Don't let the inconspicuous outside appearance fool you, this place has delicious Cuban dishes. I went for the fried Pork Chunks and the Chicken Fajitas served with rice, black beans and sweet plantains. Service was quick and the staff was friendly but to the point. You can only sit at the counter or the railing along the wall, since there are no tables. It gets busy later at night, so early evening was the perfect time to arrive. So many other menu items I want to try, so I'll definitely be coming back the next time I'm in Miami. read more

Playa Cafe - Pork Chunks and Chicken Fajitas. Crispy on the outside, tender on the inside. - Cuban Near Me - Miami Beach, Florida

It's a small shop located right off the strip. There is limited seating and can be very crowded at all times during the day. They're constantly busy with carryout orders so it may be recommended that you order to-go instead of dining inside. I ordered the Philly Cheese Steak and Cuban Sandwich. Both were very delicious and flavorful! I loved both combos and I can't wait to be back to enjoy more of their food! read more

My hubby and I were looking for a authentic hole in the wall place with reasonable prices and very good food and that's exactly what we got. Their food was DELICIOUS! And prices were good. Their natural juices and shakes were my fave! We came back the next day! Yummy place. read more

The place might not seem like much but don't let that stop you. Not only is the food good but to with that you get the nicest service. Every time I've been here they have treated me and everyone therw so so nice . They aim to.please you and the prices are . So if your in the area stop by you will not be disappointed. read more

Playa Cafe - Cuban Near Me - Miami Beach, Florida

I just order through GrubHub delivery service through GrubHub is outstanding never had a problem I read the reviews on this restaurant the majority of pretty great reviews so I thought I'd give it a try boy was I disappointed I ordered a breaded steak with rice and black beans the steak had no breading and it was paperthin the beans hardly any flavor very disappointing The only thing good which you can't mess up because it's processed and they fry it is the stuffed potatoes I will not be a returning customer read more

Used to live in Miamiband developed a deep appreciation for Cuban cuisine. Found this gem on yelp and kept coming back. No glitz or BS just authentic delicious home style Cuban food at a great price. Duplicates my memories of the old days here where a place like this was on every corner. Just go!! read more

we literally stopped by this place 3 times in five days. tamales the size of a small guinea pig AND freshly squeezed oj?! perfection. oh, and their hot sauce Chili Willy was FIYAH. read more

We ordered from them just about every night during out vacation in Miami. Food is very good--freshly prepared and the portion sizes are generous. The fried whole snapper was our favourite but the smoked pork chop is good also. Sides were ok--black beans, white & yellow rice, rice and beans. The rice and beans was the most flavourful of all the sides. We did order french fries and tostones which arrived hot and tasty. The salad was probably the least liked as it was just a bunch of shredded iceberg lettuce with over ripe tomatoes on top. They deliver to just about anywhere along Miami beach which was very convenient. Prices are extremely reasonable given the amount of food you get. Delivery is available via grubhub and uber-eats. read more

Great atmosphere! Breakfast serving was quick bit we needed to wait a not for our sandwiches. We had cubano and medianoche with fries and the portions were huge as for 7.50 USD. The sandwiches were full of meat and very tasty. I would only add a bit more od mustard.Highly recommended spot in Miami Beach. read more

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Oh geez ! What a disappointment !!! So sorry to say. It looked like a neat late night place for a snack. We ordered a Pressed Cuban sandwich and to our dismay and disappointment the sandwich was loaded into a microwave ! Yes a microwave. We asked the counter person and her reply was a shrug and an expression of ' what ' We asked don't you press the pressed sandwich and it was like ' no ' We apologized and said sorry , but no thank you and left . When a food item is not prepared in the appropriate way we draw the line. And when the staff gives that blank stare when asked about it , it's time to take your leave. Unfortunately we will not be returning . Sad ... Just so sad ! read more

Great Cuban food for a really great price. I like to stop by after the beach. They're open late and makes for a great hangover meal. They're also part of Uber Eats food delivery. read more

This place is the worst place I been to in my life !!!! I ordered enchiladas , I got 2 oily tortillas that looked like they were fried gross with cheese & lettuce With what looked like a salad dressing . The enchiladas did not look anything like the pic on the menu , I have had many different of enchiladas and I can say I not sure what doses were , also ordered juices drink but it turned out to be a blended drink , they should really learn the difference between a juice and a smoothie! read more

