Original Rio Cristal — Restaurant in South Miami

What a little gem. I was aimlessly scrolling through Instagram looking at different food reels getting myself hungrier like a weirdo, when I came across a video of this gentle old man who was in the brink of tears thanking all of Miami for allowing his business to survive in this crisis.

At that very moment my soul was crying for a nice flank steak and I needed to show my support after watching that heartwarming video. So I was off to the races!

I immediately picked up my phone and called the restaurant, but it seemed like everyone was trying to place an order at the same time since I kept getting a busy line. After my third attempt I was able to get through, and a kind lady took my order and apologized in advanced for the long wait time since they were SLAMMED with orders. She advised me it would take anywhere from 40min-1hour, which is expected after that video went viral and many others were looking to show there support as well. Oddly enough, it made me happy to hear that my wait time was long if it meant they had a lot of business.

Upon arriving they had the entrance blocked off by a table where people could approach and ask for their order since the entire restaurant was closed from the inside. All the employees were wearing masks including the cooks I could see from afar, and they also maintained proper social distancing. The entire staff was extremely friendly from the moment I picked up the phone till all the way until I got my food. It was absolutely awesome.

I ended up ordering the rio crystal steak with fries(a real classic), a grilled chicken with fries(very juicy and tender), and a side order of white rice. The moment I took my first bite of the steak, I was doing my happy food dance which equates to a delicious and flavorful experience. But more importantly the fries were still crispy and drenched with the juices of the flank steak that just deserves a proper chefs kiss.

Overall I’m so glad I made the decision to check them out and I advise anyone in the area to give it a try if you’re looking to have a delicious Cuban meal that will take you through a roller coaster of positive emotions.

Ps. I was so hungry I devoured everything on site and completely forgot to take picture of my meal. Except...

NO ! NO ! NO ! - very disappointing!. not only were the fries disappointing(we went there in the 1st place expecting great fries.. I remembered how good they were 12yrs ago when we lived in miami) but, when we asked for more bread, they insisted that we have to pay for an order of extra bread and in every Cuban restaurant I go to, they give you bread extra if you want,no chrg... Not only that but the grilled chicken and fries were not only no big deal, yet, more expensive than other places... and they ask you to pay for extra bread !... . I can get a very good dish at Islas canarias with huge portion of rice and black beans and delicious roast pork and plantains for just $13.99. And Rio crystal was $18.99 just for just grill chicken & thin fries ! And couple small pieces of bread. La carreta on bird rd is also much better food than rio crystal....I & my chilď was UNimpressed with Rio Crystal. A shame because this restaurant was an icon yrs ago. Get your act together or continue to lose customers... as for my family and I, we Will NOT be returning to this joint ever again. If you're looking for a nostalgic meal like you used to get here years ago. Don't bother. The only thing is that the waiters and waitresses are very nice, and there is here home like feeling. We left good tip because waiter was nice. Management needs a wake up call....

Its very unfortunate that i gave this restaurant a 1star rating. Ive been going here for 30 years and never had a problem...until today. I normally sit on the left side with the waitresses, not the waiters.

Today i came with my family of 5 and sat on the RIGHT side. BIG MISTAKE. The table was dirty and we refused to sit. We asked this man who is about 123 years old to clean to the table. He said IT WAS clean. I asked him again to clean it and he used his hands to swipe pff some crumbs. Note : the table was still dirty.

Finally he came with a rag and cleaned the table. Then he gave us dirty glasses with food and lipstick stains. And the jug of water he placed on the table had a french fry in it. We returned the water jug and glasses. He came back with a new jug of water and paper cups. I guess he thought we were an upscale family.

Since he's a ninja and disappears so we tried to keep him at out our table to order our food and he walked away. We tried to get his attention as far as to yell to bring him back. He came back with an attitude. When he started with his attitude, thats when i grabbed my family and we decided to go to La Carreta down the street.

I later find out that this rude ass waiter is also THE OWNER. As we were walking out he said in spanish "The best thing for you to do is walk out."

Never coming back here...