I recently visited The Licking, and overall, it was a great experience. The atmosphere was definitely one of the highlights. The vibe was top-tier, with great music, music videos playing throughout the restaurant, and plenty of seating. It never felt overcrowded or congested, which made for a comfortable dining experience. The only downside was that it felt a little warm inside, as if the air conditioning wasn't running as high as it could have been. Our server, Jay, truly made the experience exceptional. She was friendly, attentive, and consistently checked in on us throughout the meal. Even though the kitchen was moving a little slower than expected, Jay kept us updated on our food, made sure we had everything we needed, and ensured we were comfortable while we waited. Her customer service was outstanding and definitely deserves recognition. As for the food, everyone at the table ordered something different, and there weren't any complaints. My son had the chicken nuggets and fries, and he really enjoyed them. We also ordered the mystery drinks, which were well made. One thing I noticed was that the non-alcoholic mystery drink was actually sweeter than the version with alcohol. Since we were in Florida, bottled water was the only water option available. I ordered the red snapper with macaroni and cheese and collard greens. The red snapper was seasoned perfectly and was easily the standout item on my plate. The greens were flavorful and well seasoned. There was a piece of smoked turkey in them that was a little drier than I would have preferred, but it didn't take away from the overall taste. The macaroni and cheese was solid--good comfort food. It wasn't the best I've ever had, but it was enjoyable and complemented the meal well. My brother ordered the house special wings with dirty rice and really enjoyed both. My grandmother also had the chicken wings and loved them. My sister had the turkey, and she enjoyed her meal as well. Everyone finished their food, which says a lot about the overall quality. Overall, I had a great experience at The Licking. The food was flavorful, the atmosphere was fun and welcoming, and the service from Jay was outstanding. She went above and beyond to make sure our dining experience was enjoyable despite the wait from the kitchen. Big shout-out to Jay for providing exceptional customer service--I would definitely come back. read more

The Licking South Beach - Red snapper with the macaroni and cheese and the collard greens - Soul Food Near Me - Miami Beach, Florida

8/10/26: We were visiting the area for the few days from NC & my family told me to try this place out. Their experience months before was great, and I had my mouth set for some yams. So, why not? We got there around 4 pm & there were no customers at all. The 2 ladies who worked there were chilling in a booth just talking. 1 of them told us to sit anywhere we'd like & they continued their conversation. The place was dirty and had wet puddle areas on the floor where we were sitting. The tables were sticky & it could just use a cleaning. We had already paid for 2 hours of parking, so we stayed. A couple of takeout customers came in to order while we waited for our server to greet us. Truly was our server and she was nice, BUT she didn't explain things very well. She started off by telling us that they didn't have candied yams (UGHHHHH), collards, or baked beans. I asked what they DID have & she said she "thinks" that have this and that. Umm, ok. I ended up ordering plain wings while my husband ordered the red velvet waffles with wings. I asked Truly if they were making more candied yams & she said she'd ask but never did. Then, I asked for cornbread & GUESS WHAT...they didn't have any. I wanted to leave right then, but the order was in and I was enjoying my lemonade (the only thing that was good IMO). Our food came out hot, but the chicken was BLAND! I used the Tabasco sauce to spice it up. My husband said the waffles tasted like cake, so he enjoyed his meal. The thing that took my annoyance over the top was at the end of our visit. She didn't ask if we wanted to order dessert (probably didn't have anything anyway). Instead, she brought the payment machine for us to pay while my husband was still eating his food. He felt rushed. We never got a receipt to look over first. She just demanded our money & just stood there looking as he ate his meal. Weird! He paid the $55.36 without a question to get her out of his face. A few minutes later, she came back saying she entered the payment in incorrectly as "cash" when it should've been "credit". She had him swipe his card again & that's when I saw an itemized bill on the machine itself. It showed gratuity was already added & then it had the nerve after he swiped again to ask if he wanted to add gratuity as if they didn't already do it. I chose "no tip" since he's already took one because the whole thing was VERY shady! If you're not paying attention, they will get double tips from customers without being transparent about what they are doing. I had high expectations of this place from what my family said, but my experience was very poor. I will never visit this location again. How are you running out of everything before 4 pm & all the staff is doing is talking and playing around in the back? Unprofessional to say the least. read more

