Cafe Medi

South Beach is obviously full of different restaurants but when you are particular about what you eat and the quality of drinks, you can’t just agree to sit and eat anywhere right? Well anyways it was my last night on south beach and I decided to eat at this place with a friend of mine and we had already walked up and down ocean and the specials they were offering seemed to be the best. So I thought. When we walked by the 2^nd time a guy told us that he would give us an additional 20% off of whatever was on this lunch special menu. We both ordered the chicken parmesan which came with some spaghetti so I figured of course this would be a good deal considering this dish normally goes for $ 20 and some change. Well the 2 for 1 drink is always going to be offered at all these different spots to eat on south beach so that wasn’t really anything to be excited about. The first drink I ordered was the Miami Vice. Frozen drink’s I normally don’t order but I decided to switch it up. Horrible idea because the drink looked amazing however in reality it was all watered down when I tasted it. The food was good but the spaghetti was so dry I’ve had better. Blah what can you expect on a lunch special though? Well when I get the bill the 20% additional that was promised to be taken off wasn’t and I was told that the price of this dish was $ 16.50 and that already included the 20% off. Well that wasn’t explained the correct way. These people on south beach will tell you anything to have you sit down and eat at their restaurants! Ugh. I didn’t even bother to argue I just paid the bill and left. I’ll never eat here again though.

As a serious Unilocaler I was very nervous trying a place with such a low rating and horrible reviews. We either got lucky or a lot of reviewers are just angry drunks. Maybe a little of both. Our server was excellent and the food was pretty darn good especially given the 50% off promotion. We didn’t experience any of the trickery that others have commented about. We saw a lot of very large colorful cocktails being served so I can only imagine what happens after consuming one or two of those. Not a bad experience.

Decent seafood. super expensive .make sure to tell them 50% off your dinner bill to get 50% off. happy hour is serious!!! dont believe e whatever price they tell u, they are sneaky and tricky. If u have a iPhone tape what she is telling u

We arrived into Miami on a late evening flight and stayed at the Congress Hotel which is in the same building. It was 11:30 and we were tired and hungry. So we went to the closest restaurant, the Café Medi.
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This place was so cheesy and touristy. I had just exercised and been on a super low carb diet for 30 days! Yes I lost 28 lbs in that period and needless to say, I wanted some carbs!
So I ordered the paella and my wife got the lasagna. It was mediocre. The little sea food in the paella was overcooked. The waitress spoke ZERO English. Even after being deprived for 30 days, the food sucked! The bill took forever to arrive because I am sure our waitress was perusing an English to Spanish dictionary. When it finally arrived it was over $ 40 for garbage and two waters.
FYI: Restaurants in Miami add the gratuity so you’re screwed if you got screwed.
Would I go there again? Are you loco?

Food was excellent. Portions were huge. Was there during happy hours

No stars. We found a giant frozen booger in the ice cube in the mojito. If you like to eat your boogers, suck on salty ice cubes, then is the place!

Don’t bother! Paella is at best just ok, room temp. They reel you in with the Happy Hour deal and you definitely don’ t get Happy Hour prices! Btw, $ 32 for 2, yes 2 crab legs!

Café Medi is right on Ocean Blvd and is one of those cool, trendy café’s to eat at.
We actually had brunch here and it was one of the best brunches we had during our South Beach stay. We both had the bacon, eggs, hashbrowns and toast platters with a mimosa.
Service was good and the food came out rather fast. I would definately eat here again.

Can you give negative stars? If you could this would be the epicenter. This is a clip joint of the first order. Stay away.

Now that the overwhelming rage of having experienced this establishment has subsided (somewhat — my friends know not to get me started), I have decided to tell the world my story. After spending a pleasant day on the sands of South Beach my friend and I decided to peruse the bars for a much-​desired libation. That’s when the sunny skies over us metaphorically turned into a crap storm.
The hostess out front caught our attention with a two-​for-​one special: you drink one there and then you can take one to go and walk around the streets with them. SOLD! So we sat down and ordered a mojito and white sangria. When they got to our table my friend I took one look at the behemoths that were set before us and then looked at each other thinking the same thing: HOW MUCH DO THESE THINGS COST?! We though… ok maybe $ 30, right? That’s a lot but this is like four drinks in one. 3 more than we actually wanted. Nope. Looked online and sure enough they were $ 55!!! $ 55!!! $ 55! Can’t stress that enough.
We asked the waitress for the menu to make sure that was the case. Couldn’t find it on there, and then asked her. She nonchalantly told us $ 55!!! $ 55!!! To which my friend responds: «oh no, i don’t have $ 55!!! to pay for this thing.» So the waitress says she’ll charge us for one and the other would be free. A little bit easier to swallow… very little bit. Because were so blown away by the ridiculousness and stuck on stupid, we also ordered bruschetta (downing a gallon of alcohol would definitely make us drunk so we needed SOMETHING!). Needless to say the food sucked… to say the least! The check comes, with TIP ALREADY ADDED TO IT!
Case in point: There’s some shadiness going on here and I think they operate on unsuspecting tourists (like we were) who in all of the hundreds (if not thousands) of Happy Hours we’ve been to have ever paid $ 55!!! $ 55!!! for ONE drink.
AVOID THIS PLACE AT ALL COSTS. SERIOUSLY.

