Playa Cafe

I like eating where the locals eat, it’s always the best food. Playa Café is definitely a local spot, it seemed that I was the only stranger in this small Diner. I ordered Steak Milanesa, with black beans, rice and sweet plantains. My food was PERFECTION on a plate, really flavorful and satisfying. I enjoyed my lunch amongst the back and forth banter of people that clearly eat there often, I’m sure I stood out as a non-​local. There are 30 varied menu options plus daily specials, surprising for such a small place. The service was fine, food was delivered quickly. Speaking Spanish is helpful, but not required.

This place has The Best Café con Leche! I was skeptical and was like let me give it a try and I was blown away! Food also very good!

This is a local diner that is tiny but the prices and the food are excellent. I go to Miami twice a year and always stop by for breakfast and dinner. Highly recommended.

Authentic and flavorful. Only complaint is that it’s cramped and hard to get service. The Cuban was really good and packet with ingredients. The roasted pork was a bit dry but the rice and beans and plantains were awesome. The fried cheese was quest blanco and was good. But great. Was hardened by the time we got it. The empanadas was authentic and tasty as well. Worth a look was packed for a reason.

Wonderful small place. A little crowded but it was Wonderful. I had a empanada and a Cuban sandwich, i highly recommend!

It’s a tiny diner and it’s always busy but
It’s open 22hours a day so no excuses not to stop here
Cheap delicious Latin food
Not just Cuban but that’s their roots.
The Cuban sandwich was amazing with shoestring fries and a soda it’s only $ 6.50
I just wish I remembered to ask for pickles
The roast pork sandwich is equally delicious with sautéed onions
I have so many items that I have yet to try, it’s gonna take a month to get thru them all!
Ceibeños
Fried tacos
Arroz con Pollo
Vaca frita
Pupusas
I can’t WAIT!

This place is a hole in the wall, but one of the most foodie places Miami. With authentic home made Cuban food. Obviously a locals favorite. The marinated pork is to die for. As Welles the espresso/​coffee (café bustelo beans). Made with love by the Cuban woman behind the counter. A must try before leaving Miami!

Great local Cuban food, nice change from typical south beach high dollar garbage food. Ate here 3 – 4 times over our stay, had fried fish, a steak sandwich, smoked pork chops, ceviche, chicken soup, cubano coffee and my favorite chicharron with yuca potato! Would definitely recommend. 5 star for good overall food, excellent pricing and conveniently located. Obviously a very local hangout!!!

I highly recommend this as a great lunch or breakfast place — especially over any place on Ocean Drive.
Great prices, food and service. I had the shredded pork platter with beans and rice, plantains and the salad — they only charged me a buck to have both salad and plantains. Tender, juicy pork with lots of flavor.
My partner had the grilled chicken — which was cooked to juicy perfection. The beans come on the side which was great because he doesn’t like beans.
I wouldn’t recommend the papaya batido (shake) as she only threw in two small pieces of frozen papaya. The fresh orange juices looks legit and is pressed to order.
This place offers a variety of Caribbean, South and Central American dishes at a value. Highly recommend! Skip the over priced restaurants on Ocean Drive — the food is all the same, low quality fare at a high price.

This is an old school local Cuban diner. It’s a dive joint in every positive sense of the word. I had the marinated pork — huge portion, $ 10. Add fried plantains — plate of them for $ 2.75. Cuban Sandwich $ 6… Add a soda and fired a whopping $ 1.50 extra.
Clearly a locals joint — you sit at a long diner bar… It’s fine people are friendly — come here grab a bite.

This spot is amazing! Is a good atmosphere and there is always people there.
Pros
Food was excellent
Service was great
Location is awesome
They sell beer
Open really late
Near other clubs so you can walk there after
Cons
find Street parking

A solid place to get your rice, beans, and meat fixin’ on if near South Beach. Had the shredded pork plate, which was good, if unspectacular.
This being Miami, no need to go out of your way to come here, but if in the area, then this will more than do to get your Cuban on.

Playa was okay. The Cuban food was average, I definitely had way better. Some dishes better than others, other dishes are forgettable.
Specifics:
Tostones were huge, good taste, but awkwardly huge.
Tamale — was stuffed with rice, very watery, no flavor
Croquette — it was pretty much perfect.
Papa Rellena — WEAK — not good. sub-​par
Camarones — DELICIOUS 10, huge fresh, awesome flavor. This saved the experience.
Maduros — perfect.
Price — great for what you get. very fair.
I would try it again, it seemed that others had tamales that held up better, maybe it was a fluke.

Food was decent. Chicken was kind of overcooked. It took a really long time to get the food. And the service was so-​so.
My heart belongs to Puerto sagua, but for some reason they are closed.