See all

RUN FROM THIS PLACE! I had the stupid mistake of staying and what started out bad turned worse. This place is advertised as being in InKind so decided to go there for lunch. When I entered, I was greeted by a host who was eating and hanging out with friends and said to sit down anywhere. Once I got to a table, I noticed the AC wasn't on. Mind you it's 1pm, in June inside. That should've been my sign to leave but nope wanted to give them a chance. The bartender comes up and introduces himself and says to go to him for drink orders or tell the waitress who will relay the order to him. After a couple of minutes, the waitress comes, tells us they don't have fries or lobster or some other items. With limited choices, I place an order for the chicken and waffles. When I asked about water, they only do bottled water, so no tap water which is typical of most places of Miami. Ok fine. The food arrived and it's just sad. The waffles are dry and are broken. The chicken is dry. The syrup is the cheapest kind you can find (I think I saw the brand that is given to kids at school) and the side to substitute the fries was more water than anything else. After trying to eat, we had to ask for the check. Waitress told us they aren't on inkind. When I asked to see the bill, the waitress was quick to go to the payment tab. I had to request to even see the bill. it was high and turns out there's a mandatory 18% fee that's applicable because they're on the beach (ummmm I didn't see water in front of me). What's actually the worst crime is that the bathroom is extremely gross. It seemed they didn't clean it in years. Piss on the floor. Piss in the sink. Piss all around but the actual bowl. Honestly all I can probably guarantee from this place is food poisoning and passing out from heat exhaustion. Just run away. read more

See all

Roberto, was a good server when he wasn't busy checking people out, I guess they were short of staff. I definitely recommend you stopping here as I never had fried lobster. The food was good and hot. read more

The Licking South Beach - Fried lobster - Soul Food Near Me - Miami Beach, Florida

I honestly was skeptical about eating here after all of the negative reviews but I refused to leave Miami without giving it a try. The inside gives fast food vibes. I thought I food would take forever but to my surprise it came out pretty quickly. I went with the fried snapper since that item got the best reviews. I got the mac n cheese and collard greens for a upcharge as my sides. My son got the lemon pepper wings with broccoli and Mac cheese. The size of his wings were so small I couldn't believe they would serve those. For the size of them he should have been given extra. We both got the Mystery Drink which was good. While we were there a female did get escorted out by an officer for talking so loud and when she was told to lower her voice she decided to make a scene. To be honest I'm not sure if I will return to the licking because of the vibes from the servers. read more

See all

They close when they want to website said 11pm on Sunday 8/16/26 and they stopped us at the door @ 10:13pm with people still inside eating and I watched someone come get something to go after they stopped us at the door smh I'm here on vacation and ubering around so imagine how irritated I am !! read more

The Licking South Beach - Soul Food Near Me - Miami Beach, Florida

I am rather shocked by the previous reviews, as my family and I had a great overall experience during our visit. We came here since it is a family member's favorite and "must visit" when in the area. Our waiter was so patient, and helpful with determining our family's orders. Everything was so fabulously seasoned and delicious. Look forward to a pricey ticket, but worth every dollar. read more

See all

Disgusting, dry, bland, overpriced, horrendous customer service, uncomfortable atmosphere. This place is the bottom of the bottom worst of the worst. Every location sucks, but this one bt far the worst, I cant wait for all of them to shut down. I wish there was an option to leave negative stars read more

I wouldn't eat here if you value your health and safety. One of the worst excuses of a restaurant I've ever witnessed. Not even Atlanta has a place this terrible. Shut this place down, health department! read more

If you not looking for fresh food this the your place to eat. Everything tastes canned and plastic-like. Ambiant music is too loud. And we take the order and come back like half an hour after with the drinks. And 35mnts after the drinks for the food. read more

The service at this location is terrible. Ordered three meals and a few drinks. It took at least a hour for us to get everything. Our drinks were not mixed at all. The inside was fairly empty so super confused why staff had an attitude problem and were taking forever to finish our order. I recall my friend returning a dish since it tasted fairly awful. Hope the inside gets better sitting and cleaner than what we saw when we stopped by. read more

9/10 for sure!! First, Queen our server was lovely.. personality was great! Second, spending Our last evening in South Beach we wanted to have a family dinner so my daughter recommended this place since she had been once before. The flavor, the taste and the portion was so amazing!! AND... The bartender came through and hooked us up with our drinks which were also bomb. The only thing that gave this review a 9 out of 10 was because the rice was kind of on the hardside. I actually asked for the seafood rice as a side and it was only one crab leg and 1 shrimp. Other than that all of our meals were delicious. This location in South Beach was pretty nice to have a sit down directly next door was the extension to their nightclub or bar area which the music sounded really nice so you can get a 2 for 1 if interested read more

See all

Food too salTy... was out items on the menu. Service was extremely slow in the middle of day with few guest present.

