El Mago De Las Fritas

Good place for a traditional Frita. The place is very clean and customer service was not bad. This is as close as I’ve seen to the original cuban burgers I used to eat as a child. Parking is a little rough but other than that I’ll definitely be back

I’ve never had flan this good in my life! Seriously. I had two!
This family owned business is tops in both food and service. Everything is handmade fresh daily. Obviously their fritas are their specialty and they don’t disappoint. I wish I could eat here every day :)

Holy awesomeness white man! Seriously good food, family run and friendly as could be. This place is gold. Pure, delicious, Cuban gold.
Humble looking spot on the side of the road. Basic menu. None of that matters. Don’t turn away, fellow Gringos, stay and feast! You’ll be happy you did. And full. Very full

This is by far my favorite restaurant in Cuba -/​I mean in Miami LOL. I love the food and people. Hi Martha! We just celebrated my sons birthday here! Do not miss this place!!!

I usually don’t write reviews on the spot, but there’s a certain magic in the air here…
Living in Miami has its perks, and living a hop, skip, and jump away from El Mago de las Fritas is in the top five.
Growing up in Miami and on homemade fritas, it’s difficult to find the ones that taste like they came out of your grandmother’s kitchen. These taste better! (Sorry Mima…)
There’s a reason they call him «El Mago» (The Magician for the Hispanically challenged) and the proof is in the Frita. The secret recipe mix of a traditional frita varies from kitchen to kitchen, but these have transcended into something mythical. The delicious patty is always placed on a fresh baked cuban roll and topped with crunchy «papitas» (julienned crispy potato sticks), add a little ketchup or a fried egg and you’re ready to be amazed.
Now, if you’ll excuse me. I have about a half dozen of these things waiting for me…

This is such a lovely place. The man is an icon here in the neighborhood. The frita is the best i have found in miami. The bean soup is great. I have tried a few other things that are also crazy good. They were featured on the food channel for a reason.

The winner of the People’s Choice Award at Burger Beast’s 2015 Frita Showdown. Enough said.

Awesome fritas! They make their own hot sauce and it is no joke (coming from a guy who has a hot sauce collection). Every day they have a special; I recommend going on Saturday, around noon, for the chicarrones and ajiaco. El Mago himself is the man – usually downing a bottle of something on the side as he cooks. Barry is another manager who is a part of the family and he and the rest of his staff treat you like you’re a part of the family, too!
The only reason is gets 4 stars is because of the parking issue. There’s only a few spots outside the store on the very busy Calle Ocho.

When your in Miami you have to stop here and chowdown some cuban burgers… i even bought some for the airport to eat while on the plane… yum yum yum! Plus very reasonable prices. the services is great, price is excellent, taste is out of this world!

First off I would like to say this place just got a facelift and looks great! We were welcomed when we came in and seated right away. We ordered cheese fritas with fries and a Dominican Presidente The owners daughter came by our table and made us feel very welcome! Very friendly service and great fritas!

My heart skipped a beat when I was told about the invisible war being waged on the streets of Miami. The cult of El Mago, versus the El Rey posse.
What even is a frita? And why can there be only one BEST frita in Miami?
To all you uninitiated, a frita is just a Cuban cheeseburger, but it’s more than the sum of it’s parts. It’s been while since I was eating land animals, mind you, but I remember the grease and mayo and sweet rolls of El Mago like it was yesterday. Fritas are the real deal, delicious, novel, but scrumptious to even the pickiest of eaters. To go with it, order a cortadito or a coke and fries. Or chicharones if you’re adventurous. Flan, only if you were blessed with a hollow leg – but more power to you if you are.
Service will be… almost assuredly miserable. Sit at the counter and brace yourself for the stares (at least if you’re white). But that’s not why you go here. You go here for a cultural experience, non-​pareil. A meal that is uniquely Miami. Just go for it.
Your tastebuds will thank you.

My 92 year old grandfather has been told that he doesn’t have much time with us left so I’m trying to please his every wish as best as I can. He loves fritas so I decided I would get him one today. Honestly in Miami you can find a frita at practically every Cuban spot there is but I decided to put Unilocal to the task of finding me the best frita in the 305, something that will remind him of the ones he had in Cuba. Unilocal told me this was the place to go. Driving from West Kendall it was a 22 minute drive but well worth it.
The parking is horrible — consider yourself warned. We were there mid day so the few parking spots in front were still available but they right off of 8^th street so to get out was a mission. That is the negative, that’s it!
The place is clean and bright with friendly staff. We were greeted immediately and offered a table. We were taking it to go, so we sat at the counter to place our order. The young lady told us about their various options but we decided to go classic.
In less than 10 minutes we were heading back to West Kendall with a smell that was so intoxicatingly good, it took all our will power to not rip into the bag and eat them right away.
The taste was outstanding! The bread was fresh and soft as Cuban rolls should be. Thin real potatoes fries, not those cheap shoestring potato chips that other places use. Caramelized onions and tender patty that the was super flavorful. He ate the whole thing, even picking up the potatoes that had fallen out. My grandmother said it needed more spice, I didn’t think so but then again I don’t care for spicy food and having read the reviews later I found that they do have a spicy sauce you can request if you want.
I found it perfect as is! Definitely a must try for the frita lover! Buen provecho!

