Apart from dining at Versailles, nothing in Miami is cheap and you can be certain a service fee will be tacked on to most of your receipts. Versailles takes the most prevalent cuisine in Miami, makes it affordable, and stupidly fast to dine at. I almost want to compare Versailles to IHOP which might sound like a diss but it is actually in celebration of how much food you will get in a single outing at this Little Havana stop in Miami.

Food:

Team Kaseya came here for a Thursday evening dinner and I had a great taste of the following:

1. Tostones Rellenos ($9.75)
2. Ceviche Tropical ($8.95)
3. Yuquita Frita ($6.95)
4. El Clasico Sampler ($13.95)
5. Custard Pudding (from the bakery) ($4)

The tostones rellenos were finger-friendly morsels of shrimp creole, pineapple, and cilantro housed in a fried green plantain. I enjoyed the light mix of sweet and savoury in this appetizer.

The ceviche tropical was a hearty plate of lime-cured fish, which I'm guessing was cod, in a bath of cilantro, jalapeño, diced avocado, tomato, and root vegetable chips. The fish here had a hearty amount of chew and the lime provided a nice zing to what is a pretty quintessential tropical classic.

Next up were the yuquita frita which were a basic plate of yuca fries served with a side of cilantro dipping sauce. This dish would be best for anyone looking to ensure they leave a meal feeling full because this was neither pretty to look at nor seasoned very well. At the very least, it's a different type of potato to make french fries out of. I guess it's a good thing the table packed a salt shaker.

For my main, I had the el clasico sampler, which was a bit of everything on one plate. That meant a giant dish of white rice, black beans, picadillo ground beef, roast pork, sweet plantains, ham croquette, cuban tamale, and cassava. This dish was an absolute monster rush of calories and a nice representation of what a typical dish in a Cuban household might look like. You get a little bit of sweet from the plantains, a bit of savoury with the ground beef, pork, and croquette, and an overwhelming amount of carbs from the black beans, white rice, and cuban tamales. I had regrets about having so many yuquita fritas after this plate arrived at the table.

For dessert, we opted to visit the bakery which was right next to the restaurant. Despite just crushing an entire sampler plate, I still found room for a classic custard pudding which had a nice caramelization and sweet egg-iness that slid itself in through the crevices in my stomach. Honestly if you want the best bang for your buck, the Cuban coffee at this bakery is the answer. The baked goods were also very affordable and hit just the right amount of sweetness for me.

Vibes:

Versailles is a gigantic restaurant that's clearly seen some renovations over the years and I'm here for it. The walls have a nice classic Cuban-American ornateness to them, almost like you're dining in an old saloon, but the vibes are all Latin American as basically everyone was speaking Spanish during our visit. The large space can easily dine about 200 guests with space to spare, with another 12 or so seats at the bakery next door.

Service:

Service times at Versailles were fast – almost suspiciously fast. I kid you not that we waited 5 minutes tops after ordering when food started firing out of the kitchen, including a fully-cooked lamb shank that my coworker ordered. They said it was good so I'm impressed by the voodoo magic employed here to get good food out that fast.

We called ahead to reserve a table on a Thursday night for 3 which was not a problem at all. The restaurant was busy but not completely packed despite their efforts to dress everyone up for Halloween which was cool to see. I think the space is casual enough that you could just roll up with your party and expect to get a table because the dining space is truly that large and the kitchen fires dishes out so fast.

Service charges are not mandatory here so you can decide how much you want to tip and the prices are really good. I've definitely had comparable cubanos and ceviche in Miami's Brickell neighbourhood for nearly twice the price so if you want value, Versailles is the truth.

Final Thoughts:

One-liner: Miami's best spot for the most affordable entry into Cuban cooking and baking in one experience
Highlight: Tostones Rellenos
Price per person: $20-$30
Would I go back? Yes.