Stopped in here for Sunday brunch. It was the kickoff to the last full day of our weekend trip and we were in seek of 2 important things: breakfast food and mimosas. Mission accomplished.
Quite frankly, you can probably get the same deal from 10 places within a 2 block radius, but we chose Café Medi on this morning. The food came out rather quickly. Though a mistake was made on my order, it was quickly rectified and the mimosas were served in tall glasses. Oh what a nice start to this day. The waitress never pressured us as we transitioned from dining on eggs to purely focusing on mimosa consumption. I totally enjoyed this place, but it’s not much of a standout from any of he surrounding options.

This place is the BIGGEST RIP OFF OF MY ENTIRE LIFE. Firstly, the waitress did not know what she was doing at all, came up to the table and didn’t say anything at all, just stared at my friend and I… So we asked her what the deal with the drinks was… she said it was an «excellent deal… happy hour all night, buy one get one free» So my friend and I ordered dinner, and each got one of these ridiculous drinks (which by the way were very weak, I was basically drinking juice, with a dumb straw the size of a tree trunk… Anyway the brain dead waitress only put in one of our meals, so I was waiting to get my food for about 40 minutes…
After only being able to finish about half of this juice in a fancy cup, I asked for the check, and the waitress came over and I asked how much the drinks were (since she had told us it was such a great deal, and it was happy hour– I’m from New Jersey, and am in Manhattan all the time… never in my life have I ever even entertained the idea of spending 55 dollars ON ONE DRINK). Sorry I am on a rampage right now, as you can tell I’m very upset with the experience at this place… Anyway when I shot the waitress a shocked look, she said, «Well all the prices are on the menu, and I told you that it was buy one get one free»… I said, «Well this is ridiculous, and you did NOT tell me where it said that NOR does it say it on the menu». I asked to speak with the manager, and she said there was nothing she could do. I’ve never in my life been so badly ripped off and it seems as if I’m not the first or last that will experience this… I thought it was strange that there was not a lot of people there for a friday evening around 930…
This place sucks. NEVER GO HERE AVOID IT LIKE THE PLAUGE. 55 dollars my ass… These people should be thrown in jail this. Complete false advertising, shitty food, and juice/​watered down drinks that they think are made with ice cubes that are made of gold… ugh seriously this was the worst experience at a restaurant or bar that i have ever had.

I feel like I got drugged and mugged after spending lunch there with my family. Drinks that cost $ 55 each – never in my life have I seen that – and I grew up in NY. Stay away!!!

Ok. I had to read some of the other reviews to make sure I had the right place and the mention of the $ 55 drinks let me know I was in the right place! Ok so this was my second trip to the area for the annual Jazz In the Gardens festival in Miami Lakes. The first time I went we stopped at a great restaurant with tasty food and the drinks were nice too. Unfortunately, I couldn’t remember the name or exactly where on Ocean Drive it was located. So the folks I hung with this time around were kinda ready to sit down and eat and hit the beach and get back to the hotel. I was also hungry and wanted a decent drink. So I see the display they have showing $ 9.99 specials and then the big HUGE drinks. Now going off of my previous experience I“m not thinking about $$$$ drink prices I’m thinking like ok in the N.O. a big drink is about $ 15 — $ 20. I notice that there are NO prices on the drink menu so I immediately ask how much are the drinks? He quickly says $ 55…i’m thinking the sun is effecting my hearing… after he takes the food order, I say how much? He says the two prices are $ 55 for the 2 liter and $ 36 for the 1 liter and that’s for ALL of the drinks on the menu. None of the drinks came in a regular sized glass during lunch. only during dinner. WTF? The only thing that stopped me from giving this a total boo boo rating is that my salad was tasty and for the most part everyone’s food was good.
Steer clear of this place! They are a tourist trap — the drinks are expensive and they don’t push the $ 9.99 specials. Shame on you Café Medi! Shame on you!!!
Make sure you hit up other spots for food AND there’s a daiquiri factory type spot on Ocean Drive that is great for your drinks. It’s cash only.
*that is all*

So,
Im back with an update
The manager refunded 180 dollars so In my eyes she made good by her customer.
FYI for everyone

Overpriced tourist trap. I think the chef cooks from the microwave… NO SERIOUSLY. I ordered pizza is was rubbery and very school cafeteria tasting, the fries were over cooked and dry. (Gave me flashbacks of elementary cafeteria servers with those hair nets and ugly moles on their faces.) The chef thanks the microwave for doing all the work.
We ordered an appetizer, the airhead server forgot and finally brought out the microwave tasting rubbery cheese sticks after the entrée came out. Really???
The food here is not good and for what it is… Its not worth the money. I think the fishbowl drinks are $ 55 or for happy hour 2 for $ 55 oh yah good deal. sarcasm… Another reason why I dont dine on Ocean Drive.
Oh YAH and 15% AUTO TIP? Reallly… I tip however I think MY service was THANK you. Con artists.

