My spouse and I enjoyed food and drinks at Larios on the
Beach on a Sunday afternoon in early July 2016. Lario’s is located on bustling
Ocean Drive amidst many other sidewalk cafes that occupy the ground floor of
most hotel buildings. Larios is open daily for lunch (or brunch) and dinner.
Singer Gloria Estefan and her husband Emilio own this
restaurant. The Estefan Hospitality Group operates hotels (including the
Cardozo in South Beach and the Costa d’Este Resort in Vero Beach) and
restaurants, such as the Estefan Kitchen Group’s Larios on the Beach (South
Beach), Bongos Cuban Café (Hollywood), Bongos Cuban Café (Orlando), and The
Wave at Costa d’Este (Vero Beach).
The 16,000-square foot multi-floor Larios, which opened in
1992, was completely renovated and reopened in May 2014 (to celebrate their 20th
anniversary in business). The interior is gorgeous, in hues of blue and green,
creating an overall feeling of calm despite the bustling activity outside on
the sidewalk. A bar and chic lounge space (with a wraparound U-shaped couch,
low tables, and low dark-wood drum-shaped stools) dominate the front half of
the room, with the main dining room a few steps above. Banquettes made of
cream-colored leather pop against the floors made of seashells and glass,
mosaic walls accented with candles, and a large sculpture. Although the kitchen
is located behind doors at the back of the space, an open coffee/espresso and
dessert bar/station is prominent in the center part of the restaurant. We regret
not stepping inside before we settled at a sidewalk table, because the interior
is so attractive. In addition, if we sat inside, we would not have passed up
the delicious-looking desserts that occupied the refrigerated glass-fronted
display case such as flan, chocolate tres leches, rice pudding, and frozen
mojitos. A house band plays on weekends.
Larios serves traditional and contemporary Cuban food. We
ordered from their brunch menu, which mirrors their regular lunch and dinner
menu but includes some additional egg-based dishes. We shared the Estefan Cuban
Combo, which serves two people and includes breaded stuffed potatoes, pork
tamales, bacon-wrapped plantains (“maduros” in Spanish), ham/chicken
croquettes/cod croquettes, and black bean hummus with crispy plantain chips. As
with most South Beach bars and restaurants, Larios adds an automatic 15%
gratuity to your bill.
Although there are many cafes lining Ocean Drive, all with
sidewalk dining as well as indoor seating, we liked that Larios seemed to have
real local flavor. But as tempting as it is to dine al fresco, the dining room might
make you think twice.
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