Miami: Larios on the Beach (July 2016)



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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