dish won over the whole table with its simplicity and intense flavor. It was also a nice break from all the meat-heavy action in store ahead. From there, it was on to a full Taco course—shrimp, chicken and mushroom—which were larger than expected. Keep this in mind if you’re sharing and decide you need an entire order of tacos to yourself. You probably don’t.

Mains were simple but sophisticated as we made our own surf-and-turf combination with an order of the porcini rubbed Carne Asada and the Whole Grilled Branzino, both served with warm tortillas for DIY construction. Lest you’ve forgotten Mexico’s reputation for producing stellar desserts, the Tres Leches with hints of—what else?—corn is there to remind you. Don’t leave without trying it.

Though we’ve saved the best of La Hoja for last: the cocktails. The restaurant’s beverage program is a thoroughly researched reverence for Oaxacan flavors. Broken Shaker L.A.’s manager Christine Wiseman put together a selection of funky, spirit-forward drinks that will have you sipping mashed chamomile corn milk in the Corn Porn one minute and boozy fruit purée in the Banana Mole Piña Colada the next. The Michelada—sans tomato juice—packs in the umami and makes this typically heavy beer combo so light and easy to drink.

The flavors of Oaxaca (versus just regular Mexican food) may not be immediately obvious after dining at La Hoja but you’ll for sure leave with a newfound appreciation for artisanal corn, agave-based cocktails and the magic of a perfectly...

I love the energy of the lobby where this place’s located, but boy do they unapologetically capitalize off the transient clientele of Mid-Beach lol.

I mean, I don’t blame them for trying to turn a profit; however, for their level of food quality, $20 for tacos seems like a bit much.

They do have a good selection of beers, even some options from local breweries. Their cocktails are pretty tasty as well. My favorite’s their unique take on the classic cocktail, the “Old-Fashioned.”

They used to offer a discount that helped a small amount if you were a guest of the hotel/hostel they’re located inside of, but I recently learned they no longer offer it. This’s strange to me because most of the people staying at the hostel are there because they’re on tight budgets or in unique situations where they’re already watching their finances closely. If they hired me as their marketing, advertising, and branding consultant or coordinator, I’d advise them to offer genuinely good promotions daily for hostel guests (like bigger portions, double the tacos if 20% off, or whatever they used to offer, or maybe 50% off at 1 PM, which’s like 50% of the workday for those working 9–5 hours). Strong promotions could also help drive positive word-of-mouth and return visits.

I gave five stars for customer service even though I’ve personally witnessed some not-so-great customer experiences with others. However, in most of those instances, the customer was inebriated and persistent with the staff, which ultimately led to the staff becoming frustrated and annoyed, but nothing directly related to me or the service I received.

One thing I like about this place, which I haven’t had to utilize yet, is they do offer a quiet dining room separate from the main dining area, which’s perfect for business meetings or other special events. Seems like that room’s underused during the day, so they could really capitalize off that space too.

For example, maybe create a co-working space and offer deals to individuals, like charging a flat fee for access to the room for a set duration that also includes select complimentary food &/or drink items.

Anyway, overall, not a bad place—just saying there’s always room for improvement, I guess. Check this place out for...

It felt like it was more concerned with being a club on a Thursday than a restaurant. We waited 15 mins before someone acknowledged us stand next to the sign that says, "Please wait to be seated." The entire time a DJ is playing Bass blasting music into an empty hotel lobby. Once we were seated, we were excited to order food and drinks. We placed an order of two margaritas, al pastor tacos, sweet potato burrito, and Mexican corn. They brought out drinks and share plates for the Mexican corn appetizer. We waited another 25ish (dance music filled) mins when our mains were delivered, and we had not received the appetizer. The waiter went back into the kitchen, so I assumed he was going to get it. It was almost an act of God to flag him down again over what I could only imagine is the sound of a humming birds heartbeat turned up to 11. I said hey I think they may have forgotten about our corn. With no response, he walked away. We waited another 15mins before I had to physically go get someone to give us our check. I said, "Look, I don't know what's going on with the corn anymore, but we would just like to have our check. We have been here much longer than we would like to be." I was told the corn was on the way. I told him we've been here over an hour at this point, and there's no way to know if this is true. The food was very underwhelming for the price. The chips were arguably the best thing, but the salsa was almost more of a cheap marinara. Yeah, that's not a mistake, Marinara. The drinks were okay but not worth $16. This place is every bit of a mistake. The service is so poor, it's not worth your 20% auto gratuity. This is...