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Polynesio

3.7 (57 reviews)
ModerateCuban
Closed Closed
Updated 2 months ago

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POLYNESIO ATMOSPHERE

What's the vibe?
Outdoor seating
Good for kids
Good for groups

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Recommended Reviews - Polynesio

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Menu
Jazmin H.

Pleasantly surprised by this little gem in Hialeah. Delicious food, generous portions, very cute decor and wonderful service. My parents mentioned it was modeled after a well-known restaurant in Cuba, and insisted we have dinner here. Stopped by on a Saturday night, it wasn't very busy around 7:30pm, but people slowly began to trickle in. I was not able to catch our waiters name, but he was also the singer that night, and was able to do both roles wonderfully...so kudos to him. As I mentioned, the food portions are very generous so you will not leave hungry. We started off with the Thai Dish Platter appetizer. The veggie spring rolls and the crispy wontons were my favorite, we weren't a big fan of the dipping sauce. As entrees we had the special fried rice, lomo saltado and the half order of house smoked ribs. The fried rice was a table favorite, the lomo was not your traditional sirloin tips, but rather were cut in large pieces, still very tasty. The ribs were perfectly cooked, fell right off the bone, and their sauce was amazing. The cherry on top was dessert, we had the guava rum bread pudding, do not leave without trying it. But be warned you will need to share. Overall, wonderful dinning experience. My parents are tough cookies to please and they absolutely love this place!

Inside view
Sergio F.

Polynesio came up as a New Restaurant in my Yelp Mobile, marking it as a pleasant surprise, since it is tucked away in a strip mall just off Okeechobee Road. There's only one sign outside and the entrance has tinted doors. I'm not complaining too much, as it makes for a cool speakeasyish vibe. Once inside, you find cool ceiling lanterns and vaguely Asian decor. I spoke with the owner, who said that Saturdays they have live music. The soundtrack when I went to dinner was mostly Michael Jackson; I'm definitely looking forward to more modern and upbeat jams on weekends. As far as food, portions are both generous and tasty. Even though the restaurant was pretty empty, service was attentive with both the owner and my waitress stopping by. I started with the breaded cheese balls to be dipped in sweet and sour sauce (not too bad, I might try another app next time but the sauce was a win.) My main course was award-winning; it was delicious. I enjoyed their special fried rice (which they were careful to make with no shrimp.) The rice had a good texture, plenty of egg, scallions and lots of pieces of ham, chicken & pork. I spiked it up with a mixture of soy sauce and sweet & sour from the cheese balls. Their menu is pretty varied, including chicken wings & sandwiches. They're open for lunch also, and was told they have takeout & delivery in the area. I'll definitely come by!

View from outside
Jenny M.

This place recently opened. It is very small inside, gets pretty full real fast. The customer service we received from Sandra was phenomenal, she was constantly checking up on us and making sure we enjoyed everything. Prices are decent, depends what you order. For starters we had wong tong "mariposas chinas". When you first see them you would think they were crab Rangoon but no, they are actually filled with some delicious chicken. On the side the worlds best sauce! That sauce was BOMB ! I even dipped my dinner roll into it hahaha. I had sangria, which I felt was missing the fruits to make it takes like real sangria, and some ice because it was a tad warmish. The half ribs were falling off the bones, the down side was the excessive amount of bbq sauce they put on it. It takes away the amazing smoked cooked flavor. The corn was dry, even had some dark patches. The pork chops were really good, dry, but the sauce on the side helped with the dryness. Their veggies though, they were so juicy and crunchy! Their special fried rice was good. Next time I shall try something else, maybe something more traditional.

Restaurant
Ileana A.

When I walked into this place I thought I left Hialeah and walked right into the French Polynesian islands. It is beautiful and the attention to detail from the silverware to the lamps is incredible. The owners didn't leave one detail out. The service was better then I would have expected. The waitress was very kind and took our drink order and had excellent recommendations. Every food and drink that came out had a great presentation and I was blown away to say the least. I will be returning I had a great experience here not just the service, but the food was fresh and delicious. I had mixed parilla and was able to try a little of everything. My only suggestion would be to add less oil to the parilla to not make it so oily. But the churros were delicious and the fried rice! Yum!!