Great value, tasty and inexpensive food !! Pupusas and chicharon are to die for !! My regular late night pit stop every time I visit South Beach. One thing that bugs me: - I do realize that I am just visiting Miami and most people are speaking Spanish predominantly here. However it ALWAYS pi**es me off if there is NOT one person working the shift that speaks good enough English to understand simple questions about their menu. read more

Playa Cafe - Chicharone and Yuca - Cuban Near Me - Miami Beach, Florida

If I wanted frozen uncooked fries at 2am I would have made them myself... awful How hard is it to mess up something so basic read more

Not the best Cuban sandwich I've had. The staff were friendly but it took a while to get my food and they didn't want to swap the coke for a coffee (not even for an upcharge) in the combo I ordered. The sandwich was huge and the French fry portion was large as well. I was able to eat half of my sandwich and give the rest of my meal to a homeless man outside. read more

One of the best meals we had in Miami! We went here on our way to the beach (it is very close to it) and ordered the midnight sandwich and also the steak sandwich. The portions are large and the price is low. One of the most filling and cheapest meals you can get in South Beach probably. The place is clean but nothing fancy. I recommend this for a nice meal on the beach, we had this as our breakfast and I could not finish mine lol. read more

Just got cortados here, but seemed authentic and clean. Guests inside were friendly. Didn't seem like a place where they take advantage of tourists. read more

Went here on our last day in South Beach. The looks of the place can be deceiving, but don't let that fool you. The food was excellent. We had the empanadas and fresh natural lemonade! The food was delicious and the juice to die for!!! It's a small place that packs a wallop!! A definite must! read more

Love this place. Good quality food. Cheap prices. Service is a bit slow and you gotta flag them down literally with waves of the hand for everything which I hate doing but hey do what you gotta do. read more

We got a quick, cheap breakfast here. They were not busy when we arrived, and the service was good. I enjoyed the homey, diner feel. The food is exactly the quality you would expect. Not sure how the late night crowd would be, but definitely a nice stop for breakfast. read more

A 'Hole in the Wall'. This is the best food you can buy for the price. Breakfast for $3.69. Dinners for $7.00. What's wrong with this picture? It's South Beach! The Chicken Vegetable soup is the best anywhere. The orange juice is fresh sqeezed and the expresso machine works overtime. Where in Sobe can you have a beer for $3.00? Playa!(not to be confused with player) The menu is heavy on different kinds of beans and rice. It's Diner style service which is always courteous. As a foreigner(American), they always make you feel right at home. I sometimes feel that I owe them more money. Good food and great service! read more

It literally blows my mind how this place is 4 stars. Came here last week for dinner with a few friends who said it was good based on what they ate here for lunch. You walk in and there are dirty, old looking tables and some of the bar seats are dirty and covered with spilled food. Putting this aside, as some hole-in-the-wall places have great food, we sat down at the bar. Three things of note: 1) I work as a barista. I know pretty good coffee. I love cuban coffee. However, I did not and would not EVER try their coffee drinks with milk in here because THEY DO NOT CLEAN THEIR STEAM WAND! I watched some lady make a cafe con leche and not wipe the steam wand off. If she was lazy, she could have just blown it out, BUT SHE DIDN'T EVEN DO THAT! I watched the whole time I was there, as we ordered food, received it and started eating if anyone would come and clean it. No one did. I watched as 3 workers stood RIGHT NEXT TO IT, LOOKED AT IT AND IGNORED IT. UGH! And THEN! I guess someone else ordered a cafe con leche and the waitress STEAMED THE MILK WITH THE DIRTY WAND that CLEARLY had dried milk built up on it. And then, surprise!, she DIDN'T CLEAN IT EITHER. It was the most off putting thing until... 2) One of the waitresses needed to grab something on top of the beverage fridge so she freaking got up and STOOD ON THE COUNTER that was behind the bar. She proceeded to NOT WIPE WHERE HER DIRTY SHOES TOUCHED THE COUNTER. Are you kidding me? 3) The food isn't even that good. My ropa vieja was flavorless and came drowned in a rust colored liquid. Gross. Based on the sanitary issues, I will not ever give this place a second chance to redeem itself for the bland food. Miami has so many other hispanic places to go to (Description says it's a Cuban restaurant, it is not. More like a mishmash of central/south american). Don't waste your time with this one. read more

I came here to try Cuban sandwiches, and they were BOMB. Super tiny hole in the wall. Would be easy to miss. But great place to have some Cuban sandwiches! I'd come back to Miami just for their sandwiches. Lol. read more

