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    El Ideal Restaurant

    4.3 (28 reviews)
    Closed 8:00 am - 4:00 pm

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    Front page of the menu
    Teri D.

    OMG. It was so good! I had the Weds special which was picadillo and OMG it was sooo good. Annie had the Cuban sandwich as the bite I stole was delicious. The flan was light and not super sweet like most places. It's a tiny hole in the wall for real but it is worth standing in line and you can get it to go if you want. The pretty young lady behind the counter was very nice even if her English wasn't fluent. I'm definitely going to eat here again the next time I am in south Florida. Not fancy but great food and service.

    Saturday Special - Chicken Stew
    Mark C.

    This feels like one of those "hole-in-the-wall" places you find and never forget. In fact, we are already talking about when we can go back next! Super friendly staff and absolutely delicious food. We had the Saturday specials of chicken stew and beef stew (carne guisada). We also had a side of fried plantains, black beans, and a beef empanada. All were incredibly, incredibly good. Go go go!!

    the counter area with people in the background
    Stacey S.

    This place was amazing!!! Staff is nice and the food is authentic!!! My daughter , who doesn't like anything new, loved it!

    two plates of food on a table

    Anytime I'm in S. Florida I've immediately got to get Cuban and Dominican food. This place does not disappoint. Flavors were fantastic. And maybe the best sweet plantains I've ever had. I'll be back.

    Sándwich Jamón,queso y huevo
    Mayra R.

    Si estas buscando algo parecido a una panadería latina estes es el lugar. Todo riquísimo, el pan y el café justo como en PR aun siendo dominicano. Lo recomendamos 100% el servicio fue excelente siempre que vamos.

    Stake with onions on top, side rice

    Everything delicious!!! I am from Atlanta Ga driving to Miami with family, found this small place with great service and, an incredible delicious menu.

    Tres Golpes

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    3 years ago

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    3 years ago

    Had their steak and onion sandwich and went back again the next day. The menu is varied and they have a nice steam table.

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    4 years ago

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    3 years ago

    Good service but food had no flavor. Had the pan con bistec that had no basic flavors like salt.

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    4 years ago

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    4 years ago

    Great hidden gem! Delicious food, amazing service. It's a locals spot. The coffee will get you going in the morning

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    7 years ago

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    La Cosinita Latina

    La Cosinita Latina

    4.5
    (242 reviews)
    3.8 mi
    $$

    This little unassuming restaurant was a great find. My husband was craving Puerto Rican food and La…read moreCosinita Latina delivered. He loved has Churasco Steak and all the sides were great. I think the best part of his meal was getting garlic sauce (Mojo de Ajo) that I'm assuming is made inhouse. I ordered a chicken soup and a plan Mofungo that was huge. My husband helped me eat both and we still had half the Mofungo leftover for a late night snack. Restaurant is small but nicely decorated. There was fun Latin music videos running. Our server was amazing and her English was enough to help us order.

    This cute little Puerto Rican spot specializes in mofongo and they do it well! The menu lists more…read morethan a dozen options of different variations from seafood to meats to the basic version. We opted for the basic with and absolutely delicious churrasco steak on the side the mofongo was perfect. Fresh. Perfectly seasoned with crunchy bits of chicharone throughout. Our second meal was also delicious. A massive amount of roast pork with arroz con gandules (rice with pigeon pea) and a simple salad. Very good. The down sides are the food is pretty salty. A little more than I like but still edible and delicious. And the chairs are metal and very uncomfortable. I am willing to deal with that for this food though. I will go back gladly to sample some more of the menu.

    Photos
    The counter
    The counter
    The hot sauce...use with caution
    The hot sauce...use with caution
    Zooooom

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    Zooooom
    El Mata Munchies

    El Mata Munchies

    4.2
    (72 reviews)
    3.5 mi
    $

    If you're looking for good food this is it. Everyone is super friendly, we were the only small…read moretable that came in while they were prepping for a large reservation but still helped us to get seated and took our order within five minutes of coming through the front door. Menu is decided up by the country the dish is from, so besides Puerto Rico, there's Guatemalan, and Spanish American food. Our table ordered a pork platter, mufongo, and beef (steak)/Shrimp tacos and it was GOOD. I ate two out of my three tacos before I had the sense to take a picture of it. Absolutely insane how good this food was, and the portion sizes were outstanding. I should've stopped eating but I couldn't, otherwise I would've left with more takeout and I could be enjoying this for lunch tomorrow. This place was everything you could dream of for a Puerto Rican restaurant, from the neon lights down to the wall mural in the main dining room. There is no reason this place shouldn't be packed. Run don't walk before the masses find out and they eat all the food.

    Service was excellent, ambiance was very welcoming and lively with music-…read moreplaying a little louder than my personal preference. The food was fresh however in my opinion needed a little more flavor-I guess nothing a dash of salt couldn't handle. Yet I prefer my food to be tasty throughout!