Menu
Linzy R.

I went here yesterday after 5pm when I realized it's a local spot near me, we were a party of 3 , we walked In no one greeted us, after a few mins just standing there , we had to ask do we sit where we want? Then someone came to sit us. That didn't fall well with me. SO moving on the food although it wasn't bad, it wasn't good. the fried rice was cold when we got it so imagine a feed minutes on your plate and the rice was super cold I like my food hot, I ordered a margarita but that too was not that good it was very, very low in alcohol so I opted for a sangria which was a little better. We had the appetizers too the mariposas were good , the little cheese balls were so-so. I also had a avocado tomato salad that was good you can't go wrong on That. All in all I'm not sure I'll ever visit again

Ramzi Z.

First time trying Polynesio Lakes. Upon entering I was amazed and surprised by the decor and cleanliness of the place. It's warm spacious and welcoming. I didn't expect to find nice well decorated restaurant in this part of the city. Waitress was nice and spoke little English. Chef Walter came out to great us and gave us few suggestions of the menu and there were not disappointing. I ordered the grilled New York steak sandwich and it came with Parmesan truffles fries It was very good quality, quantity, and presentation. My friend got the pesto chicken over penne and he said it's one of the best he had. Overall very good experience at this new place. If you are in the area you must stop and try it, you won't be disappointed! Definitely we will go back.

Yummy Drink
Maite G.

If you would like to be transported to La Habana, Cuba, specifically El Hotel Habana Libre this is the place to go!! The decor is outstanding, the food is delicious and for those of us who grew up in Miami or in the United States but are Cuban we will forever remember El Polinesio Restaurant. Their "chicken a la barbacoa" is A M A Z I N G, and their fried rice is so far the best I've ever had. I highly recommend this hidden gem in Hialeah Gardens.

Dinner area inside
Jessy M.

Great ambiance very nice theming Sunday's are nice and quite good for romantic dinners also server was good and food was good just a bit pricey

Pollo barbacoa, fried rice and churrasco

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4 years ago

Ok . Nice place food a 3 . Not the same as the Polynesio in cuba . But it's ok friendly and very clean place

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Latin House American - Grilled chicken, moros and tostones

Latin House American

(62 reviews)

$

My experience here has been only through Uber Eats, whether ordering lunch for work or sending a…read morecare package of malanga puree to a very dear friend when she was indisposed. However, from both experiences, this is a solid spot when you're craving Cuban comfort food. My most recent order was lunch for myself today. I have a Fitness challenge coming up at OTF I need to bulk up more than my usual salad and chopchops. I ordered their pollo à la plancha (grilled chicken), moros rice and tostones. My order was a pretty good size came delivered at a good temperature. I will say the order was mostly rice, but the grilled chicken breast was bad enough and had a nicely tangy citrus marinade plus lots of little onions. This is a spot you can't go wrong with for the classics!

When I'm feeling under the weather my gentleman friend sends a meal from Latin House!…read moreHe knows my love for a good purée de Malanga when I'm feeling ill. ( The pure de Malanga comes in a large container (see pics) It's nice and creamy and warm soothing for the belly! There is enough to share or save for a later meal. ( But...I've also been guilt to eat all in serving!) some saltine crackers go great with it. This last time he added some white rice, grilled chicken and 2 huge tostones. ( shareable portion) As well I finished the grilled chicken and 1 tostone between lunch and dinner) opted to leave the rice and 1 tostone by out this time. On other occasions I have eaten the white rice and let me tell you it's moist... even my daughter ( whom is a picky teenager...that loves Cuban food) said " that's some good rice!" The grilled chicken is savory seasoned but not overly. It's like nice juicy flavor but not too over powering. The meal is was perfect to share or split in between two meals or even just indulge it all in one searing! You will be satisfied for hours and for good reason too! .

