Manolo & Rene Grill — Restaurant in Miami

There is no other gut bomb at 5am than a great sandwich from the side of the road, literally. When you are out on the town, Downtown Miami to be exact, stop in at one of my old holes and experience ultimate early morning fill up.

How did I come across this place? Well, if you must know, during my stint of living in South Beach, I ran across this place. The ideal location, last street before you cross the causeway back to South Beach or looking at it the other way first street over the causeway away from the beach, made it a convenient stop. Living and working on South Beach did not necessarily equate to playing on South Beach. Metro Miami, Aventura, Kendall, let’s leave out Hialeah, Calle Ocho, Little Haiti, Culver City, and all the other unsavory locales that if you are not a local don’t venture into. Not all of Miami is a 24 hr. operation, there are few here and there, if you know where to go. After grazing, it is advisable to keep one of these places in your memory bank. Manolo y Rene was my choice.

After watching the Heat vs Rockets game last week, I went back to retrieve my car from the valet to go grab a bite on South Beach. Ooops, language barrier or my trusting self, the valet was closed for the night. Luckily, I was staying at the Continental Bayside Hotel right downtown. So I walked around the block to find my old haunt. Places change and memory fade, I did not realize that Manolo y Rene Cafeteria was on the back street of the hotel. Was it memory fade or fogged memory from the time in Miami. Needless to say I was delighted.

This place takes up the corner of NE 1st St. and NE 3rd Ave. The windows open towards the street. I don’t even know why they bother to have roll up doors, this place is open 24 hrs. Maybe for rain, oh Hurricanes. The counter is lined with chairs and if there are people sitting on those chairs, which there almost always is, you have to scream your order over their shoulder. The menu is large and hung behind the counter or a specials board is not the side. If in doubt ask. If you can’t speak Spanish, ask a customer to help you. Most of the people behind the counter speak broken English, but they’ll understand. The truth, you can’t go wrong with anything here, so fair none.

Palomilla Steak with French Fries and Salad – Thin cut steak pounded even thinner and marinated in Cuban seasonings, grilled on a flat top to tender succulent perfection. You don’t need a fork and knife for this. Grad with one hand and rip into it like a savage.

Steak Sandwich – Same palomilla steak with french fries, tomatoes, and lettuce in toasted Cuban bread. This puts any late night cravings to rest.

Pasteles – Flaky Cuban pastry filled with Guava and Cheese. Fresh and delicious.

The memories of long nights, though I can’t quite disclose for obvious reasons, came rushing back. This is just honest down to earth food in what can sometimes be a very pretentious city. It is sad to see some smaller excellent food “holes” get snuffed out by larger more hip and cool joints on South Beach. Here is hoping that the revitalization of Downtown Miami does not snuff out Manolo y Rene Cafeteria. Great reliable food for...

“ UPDATE” 08/23/2018 1:21pm

I once again orderd a stake sald and fries,The guy on shift at this time was there once again.

I told him that he charged my card 5 bucks extra and he firecly denied it. After caculatig exactly why I orderd I showed it was 15.60.

He had the nerve to tell me that “I AM A LIER” That I orderd TWO empenadas and it was my fault. He even made a comment that it’s because I don’t TIP..... and THAT is when I realized he added 4 extra bucks for his tip!!!

PLEASE PLEASE PLESE BEWAR OF THESE THIFS!!!!!!! They will add money onto your card for spite of that’s you didn’t tip them.

It’s not fair at all!!!!!

I recently moved across the street from this restaurant. The other day I purchased a steak salad and which was my second purchase for the day from this place. The next morning when I checked my bank account I was charged $19 instead of the $15 that should’ve been charged. When I went to ask what was the problem the manager on duty was extremely rude and denied me my four dollars refund back. Because they’re so busy and popular they can be rude to anyone deny service to anyone. I have half 1 million followers on Instagram “LOVEBRANDONSCOTT” And people always ask me where the best food places to go.

We must not let restaurants get away with things like this every four dollars can add up to $100,000 a year for them that they stole from people like you and me. It’s a good thing that we can call our banks to get a refund but I should never have to go to this trouble I don’t establishment where I like to eat and that is convenient for me. They rely on the people in the neighborhood which is myseld my family and my friends. And none of us should have to go through something like this with a place that we enjoy. The overall staff are very nice and they should not have to suffer for one bad apple in management. Someone please reach out to me because I go there all the time and I would really like to enjoy my experience every time and not have to worry about this awful manager on duty and stealing my...

2023 UPDATE:

WOW (in a bad way). Can't believe tourist are paying this much for authentic. Trust me, drive the extra 15-30 mins inland and you'll find true mom n pop authentic with much more reasonable pricing. Let's face it, a Cuban sandwich should NOT cost $10 or more (here it's $11!). A croqueta preparada sandwich is a whopping $12! Taking advantage of the tourists also affects those long time locals such as myself. I refuse to pay these prices. I'll go to any Sedanos and pay $7-8 for these sandwiches. Sell outs!

First off, TOO EXPENSIVE compared to other places in Miami e.g., Little Havana, Hialeah (or any Sedanos supermarket). Cuban sandwiches here are mostly true to their original recipe (which is becoming harder to find in south Florida), such as the cuban sandwich and croqueta preparada, and are very tasty. Post-pandemic, they have jacked up the price by about $2.50! They even tack on a fee for using your debit/credit card (which many businesses suck up as part of doing business, just not here).Too many local businesses are taking advantage of their "local" customers with their for-tourist pricing. So instead, go to Hialeah, Little Havana, or even Kendall, for the real deal at a reasonable price (and for twice as much food usually). After 2 years of coming to this place on a weekly basis, I now take my business elsewhere. LOWER...