Versailles Restaurant

05/05/2008 Posted by gretchen2020

I live in Miami and am of Cuban decent. The food for the most part, is very good and authentic. Be prepared to wait a long time for service and you basically have to hunt down your server. You can survive with speaking english though if you can speak spanish your experience will probaly go smoother. This place is perfect if you want a true feel for Cuban food and the old Cuban culture of the men outside drinking coffee and talking poiltics. Coffee is amazing and everything is priced VERY reasonable. I recommend it but please go in mind with knowing you will receive bad service. I hope management can work on it.

Pros: Food is amazing and authentic

Cons: Service , what service?

04/09/2008 Posted by steiney

i am a miami native, and have been to the versailles quite a few times. i figured i should put in my two cents. the food is almost always amazing and relatively inexpensive. every now and then i get a mediocre dish. unfortunately, the service is horrible. the hostess is generally rude, and the waiters give terrible service as soon as they realize you don't speak spanish. they either don't speak english at all (EVEN THOUGH THEY LIVE IN AMERICA!!!!!), or they do but are too lazy to try. so if you don't speak spanish, expect to either point to food on the menu or pantomime. also, check you plates and silverware when you get them, because half of the time, they are dirty. but again, the food is usually really good. so, if you can stand rude, lazy cubans and bad service, like i can, then it is worth going. enjoy.

Pros: great food (usually), good prices

Cons: absolutely horrendous service (they should really be ashamed of themselves for representing cubans like that)

01/02/2008 Posted by pepper55

This is by far the most authentic Cuban ambiance in town! I love going to Versailles because it's the only place in Miami where the 1980's Cuban-American style lives on. The city has changed drastically during the 90's and 00's, somehow this place has remained immune to those changes. People coming to Miami looking for a taste of real Cubans should go to Versailles. Sure there are a lot of other places to go for Cuban food. You could go to Hialeah or the dozens of little places around 8 street. What makes Versailles different is that it truly has a feel of that "old exile" group. You are guaranteed to hear real Cuban accents and know you're surrounded by people who hate Castro (priceless). As for the food? I recommend the croquette platter and the calle ocho special sandwich (my favorites). Also, if your new to Cuban coffee, make sure to order a cortadito or a cafe Cubano, either one is great! Finally, comparing Versailles to Denny's is simply ridiculous. Denny's is pretty dirty, full of teenagers, and lacks any sort of ambiance. Versailles on the other hand is a casual eatery where you'll find a wide range of customers (from the typical Cuban-American to the German tourist), good food at low prices, and it just oozes old style Cuban ambiance.

Pros: Cuban Ambiance!

07/02/2007 Posted by tennesseevineyards

I was visiting Miami on a budget and thought I would try Versailles based on all the rave reviews I had read about it. This restaurant knows what service is!! Being from Tennessee, it was refreshing to feel a certain level of 'southern hospitality' that is non-existent in the rest of Miami. The waiters and waitresses are attentive and polite, and the food is a cross between an old-fashioned cafeteria and a "meat & three"... with a heavy Latino/Cuban flare. The menu is longer than most people would even be willing to read, with an endless combination of "platos del día", fresh seafood, and other specials. You shouldn't have trouble finding something you like at a rediculously LOW PRICE... and most dishes are big enough to split between two people! A trip to Little Havana would be incomplete without a trip to Versailles ...and make sure you get a small cuban coffee from the bakery before you leave... and try the fried plantains!

01/05/2007 Posted by pinays

i don't get the hype. the food was ok (although i thought little havana was better), the servers were friendly enough (althoug a bit slow) and the hostess was just RUDE, RUDE, RUDE. i understand that this place is apparently popular and crowded but there were tables available in the back room and my party was not seated for a good 30 minutes even though other groups that came later than us were immediately seated. the hostes was also snotty with the attitude when asked about the waiting time to be seated. maybe my dining experience would have been different but for the RUDE hostess. but, i guess, we will never know because i was not impressed!

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful

12/15/2006 Posted by chulalinda

I came here with my husband, he suggested this place after coming here a few years ago....... we were in Miami for a week and ate here 3 times, each time it just kept getting worse! The first night we had the Ropa Vieja (typical cuban dish of shredded meat with onions and peppers) I sent it back to be nuked..... the second time my husband had the Ropa Vieja again( a little warmer this time) and I had a cuban sandwich which had barely any pork, a ton of ham and a slice of swiss cheese that was not melted, the sandwich had been pressed, the bread had so much butter on top it kept slipping out of my hands! the third time beef stew and roasted pork, again we both sent our meals to be nuked..... The food was at our table in less than 10 minutes, (if you where in a hurry this wouldn't be a bad thing, we where on vacation so we weren't concerned about time) which led me to believe that everything was pre-made, that would be okay if it arrived at our table pipping hot, however, it was barely lukewarm, If you ever had latin food it is not very good served cold!) The waitstaff was polite, not very knowledeable on their own menu, they couldn't answer simple questions, the last time there we had 3 different waiters, no one knew what was going on! The one thing I do recommend was the coffe and the pastries/desserts!!!!!! Those where very good! When purchased at their adjacent bakery.

10/03/2006 Posted by bighum3

Good Service but lately the plates and silverware may not be the cleanest.Not recommended if you are picki about cleaningness in the plates,cups or silverware.

Pros: Fast Service

Cons: Not Clean

06/07/2006 Posted by mr_montana

There's nothing more moronic than someone complaining about the mojitos at Versailles. Stay in South Beach if you want to drink and dance naked. However, if you want the Mecca for traditional no nonsense Cuban food, please come to the Versailles. The Palomilla Steak is the best. If you like seafood, order the pargothe Red Snapper. Its broiled whole in delicious butter and spices and served with fluffy Spanish rice. Leave room for dessert. The Flan, Rice Pudding and Cuban Coffee are without equal. I've closed many business deals in the confines of this fine establishment and have never heard a complaint from any of my guests, in fact, quite the contrary. The Versailles harkens back to Miamis Cuban Hey Day back in the 70s and 80s, and that ambience is not lost on the more mature, established crowd that flock to this oasis regularly. Im looking forward to many more visits there!

05/31/2006 Posted by zoey1

On a recent weekend in Miami, in search of authenic Cuban food and following the advice of many reviewers on the internet, I took a LONG taxi ride to Versailles. Let me tell you... it IS the Denny's of Cuban cuisine... Absolutely terrible, Denny's-esque ambiance. That being said, the flank steak, black beans and rice were, in fact, great. And cheap. But... worst mojito I have ever had, very average empanadas. Yes, the food is good, authenic and cheap, but it is a long drive for a less-than-pleasant dining experience. Perhaps late night, after many drinks, the cafeteria-stlye dining room is less disappointing.

Pros: good food

Cons: terrible ambiance, bad mojitos, far from South Beach

03/31/2006 Posted by ginobaggio

The pork is not that good, the food is pricey for little havana, the service leaves allot to be desired and the rest of the offerings are not all that great.

Pros: location, parking

Cons: overpriced, poor service, food not great