During my first trip to the Miami area, I insisted on having cuban food. But we were in Miami Beach... not Miami. What's a gal to do? I turned to Yelp of course. Found this cute little spot with it's spanish only, cash only awesomeness and promptly ordered a cuban sammy. It's very much a counter deli style situation with canned sodas and single barstools. I settled in to wait. And wait. And finally my Cuban came out. It looked incredible. Gigantic for the price and full of awesomeness. One bite though and I was disappointed. The bread was okay but not special, the pork was dry and I could have used more mustard and more pickles... which in fact I asked for but didn't receive. It wasn't terrible... it just didnt blow me away. Got some empanadas and plantains to go and those were a-okay as well. Next time I'm in the area, I'm headed to Miami proper to scout out some hot Cuban food... and men. read more

Stopped in for a quick Cortadito while passing by, was horrible in comparison to other local spots.

After visiting Miami several times, I still had yet to have a cuban sandwich.. Terrible! So this last visit I made it one of the top priorities while in town. Given I was pretty hungover and didnt feel like uber-ing it somewhere far, I settled for Playa Cafe as it was convenient and had good reviews. When I walked in, I had a feeling it was going to be good. Totally little hole in the wall, packed, and full of locals. Went for a cuban (of course) also had a side of the tostones (fried plaintains), and for like 10 bucks, this was an insane amount of food! They were both really great though. The cuban had a ton of flavor! I was not disappointed in anyway. Cool little spot! read more

05.15.11 Cheap, authentic Cuban food. The place is the epitome of your hole-in-the-wall, but regulars keep coming back because the food is delicious. We were given menus when we first walked in. Service slowed to almost a halt after that. Took about 15-20 minutes for our orders to come out, but my pork chops made up for it. Definitely more of a locals place vs. typical SoBe tourists, but glad we gave it a try! read more

Cheap and cheerful hole in the wall place. The gallo pinto (rice and beans) and sweet plantains are amazing - I went back to get take out on our short 4 night trip. I tried the pork chops and they were a bit dry. My friend had chicken fajitas which was better. Staff are friendly but service can be a bit slow. Music was way too loud and aircon too high so take another layer if that bothers you. read more

Playa Cafe - Pork chops and chicken fajitas. Amazing rice and plantains - Cuban Near Me - Miami Beach, Florida

This is literally a hole in the wall with only counter seating. Read on Yelp they had outstanding cuban sandwiches and ... not just because of the price, this is easily THE BEST meal for your dollar you are going to find ANYWHERE, let alone South Beach. I am a big guy, but half of the $4.50 sandwich more than filled me up. Daughter had a mango shake which was handmade while we waited and phenomenal. Tried the steak sandwich in case anybody in our group did not want a cuban, IT was good. Another in our group had the midnight (this is a guy who is not into cuban food) and he RAVED about it. His wife (who wanted no part of cuban food) is still talking about how much she loved her sandwich. There are plenty of other offerings...including breakfast offerings that looked like they were all under 5 bucks and looked great when we got our second round of cubans to go (for the flight home). Some reviewers have hinted that english is not spoken or the staff is not polite, but that was not my experience either time. There were plenty of regulars there and certainly many of them were not English "first language" folks, but this is a MUST go to place if you are anywhere near 15th and Washington. and yes, FIVE STARS I give this place. read more

I wanted authentic Cuban, I got authentic Cuban. Thank you. Cafe Playa is where the locals hang out when they want good food. Everyone was hanging around the counter drinking beer and enjoying the food. It was just a fun place to be. Ordering is simplified thanks to an order by number system. Most of the wait staff spoke limited English so this system worked out well. I had the Cuban Sandwich (#3), it was soo good. The pork was really fresh, healthy portion of ham too. It was really a generous sized sandwich for the price ($3.50). I ended up having the sandwich and a diet Coke and my bill was less that $6. That's a good deal. They have a lot of choices on the menu, each and everyone of them from the skirt steak to the enchiladas looked worthy of exploring based on what I saw on the counter. The staff (and customers) are friendly. Speaking Spanish is a plus but they welcome everyone. Two solid thumbs up from me for Cafe Playa. I'll be back. This place is definitely worth the stop. read more

For about $10 I got myself some bistec, maduros, rice, beans and a Modelo Especial. $10 anywhere else in South Beach would probably buy you the right to use their restroom. I almost want to forget my minimal knowledge of Spanish and call this place *Playa* Cafe. As in "Ain't nobody holdin' down Cuban food harder than this place, PLAYA!" (Yea, yea, I get it. Spanish "playa" means "beach". Why you gotta be so boring for?) read more