    Photos
    El Mata Munchies
    Costilla de Res with Arroz de gandules and Tostones topped with Guac
    Costilla de Res with Arroz de gandules and Tostones topped with Guac
    Outside the restaurant

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    Outside the restaurant
    El Palacio Del Mofongo

    El Palacio Del Mofongo

    4.3
    (67 reviews)
    8.6 mi

    First visit to El Palacio de Mofongo. Incredible flavors and a staff that made us feel right at…read morehome. .Mofongo con camarones al ajillo was so delicate and succulent. Mofongo con bistec encebollado was prepared skillfully and their mofongo is a wonderful light texture that is clearly handmade with a mortar and pestle. The batido de mango was creamy and not overly sweet from using fresh fruit instead of pre-made purees.The chef owner and the line cook Even came by the table to make sure we enjoyed everything. The waitress was genuinely enthusiastic about the food and the flan and espresso finished the meal off perfectly.

    Let me start my review by saying the food was really good and worthy of a 5 star rating on its own…read more BUT...my experience with this resturant is a classic example of how service can just take away from the food quality. My work colleagues and I were greeted by a friendly host and sat at a table. But everything from service went down hill from there when our actual table server arrived. We were immediately greeted with "You ready", with a frowned face. We asked for water with lemon (never received) and was later served water from a pitcher (without lemons) only later to see an adjacent table served water from a picture with lemon and orange slices. Didn't make much of that. But when our waiter returned to take our order the second time, again with the same "you ready" frown faced I asked for help with the menu. I could hear her sigh so loud I wanted not to believe the feeling that we were bothering her in some way; and there was maybe only a quarter of the tables with customers. After placing our orders I asked my colleagues if they were getting the same vibe as I was from her and they both felt the same way. From my seating angle I could see this young lady server when she approached the front bar/seating area of the restaurant; which appeared to be where the other waiters all gathered when waiting. But I noticed her smiling and engaging in friendly conversation with two customers sitting at the bar. I noticed this difference from how she treated us vs these other guest throughout the entire time. With them she was smiling, engaging and not in any flirtatious way, but seemingly just being nice....being a good waiter. Clearly she was choosing NOT to be nice to us, and this bothered me internally because I did not know why. Our friendly greeter from when we arrived was seen serving another table and whose behavior was consistently friendly with everyone. So why the difference with our waiter I kept asking myself. I still gave a generous tip despite this service. It was important to me to do so, but I probably won't be back here, and this would have been a nice place to go back to with mi amor.

    Photos
    Inside
    Inside
    El Palacio Del Mofongo
    El Palacio Del Mofongo

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    Don Cafe Restaurant

    Don Cafe Restaurant

    3.3
    (144 reviews)
    3.1 mi
    $$

    Don Cafe never misses. Our go-to is cafecito + pan con bistek -- simple but DONE RIGHT. El cafecito…read moresiempre fuertecito y dulcecito, perfecto para ese boost, and the pan con bistek is flavorful, fresh, and pressed just right. If you're on Military Rd and craving authentic Cuban vibes late at night, this spot hits every time. Consistent, tasty, and feels like home.

    This place has completely fallen off. I've been going here for about 11 years or so. Long before…read morethe nightclub discotheque outside. Long before an outside bar. Back when they used to focus only on their food. Last visit, my Cuban sandwich was absolutely gross, the bread was rock hard, the pernil was super dry, and the cheese wasn't even melted. I let that one slide and chalked it up to the kitchen having a bad day. However, yesterday was even more horrendous experience. I've been Puerto Rican my entire life lol. Almost 50 years of existence. I have never in my life encountered a more soggy greasy and squishy Chicharron as I did yesterday. It was an absolute abomination. A disgrace to all of Latin heritage. The little bits of meat were rock hard and burnt to a crisp. What's supposed to be crispy skin, was completely soggy and soft. As if it had never been cooked at all. I have no idea how you could get the meat burnt to a crisp and the skin completely soggy on pork belly. I'm completely appalled the fact that it was even given to me. Whoever was in the kitchen should have known better than to serve that slop. It's an embarrassment to the establishment to even have put that into the window to be given to a customer. There's absolutely no way the person in the kitchen knows what they're doing with Latin food if that was served. It deeply saddened me to say I'll never go back to this place again. Not even for a beer. Seeing as how the prices have skyrocketed and the food quality has gone into the toilet I'll pass. Thank you.(pictures taken before the Chicharron was given to the dogs as a snack, because even bad food doesn't go to waste in my house)

    Photos
    Inside / bar area
    Inside / bar area
    Soft tender beef n' potatoes with white rice, black beans & sweet plantains is the perfect lunch combination
    Soft tender beef n' potatoes with white rice, black beans & sweet plantains is the perfect lunch combination
    Don Cafe Restaurant

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    El Ideal Restaurant - dominican - Updated August 2026

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