Versailles Restaurant Cuban Cuisine — Restaurant in Miami

If you want Cuban food, I recommend literally any other Cuban restaurant in Miami. You will get equally good food and also good service, which is not available at Versailles Restaurant.

Highlights of my visit include: Hostesses forgot me outside for 50 minutes in the heat while I waited directly in their line of sight 10 minutes of trying to flag down a waiter for some water after waiting in the heat for 50 minutes Being asked to pay halfway through my meal because they wanted to give my table away Waitress gave me attitude about the tip after all the above Takeout guy divining my coffee dregs to figure out what to charge me after the waitress who brought it vanished

If you like a long story about the worst restaurant experience I've ever had, settle in:

When I arrive, it's hot and fairly crowded, but very little shade is available for the people waiting (I'm talking kids sitting on the floor next to the bar to stay out of the sun.) The hostess takes my name and tells me in English it's a 40 minute wait - no problem, I have my book as usual. I ask the wait time again in Spanish just to be sure, and this time she tells me 30 minutes. First red flag.

But I'm an optimist, so I wait. 50 minutes later, I go back up and ask how much longer. She leafs through her list and finds my name 3 pages back, well before two dozen parties who've obviously already been seated. Embarrassed, she and her colleague hustle me to a table. Should have left then, but mistakes happen, right?

The next 20 minutes are normal-ish. I order quickly, having had 50 minutes to consult the menu, and the food and my drink come out quickly. Honestly, same fare as any other Cuban restaurant in the neighborhood, but more room-temp. Restaurant Caribe a few blocks away has better plantains. I see other tables get water when they are seated, and being thirsty after waiting in the heat for 50 minutes, I try to flag down a waiter to get some too. After 10 minutes I am able to get a guy to bring me water.

5 minutes later, I am eating and notice waiters moving recently vacated tables all around me. Being decently good at geometry, I suspect they may need my table to complete the set. Indeed, a few minutes later, a new waitress approaches with the payment device. Confused, I pay, even though I am still eating the main course and have not even had coffee and dessert yet. The tip is reflective of someone being ambushed with the bill halfway through their meal. She gives me attitude about it. Note that she neither took my order, nor brought me my food, nor my water. I figure I can at least finish my plate before the next guests need my table. Nope. She starts resetting my table, taking away my drink. I save the rest of my food by asking for a to-go box. I ask her point blank if she needs my table. She says yes (duh). If she had asked politely, or at all, I would have just given it to her. According to the receipt her name is Liset G. Her manager should probably have a word with her.

Luckily at this point another waitress intervenes. Noticing I am upset, she tells me they have another table for me. While we walk through the restaurant, she asks me what else I would like. My food is in a styrofoam box and my appetite for dessert is gone, so I tell her coffee. She seats me in the café area and brings me a coffee, then vanishes for an hour. I have no idea what type of coffee it is, or who or how much to pay for it.

After an hour of reading and waiting for her to return, I finally go to the take-out guy and ask to pay. He asks what kind of coffee it is. I tell him I have no idea, the waitress just gave it to me and vanished. He gets a laugh when he does some detective work, examining the dregs at the bottom of the styrofoam cup. The tip on the coffee is for you, Fabio, you were the only good thing about this whole...

BEST CUBAN RESTAURANT IN MIAMI!!!

My family and I recently took a vacation to Miami this past week, and decided to try this restaurant out, based upon online reviews. We had previously been to Havana 1957, which is also a very good Cuban food restaurant.

No reservation was needed, and the attire was casual. We arrived for dinner at around 7 PM on a Thursday night.

We were immediately shown to a table, and our server greeted us within about five minutes of arrival.

The server‘s name was Elizabeth, and she was very polite, friendly, and helpful.

The ambience was very nice, and the restaurant had a nice open feel to it.

My wife and daughter ordered strawberry daiquiris, which looked very nice, and I had a regular Mojito and a mango Mojito. All of our drinks had a little bit more lime than we usually prefer, but the drinks were good nonetheless.

For appetizers, we had the assorted empanadas and the Yuca fries with cilantro sauce. The sauce was amazing! The empanadas and Yuca fries were good.m as well.

For entrées, my daughter had the braised oxtail, served with White rice and sweet plantains. I tried her oxtail, and it was as good as any I had eaten previously when I lived in Cuba.