I can eat Cuban sandwiches, ropa vieja, and plaintains for days on end. I love Cuban food. I ordered a Cuban sandwich and a can of Jupina at the counter as I tried to ignore all the stares I was getting from the other patrons. If you're a little Asian girl in a room full of Cubans, you should expect it.. My sandwich came out within a matter of minutes and man... it's HUGE. I ate half there and took the other half home. If you're into the no frills but seriously delicious hole in the wall kinda place, you should definitely check out Playa Cafe. P.S. They have pictures for all their menu items so ordering is easy if you're new to Cuban food! read more

Hole in the wall place, was told the locals come here....only table top seating, bathroom was surprisingly pretty clean and renovated, the rest of the restaurant needs some Renovation....the waitress barely speak English at the this place so hey at least you know it's authentic....we order the Cuban sandwich, fish fillet, yuca and mamey...everything was good but the mamey was kind of watered down, big portions and pretty cheap but I do not if the kitchen is sanitary, saw a few flies hovering around the condiments :$$ read more

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As far as Cuban hole-in-the-walls go, this place is an abomination. I knew I was in for trouble when I asked for a Cuban sandwich and the girl heated it up in a microwave. A MICROWAVE! We started off with some papa rellenas and croquettes. They were promptly popped into the microwave. As a result, they came out cold in the middle. I gave up on those, and asked for a Cuban sandwich. How hard can it be to screw up a Cuban sandwich in Miami, right? I see the girl assembling it, Subway style, and then promptly popping it into that beloved microwave. She plops it in front of me without a word. Staring pointedly at the sandwich press behind her, I asked her (in Spanish, no less) to press it on the plancha behind her. She rolled her eyes and stuck it back in the microwave. That's about when I lost it. I really wanted to like this place, especially because it looks like a good down-home Cuban joint in the middle of a bustling tourist spot. But I should've known better. As a Cuban-American, I can't honestly say this place is una miseria - a travesty. read more

Excellent breakfast spot. Try the colada coffee and fruit smoothies or fresh orange juice, created right behind the counter as you wait. They have home made tortillas and outstanding eggs, steak and beans. read more

Total hole in the wall, mom and pa place. Totally my favorite for cheap, quick, and delicious grub in South Beach! It's right across from the Marriott Courtyard, so it was an instant pick for food while I was in Miami. I LOVE the Cuban Sandwich here! Stack of ham, piled with pulled pork, topped with pickles, cheese, mayo, and mustard on a bread loaf that's been sandwich pressed to give it a crusty fresh baked taste. With a side of pik-nik chips. Even better when you get it to go...they throw the pik-nik chips right in the sandwich! The steak and ham sandwich is also another tasty option. All that for $5 flat (tax included). Waaaaaaaaay much better than Subway's, guaranteed! Open late. This is where the locals flock. Definitely bound to be a good time ;) read more

Best Cuban food in all of south beach. For one week I was spending $20 on a meal that wasn't very good.. Then I ran into this little whole in the wall restaurant and totally made my day. Price was below reasonable $8-$10 large serving of the yummiest Cuban food... read more

Playa Cafe - $8 can't beat that - Cuban Near Me - Miami Beach, Florida

You can tell this is a local favorite so you know it's good. I came here for the Cuban Sandwiches and the Midnight Sandwiches. Both were only $6 and it's only + $1.50 to add fries and a drink. Small place, so not much seating but it's like a bar/diner area where you can sit at the counters. Service was fast and everything is made fresh. The sandwiches were delicious but I recommend the Midnight over the Cuban because of the egg bread. They do not skimp on the meat so you'll eat you're fill. Go check out their croquettas and tamles as well! So good! read more

Thoroughly enjoyed the empanadas & yellow rice. Topped it off with a Presidente. Ladies behind the counter brought my food quickly. The flavors linger after you've finished your meal. Definitely would come again. Recommended by my Venezuelan bartender friend at the Courtyard. They have at least 40 selections. read more

Ok didn't know what to expect, front desk person at our hotel recommended this place. We walked in, and instantly we knew it was going to be good. The ladies behind the counter are hilarious and very attentive, breakfast was delicious cafe con leche officially my favorite here. Came back two more times, best Cuban sandwich! Their cortadito and colada were delicious. I must also say their fresh squeezed juices were amazing! read more