Garcia's Seafood Grille & Fish Market — Restaurant in Miami

This was all of our first time and our last visit to Garcia's. The staff was friendly. I thought this place was more upscale than what is actually is. The restaurant is old and needs to be renovated/upgraded. The tables, chairs, and paint are old and raggedy. The bar tables rock from side to side and the place smells, not of seafood just old and not clean. The lighting is poor and the walls are dirty. Carlos was our waiter, he was very polite and attentive. He did advise that the menu prices online and on the menu he gave us, the prices were incorrect because they have not been updated. Carlos advised they no longer serve garlic parsley potatoes and one other item. There were four of us in our group. Between all of us we ordered a cup of she crab soup which was really good, we ordered a cup of grouper chowder which was just a little warm. It was not hot at all. It was very tasty but would have been better if it was hot. We ordered cracked conch which was just tough and chewy. We ordered calamari which was fried perfectly but tasteless. For our entrees we ordered the fried seafood combination that included scallops (they were large), shrimp and calamari. All of the batter on my fried seafood fell off when I was picking it up with my fork. The calamari rings were about one inch wide which was not appealing to me and the batter fell off those also. For my sides I ordered fried tostones and a house salad. I asked for ranch or blue cheese dressing, Carlos advised that they did not have any of those or any other kind. I said ill just use salt and pepper. He did bring me oil and vinegar. The tostones were too thin, fried too hard and were not hot by the time he brought them to the table. One person ordered a ceasar salad with grilled shrimp which she said was very good but again no dressings. My friend asked for mustard and Carlos advised they did not have any. When Carlos brought our bill's I noticed if you pay cash you are not charged an additional fee for using a credit card. I decided to used cash but Carlos charged me as if I was using a credit card. I didn't make a stink of it but I did subtract it from his tip. Not a lot but he should have realized it. This place is a mess and majority if the food we ordered...

Some restaurants claim to be “fresh.” García’s laughs at that word. Why? Because they don’t just buy fish—they catch it. They’ve got their own fishing fleet, pulling grouper, snapper, and whatever else the sea is willing to give up, straight from the ocean to your plate. No middleman. No mystery. Just the García family doing what they’ve done since 1966: feeding Miami with the kind of seafood that makes other restaurants look like they’re serving aquarium leftovers.

The place itself is classic Miami. Right on the river, boats drifting by, the smell of salt and diesel mixing with grilled fish—it’s gritty, it’s real, and it’s perfect. Forget polished fine dining—this is the kind of joint where you can roll up in flip-flops or a blazer and nobody cares, as long as you’re hungry.

Now, let’s talk food. Start with the stone crabs when they’re in season—claws so sweet you’ll understand why people mortgage their homes to buy them. The dolphin (mahi) sandwich is legendary, grilled or blackened, sitting in fresh bread that somehow holds it all together. The conch fritters? Crispy, chewy little bites of the Bahamas by way of Miami. And the grilled grouper or rueda de cherna—absolute showstoppers. You can taste the ocean in every bite, the way seafood is supposed to be.

García’s isn’t just a restaurant; it’s history. The García brothers built this spot after fleeing Cuba, starting with a fish market before turning it into the institution it is today. You sit there eating and realize—you’re not just at lunch, you’re inside a story about survival, family, and the stubborn Cuban knack for turning struggle into legacy.

Service? Friendly, efficient, no-nonsense. The kind of staff that knows the menu inside out because they’ve probably been eating here for years too.

Here’s the thing: in a city overflowing with hype restaurants, García’s doesn’t need hype. They’ve got boats. They’ve got history. And they’ve got seafood so fresh it might slap you on the way to the fryer.

If you come to Miami and don’t eat at García’s, you didn’t really...

This is really hard to rate. We had a party at four. We were in from out of town from two Different cities, This place was recommended to us by a local police officer. When we sat down, the sun was beating on our face and they said they could not drop the sun shade. So as we sat there getting sunburn and not able to see anything because of the reflection, we decided to go ahead and order. I personally ordered the snapper stuffed with crab with sweet plantains and a house salad. Additionally, ordered a cup of bisque soup. What I received was three tiny plantains a very small snapper And a very small lettuce salad with a few tomatoes and onions on it. I never received my bisque. They kept trying to tell me that the chowder they had was bisque. Two different Soups completely. I did not want chowder. My friend ordered food. He never received his bisque either and didn’t receive any of his meal whatsoever. My cousin ordered the snapper as well and she did not receive any of her sides at all. Her husband ordered something I don’t even remember because he never even got it either. He did receive his appetizer of fried calamari and french fries he said it was good. The snapper I had was pretty tasty, but it was very, very small. Since most of the employees do not speak English, it was very hard to communicate with them what we were missing. We had the entire check taken off. We are very disappointed the person who recommended the restaurant said he would never recommend it again. The view was great. It was on the intercoastal if you could handle the sun beating in your face the entire time. There is a huge stairway leading up to the second floor so if you have any issues with walking, I would not recommend it. I did not see a elevator. Perhaps I just missed it.. parking was difficult we decided to valet it cost $20 pre tip. I failed to mention I think the small snapper that I had was either $34 or $38. Totally not worth it. I was still hungry afterwards, especially since I only had three Pieces of plantain and a...