My wife had the Classic Cuban sampler which included White Rice, Black Beans, “Picadillo” Ground Beef, Roast Pork, Sweet Plantains, Ham Croquette, Cuban Tamale, and Cassava with Cuban Mojo. She enjoyed everything on her plate. I wasn’t a huge fan of the Picadillo ground beef, however. Everything else on her plate was similar to mine.

I had the Criollo Cuban sampler which included Yellow Rice, Black Beans, “Ropa Vieja” Shredded Beef in Tomato Sauce, Fried Pork Chunks, Ham Croquette, Sweet Plantains, Cuban Tamale, and Cassava with Cuban Mojo. Every. Single. Thing. On. My. Plate. Was. Delicious!!!

My son had the Breaded Beefsteak Milanese with Moros Rice and Sweet Plantains (we think that’s what he had). He is a picky eater, and this was what he was able to try. He ate about half of it, but said it was not for him. I did not try it.

As we were finishing up dinner, live musicians in traditional clothing came around and were singing and playing their guitars beautifully. It made the restaurant liven up and made it feel very festive!

After dinner, we decided to go to the adjacent bakery, which is also a part of that restaurant.

The bakery selection was out of this world! I can’t tell you exactly what we ordered, because honestly, I don’t know the name of everything, it just looked tasty, so we purchased it (see pastries in the box). We had a chocolate eclair, a guava tart, a powdered sugar pastry, a half-and-half cookie, a mini pecan pie, and a dulce de leche pastry. I also had a small cup of Cuban coffee with sugar, which was amazing! All of the pastries were delicious, and we all tried a little of everything.

Our dinner came to $174.70 before tip, and our pastries and coffee came to $44.43 before tip.

This amazing restaurant was absolutely worth every penny, and I could not offer a higher recommendation for a Cuban restaurant than this!

If you are coming to Miami and want to try an amazing Cuban restaurant, then this is the place for you. I 1000% recommend this to anyone, and we will absolutely be coming back here next time we come through Miami! Definitely “Best of...

After seeing Versailles on literally every single Miami travel guide I found online, I knew I had to give this Little Havana classic a try. My parents and I dropped by for an early dinner on a Thursday evening. Despite the awkward time (4:30 PM), the restaurant was filled to the brim and we ended up having a 30 min wait -- a testament to how widely loved this spot is! With the outdoor bar, peaceful neighborhood, and nearby Versailles Cafe & Bakery, our wait flew by, and, before we knew it, it was already time for dinner.

We were seated at a table in the center, which gave us a great view of the rest of the restaurant -- every table was occupied, although, based on their beachy outfits, Versailles seemed to mostly attract tourists rather than locals.

Their menu is a touch overwhelming, so I recommend perusing a bit beforehand -- a great way to use the inevitable wait time. We started off with their Stuffed Green Plantains, which were fantastic -- the plantains were dense and starchy, in sharp contrast to the light, slightly sweet / salty shrimp creole with pineapple and cilantro.

For our mains, we tried to get a variety; my dad tried the Ropa Vieja, which was alright, but a bit lacking in flavor. The portion size was also really small, and he ended up leaving the meal pretty hungry, despite all the extra veggies and potatoes I gave him from my Steamed Veggie Platter. My plate included a bona fide mountain of steamed potato, pumpkin, plantain, cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, and carrots, and was topped with a mahi mahi fillet. The veggies were all great -- you really can't go wrong with basic steamed veggies -- albeit a bit overwhelming in quantity. The fish was fine, but a bit overcooked and almost rubbery.

Unfortunately, my mom was the one to leave our meal the most disappointed. She was drawn in by one of the seafood specials they advertised on the table -- I can't remember the name anymore, but it included a seafood medley (i.e., mussels, shrimp, clams, squid, snapper). In the photo, it looked like a huge platter of fresh seafood with a variety of dipping sauces...but our reality was quite lackluster in comparison. There was only about a half plate of battered and fried seafood that had clearly been frozen. It was dry, chewy, and both overly salted and lacking in flavor. This particular dish was definitely a miss -- from that, I would probably steer clear of most of their seafood aside from their fish and shrimp.

All in all, I'm glad my parents and I were able to visit Versailles and check it off our bucket list. I'm not sure it's quite worthy of its title as the world's most famous Cuban restaurant, at least based on the three dishes we ordered. Even so, it was a fun experience and a great intro to the rest of...