One of the must do things when I went to Miami was to eat an authentic Cubano sandwich. And thanks to Unilocal,I found a delicious hole in the wall place on the streets of Miami beach.
There are lots of locals that eat here as well as some foodie tourists that stop by. The menu comprises of cuban sandwiches as well as other cuban entrees. This place is more like a diner as they only have counter seating (no tables).
I ordered the cubano sandwich and it was so good. The melty cheese with the ham just went so well together with the bread. I ate it with the habanero hot sauce they had available and it was perfect!
I also tried their sweet corn tamalito. This was so good. The sweet corn used is different from the usual tamales I eat. There was a savory sweetness to it. And the thing was small, which was perfect as an appetizer.
This is exactly the type mom and pop place I love discovering when on vacation. Cheap, delicious, and authentic!

We’re in MIAMI, BEACH!
A couple of Chicagoans land in not-​so-​sunny Miami Beach for a weekend where the sand is flooded with monsoon rain. Starving, we look up on Unilocal to find a café that was not completely submerged in water and had some Cuban flavors for us to enjoy.
Luckily, this café was not playing us when it came down to cheap and delicious Latin cuisine!
Playa Café was a fab first stopover in Miami. Inside, you could tell there were locals and tourists alike, with Spanish being the definite lingua franca of the restaurant. Every item on the menu had a photo so your eyes can do all the deciding. Simply put: place your order, pay (and note that gratuity is NOT already included), and then wait for the food to arrive.
I ordered myself a $ 9 plate of fried pork chops with beans and plantains. The pork chops were nicely done with a smokey flavor left behind, and the plantains were what you’d expect anywhere on the island. The real winner here were the beans! Rather than simply being little lumps to munch on, the beans here were flavored with meat, mushrooms, and other veggies that made it nearly a stew! Highly recommend.
So while Playa is small, it packs a punch. Definitely an authentic experience that is open late for any curious palette. I will return one day!

Quick and to the point, Playa Café serves up some delicious Cuban fare at cheap prices. There are over 30 items offered on the menu, each with a picture for those who can’t visualize what the dish looks like. I ordered the central American breakfast which is eggs, beans, fried cheese, and thick corn tortilla to sop up all the yummy goodness. There are a variety of menu items that can please any pallette. The staff was attentive and friendly. I highly recommend this place, oh and breakfast is served all day!

Oh my Gawd!!! If I could give this food 20 STARS,
I would!!! From Los Angeles, and never tried Cuban food till I visited Miami last week. Now I’m SPOILED, and can’t find anything even CLOSE, here in L.A.
This place is the BOMB!!! The stuffed plantains are INSANE!!!
The Cuban sandwich RAWKS!!!
I HAVE to visit there again, JUST for this fooooood!!!

What is the real Miami Beach? It depends on who you ask. Beach lovers would say the beach (duh). Tourists would say either those few blocks on Ocean Drive for partying, or the Lincoln Ave. pedestrian mall for shopping. Your grandfather would say «Jackie Gleason». Miami residents would say the apartments and houses around Alton and north of 41^st Street. And Miami’s sizeable Cuban population would say. .. well. .. Playa Café.
I stopped in here before going back to the airport, and quickly found out that the Playa Café is the earthy cousin of Havana 1957. While the latter dresses itself up nicely and presents good, tasty food, the former lets its hair out and says «here’s the grub, take it or leave it.» And right on Washington Ave., in the heart of downtown Miami Beach, one block from the Collins Ave. scene. What a difference a block makes.
I have no picture of the interior to share, so I’ll do a word picture: Imagine, if you will, a small storefront among the Art Deco-​style stores. It’s only 20 feet wide, with a narrow kitchen on the left side open for all to view. There are countertops on the right and against the kitchen, and people sitting on stools eating their lunch. The only music is the Spanish conversations going on between the diners. The wall shows pictures of what’s available, most for under $ 10, cash and cards accepted. It feels like it’s been here for 60 years and unchanged since then, and the diners look like regulars. Got the picture yet? Basically, a Cuban greasy spoon.
I’m so glad I came here early; it took me 25 minutes to get my to-​go lunch of fried chicken chunks with rice & beans, salad, and Inca Kola. I ended up eating it at the airport, and it wasn’t hot anymore, so it didn’t taste as good, but it was still good. Pretty good seasoning on the chicken skin, and the sauce that got dipped onto the chicken was *spicy*! Too much rice & beans for me to finish.
Quite a different experience from what is expected by out-​of-​towners. It’s worth a visit for that reason alone. You get a feeling that you’re seeing a real part of Miami Beach that the tourists miss. If that’s important to you, then go to Playa Café.

Naturally, I found this place on Unilocal before my trip to Miami. I have little to no experience with Cuban/​Central American (?) food, so I can’t give you any kind of expert opinion on authenticity. I went at off-​peak hours, so there was no wait. Since I had no idea what to order, I figured I’d embrace my full tourist status and get a Cubano.
Even though I don’t speak a lick of Spanish, the waitstaff was patient and treated me very kindly. The food is super cheap, especially considering it’s located smack dab in the middle of a tourist area. I think my sandwich, which came with fries and a drink was about $ 8. It was huge and I wrapped half of it to-​go. My sandwich was good, but it didn’t blow my mind. I wish I had been more adventurous when ordering. Overall, though, there’s a quiet charm here, and you can’t beat the prices. Recommended.