HORRIBLE, HORRIBLE, HORRIBLE EXPERIENCE! Had I seen the horrible reviews on Unilocal first, I would have NEVER eaten here!
Me, my boyfriend, and another couple decided to sit down for lunch, after being bombarded by 9.99 lunch special flyers all over Ocean Blvd. We were in a rush and thought Medi would be a good idea. BIG MISTAKE!
As soon as we sat down, a girl gave us a regular menu and drinks menu. When the waiter came over, he started to tell us about the drink specials. BEWARE — there are no prices on the drinks menu (we spent $ 55 per drink per person) I asked him about the 9.99 lunch specials to which he replied «I’ll get back to you on that» Then he starts talking about the lunch special for the day which coincidentally happened to be $ 110, the most expensive item on the menu. He never mentioned anything about the items listed on the 9.99 menu.
After he brought out our drinks, I asked him again about the 9.99 lunch specials. We told the waiter that all 4 of us would share 2 appetizers. He constantly asked each of us «What about you for appetizer?» when we had told him at least 3 times we were sharing the appetizers.
Appetizers and main entrees came out fairly quickly, but very poor quality. The beef quesadilla was made with the worst beef I’ve ever tasted! The shrimp and calamari basket was blah. One of my friends ordered the Penne Primavera, served in a small soup bowl. My other friend had the Ziti. It was so small it looked like a kids meal. I had the Cubanita. Since we were in Miami, I wanted something Latin. I’ve eaten great Latin food before and this was far from it; The yellow rice and black beans tasted like it had been reheated and the meat had no taste.
This was the first time I saw tip being automatically added to a table of four. I’ve been to many 4 and 5 star restaurants in NYC and never had I experienced such horrible service like I did at Medi. The grand total came out to be (drum roll) … $ 355!!! That’s right, $ 355 for 4 mango margaritas, 2 appetizers specials for $ 9.99 each, and 4 Lunch Specials for $ 9.99 each. Apparently, each margarita was $ 55. I admit we should have asked how much the margaritas were before we ordered, but I never expected it to be more than $ 25 or so. Never have I spent $ 55 for a margarita which probably used bottom shelf alcohol anyway, considering my boyfriend only gets headaches from bottom shelf alcohol.
If I could give this place 0 stars, I would!

Total tourist trap. The food was pretty decent.
The 2 for 1 drinks are pretty pricey even for the giant portions that they are… but with the head start on drinking before getting any food in me, they definitely had my buzz going!

Just like all the other restaurants on Ocean Drive, this place is a total tourist trap. Most of the restaurants on this strip have attractive women offering some kind of coupon along with staged food displays.
After strolling up and down Ocean Drive, we chose to eat at Café Medi because the crowd seemed lively and the place was still busy at 11 PM.
I ordered the ahi tuna steak which was cooked perfectly and delicious. My girlfriend ordered the lobster ravioli which was very tasty and filling. The crab cake appetizer was generous; we couldn’t finish it.
As other reviewers have mentioned, the drinks are pricey at Café Medi. The frozen cocktails (daiquiris, mojitos, etc) are $ 19 each, but this price not advertised on the menu. The drinks are huge and strong, though. We couldn’t finish ours.
Even though the place was busy, the service was pretty good and our waitress was very friendly. Some mentioned that drinks were 2 for 1, however the promotion during our visit was a 20% discount on the bill. Though I hadn’t been given a coupon by the hostess, the waitress still applied the discount. Our bill was roughly $ 100 before discount, so our 20% savings essentially paid for one of the drinks.
Though I’ll likely visit another restaurant next time I’m on Ocean Drive, Café Medi was overall a good experience and I’d recommend it to others.

The reviewers here made me laugh because they’re pretty much dead on the money: this is a tourist trap in every sense of the word. I was pretty annoyed that I didn’t realize it right off the bat, after all, I’m from Orlando — I should be able to spot these kinds of places from a mile away. But I was in a really South Beach state of mind and wanted a drink by the water.
They lure you in with promises of 2 for 1 specials and the drinks are ENORMOUS. Our waitress actually asked if I wanted to take my second margarita «to go» We ordered some boring brunch items and our bill came to $ 52. This is when my jaw hit the floor. $ 19 for «2 for 1» margaritas? Lame.
Pretty steep and you don’t even get to see the ocean from the outdoor seating (that goes for most outdoor seating on the South Beach strip). It’s great for people watching though, the music is fun and the drinks are actually pretty strong, I’ll give it that much.
Lesson learned. Ft. Lauderdale really beats South Beach when it comes to food/​drinks by the beach.