I have heard a lot about El Mago, and today I had the overwhelming desire to have a frita and a batido de trig so I had to come here!
For starters, the parking is tricky. There are only 5 spots out front and you have to pull in directly from 8^th st. There is a parking lot on the corner and some of the spots aren’t marked, which is where someone recommended that we park. They also have some spots in the back. So if one of the spots in the front aren’t open, these are other options.
Very simple set up on the inside. A countertop area and a few tables. Even though they were busy there were still enough seats. On the wall they have pictures of people that have been there… One of them includes President Obama. They also have a book on display that they’ve been featured in!
All of the people that work there were very attentive and I was greeted promptly upon entering. I ordered the original frita with onions. The lady that took my order also informed me that you can also order it with cheese or with an egg. I stuck with the original. The frita was great! You could tell the bread was fresh, I loved the grilled onions, and the meat was flavorful. I decided to go all out and also order a batido de trigo. The batido de trigo was perfect, definitely one of the best I’ve had. If you’re unfamiliar with this it’s like a sugary cereal milkshake. I know that may sound strange to the unfamiliar but it is GOOD!
While I waited I ended up ordering chicharrones. They chop them up into bite sized pieces and serve it with a few lime wedges. They were very good, but a little too fatty for me. I think for someone who enjoys chicharrones though this would be the place to get it though.
All in all a great Calle Ocho and Miamian experience. I would definitely bring out of towners here. El Mago was also there and he said bye to me on the way out. I felt pretty special!

T-​H-​E B-​E-​S-​T F-​R-​I-​T-​A E-​V-​E-​R ! ! ! !
Not only is El Mago truly the creator of the best Frita I’ve had in my life, but the service there is warm and gracious in a way that feels natural and authentic. On the day we went the daily soup was chicken, it was Cuban magic. This soup can heal. I also had a batido de mamey which was no less than life-​changing. I have lived between Union City and Miami most of my life (born in Cuba) and I only mention this so that the reader understands I’m no Frita amateur. I strongly recommend El Mago de La Frita.

as i cannot seem to find it’s own listing for their mobile ‘magic box’ I shall write my review for it here. as i cannot find any more information anywhere else to make it’s own listing.
nevertheless this magic box (i like to call something else that too! HA!) was parked outside JWbrew during 2^nd saturday and praise the frita dios’ for it bein there.
a traditional frita hit the spot after a couple brews. i prob could have ate two (or got a doble) pero I need to learn how to control myself, «like literally I can’t!»

For my first frita experience, I am officially a fan! This place is SMALL though. So if you show up on a Saturday afternoon or week day lunch time, be prepared to be tightly packed with your group in a teeny tiny booth.
The frita, whatever it is, is pretty good. It seems to be a hamburger patty that is made up mostly of chorizo meat — so that’s already amazing. Then they top the frita with these thin deep fried crispy onion wisps — right there, I made you drool didn’t I? If you are a visitor, make sure you try a frita; if you’re a Miami resident, why haven’t you made your way here to have a frita?!
AANNNDD, if you’re feeling brave, go ahead and reach for the bottle of spicy sauce. The sauce is so good but its pretty damn spicy. I would recommend trying just a little before you load up — your stomach will thank me later.
If you have room in your stomach and on your palate don’t ignore the chicharrones here. I was able to finish one frita, one order of chicharrones, a café con leche and 2 glasses of watermelon juice. By the way, the watermelon juice is hands down the best I’ve had yet — better than Palacio de los Jugos.

I’ve come around. These fritas are really damn good. I grew up on Morro Castle (the one in east Hialeah) and thus I’m partial to their style but Mago puts together a delicious frita and the service is incredible. On our most recent visit we also got an order of Ajiaco (awesome) and an order of Chicharones (really good).
I get the feeling that the more I come here the better it will get and that’s pretty exciting.
Pro tip — get your frita «a caballo»

Except for the annoying pictures of Obama’s visit on the wall, the place is a must-​visit when in Miami. Fritas are excellent, and the milkshakes a great too! Truly an old Miami gem.

So I’ve been eying this place for some time now, so one day we were thinking about what to eat, and since my better half never had one I asked if he would be willing to try one and luckily he said Yes!!! Yay!!! So off we went and who was in the kitchen!!! The Mago himself, he is as cool as can be, so cute, he got hungry after a while though he had to sit down and eat, but he was always keeping an eye on the kitchen.
We sat at the counter, Maria helped us, she was so sweet, she explained to my boyfriend what a frita was. So we ordered two of them, with cheese.
The patties were on the thicker side, different from that «other place» lol, they were cooked to perfection. I would’ve liked my bread a little bit toastier, but hey!!! You don’t argue with the Mago!
I tried the Guanabana shake, it was good, but I think next time I will order the mango one.
We also ordered a cortadito that was PERFECT! And the Flan, of course! You have to order that for dessert! Let me tell you! We were fighting over that flan! It was just perfect.
So if you’re in the area, or you’re just curious about it, do yourself a favor and go have a frita!!! You’ll love them.

Best frita in miami hands down. I have heard about this place for a long time and finally decided to go. It was truly a wise decision. I really love the fritas here and even ordered another one after I devoured the first one. The service was on point. The owners daughter even came over to our table to make sure everything was good. She was very nice and even made a great beer recommendation. The beer was called 1906 and it was delicious. My friends and I all had a great time and enjoyed some amazing food. Can’t wait to go back again.