EL Patio Live By Restaurant - Crazy tuna tacos - not great

EL Patio Live By Restaurant

(419 reviews)

$$

Located right outside of Westland Mall facing the parking lot next to H & M…read more Lots to look at and admire. Loved the lighting fixtures and the murals on the walls. Great music and friendly staff. What we ordered- Croquetas 10/10 - Soft creamy inside and lightly crispy on the outside. Drizzled with a aioli style sauce. (In my opinion)the croquetas were so good they didn't need any sauce. Churassco w/ white rice, black beans and plantains 10/10 ohh this is everything a churassco should be. Juicy, tender and cooked full of so much flavor. The rice was perfect not sticky just perfectly fluffy and not oily and the beans are exactly what I always hope to be served at any Cuban restaurant. Absolutely delicious and full of so much flavor. I mean if they told me Abuela had made them I would totally believe it. Chefs kiss The hubs ordered the Picanha with morro rice and plantains 10/10 No crumbs or grains of rice was left on his plate! Absolutely delicious Needless to say this place is an absolute must! Definitely will be back

I came by their new location in Westland Mall today since I was shopping and I was hungry. However,…read morewith slow service and nickel and diming (18 percent automatic tip) and smallish portions I don't think I'll be back. Having had a quick workday lunch and walked around the mall, I had worked up an appetite. I was seated in a corner table for two and my order was taken. The restaurant did not seem that crowded even for a Friday night but it felt like a long wait. Unlike many Cuban places, they don't offer complimentary bread. I ordered their "platanos a tentacion" (bacon wrapped sweet plantains), grilled chicken and moros. The rice was a little hard and the chicken breast on the small side and barely seasoned other than the onions garnishing it. Service didn't feel very attentive for me as a solo diner. Between finishing my dinner and waiting to order either dessert or cafecito, I also sat and waited until a waitress finally came by. At that point, I just got the coffee and my check. I don't believe I was offered a printed receipt, just the card terminal. I asked if the tip was included and pretty much in time when I was putting the usual tip (trying to be generous with 20 percent) I was told that it was a service charge, and that the tip was extra, but had full amounts starting with 18%. So basically I paid 30% tip for a small portion of food and inattentive service. Looking back, I see that this restaurant had a different name and I had enjoyed dinner at their other location six years back. It's disappointing to see how it has fallen off. As it were, a lot of the original creative items on the menu are no longer being offered.

Casavana Cuban Cuisine

Casavana Cuban Cuisine

(396 reviews)

$$

This is a spot you can always count on. The food is consistently delicious, same great flavor every…read moretime, no surprises, no off days. Everything tastes fresh, well-seasoned, and authentically Cuban. The service is always very attentive. The staff checks in often, refills drinks without being asked, and makes you feel genuinely welcomed. It's the kind of service that keeps you coming back. Another huge plus: there's usually no wait, even during busier hours, which makes it perfect for a quick lunch or an easy dinner out

It's so sad to notice the quality of this local hometown favorite drop so drastically. While the…read moreservers , waiters were kind and welcoming the food was just truly disappointing. My family and I used to order form here weekly and it was truly like a reminiscing moment for us of our grandmas old cooking. But the last two times we have come we are so disgusted with the food. Our daughter's palomilla legitimately tasted and looked like lab grown engineered meat. There was no taste, color or consistency of in bistec de palomilla. It was so weird to see the this on the plate. Honestly. The chicken vaca frita is our family favorite. This was good. They put like an entire onion topped on top to hide the very small amount of chicken actually served. But taste and consistency were solid to their original serving. We are so saddened by the regression of this restaurant. This was always our favorite place to have a taste of home. I hope that management realizes that while I'm certain food costs are high - that quality and the experience of the customer matter too. Unfortunately we will be divorcing Casavana and going back to Las Vegas and Latin America.

Polynesio - cuban - Updated May 2026

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