My friend wanted to try The Licking we dropped in were seated immediately received our food timely the food was good the waitress was attentive it was a seamless process. read more

See all

Excellent service from J! We had a table of 11, and everything was handled perfectly. Our entire group had no complaints, and J made sure we were well taken care of from start to finish. We will definitely be back. Highly recommend! read more

It's been a LONG time since I came here but the food still didn't disappoint . I do think the menu used to be bigger back then but it's okay. I wanted the tilapia but they were all out so I tried the snapper. First time having snapper and it was pretty good. I also ordered a side of macaroni and a side of greens which was sooo good . The licking didn't disappoint as I expected. There is two sides a bar side and a regular restaurant side we chose to sit on the bar side. And we both ordered a mystery drink which was soo good read more

See all

Fingaliclin used to be a Miami staple but they definitely fell off. We were a party of 4 and everyone got their own meals & everyone had a complaint. The shrimp dinner was cold , 3 orders of turkey wings were barely edible. The fork broke trying to cut into the turkey wing that's how hard they were. One person ordered the baked the chicken dinner and when the waitress was bringing the rest of the meals to the table was when she said there's no more baked chicken so she then had to wait an additional 10 minutes for her food after the rest of the party got theirs. The Mac was watery , the collards were drowning in salt & they had no yams. The service was nothing to write home about. They have one QR code with the bar drinks throughout the entire restaurant. It's a mess this place needs a revamp! The only thing good was the corn my one star is for the tasty corn. read more

The Licking South Beach - Lemon pepper Fried Turkey Wing Dinner - Soul Food Near Me - Miami Beach, Florida

See all

Services was horrible. My wife and I decided to come here for lunch. Once we walked in we didn't know where to go as there was no host and it was our first time being there. Once seated and our order was taken, it took over an hour for our food to come out. We watched multiple groups of four be seated after us and get there food before us during that time and once we got our food, our server did not check up on us a single time. There were about three or four servers present. They all seemed to be hanging out with friends who they were serving. Some of them being at there table for five to ten minutes. Once we were done eating, I had to get up and ask the bar tender for boxes (bartender is super nice) and for the check. He said my server will get it for me. Ten minutes later he came over and gave me the check. Also be aware there is an automatic 18% gratuity which I was unaware of. I was also unaware that the lobster mac n cheese is over $50! As the price is not on the menu! Spent over $100 for two people there. That's ridiculous!!!! The food is decent but not for the price of glorified fair food. I would not recommend this place if you're in a hurry, want good customer service, or want good food. read more

This place really needs some work. Devonte was super nice a sweet but that's really the only nice thing I can say. It took way too long to get greeted by our actual waitress. Ordered wings and they were the smallest overcooked wings I've ever had for a $20 plate. Ordered an appetizer and it came out after 2 entrees. Asked if the calamari was fresh and it was not, super rubbery. Multiple workers sitting down right in the front and walking around eating. When it came to getting the check we had to ask multiple times and had to act as if we were leaving before they actually let us pay. I had such high hopes from the recommendation we got but it was some of the worst services I've had in my 26 years of life. For spending over $100 you would think the service would match the prices and not serve you condiments from a pack. read more

If I could give zero stars this would be the place ! Never got a waiter. We paid $156 for a tower that was only ice! One random man was so rude and explained to me and my friends how we could sit tables apart in a rude sense. Very un classy horrible experience wouldn't recommend! read more

The Licking South Beach - Tower - Soul Food Near Me - Miami Beach, Florida

Horrible food. Long wait time for trash. So mad I had to buy food from somewhere else. should've listened to the hotel staff they said they were a hit or miss. They were out of a lot of food so I guess they forced those week old yams on me. read more

The Licking South Beach - Not edible!! dried out yams and turkey wings. looks old taste stale. - Soul Food Near Me - Miami Beach, Florida

The food was amazing! I had the fried Turkey wings, Mac and cheese, and yams 10/10! Our server was Roberto and he was friendly and have good recommendations. But the cook Valson, did that! He came out and took a picture with me. read more

The Licking South Beach - Soul Food Near Me - Miami Beach, Florida

This was a big miss. It's truly lacking flavor, to be a soul food restaurant this was highly disappointing. Don't waste your money. Trick Daddy restaurant was better read more

Horrible service! One server. Waited over 15 mins for the server to take our order. Then she tells us they were out of 50% of the things we ordered 15 mins later. How are you out of Alfredo!?? & we went early and they were already out of a lot of items. Not worth it. This location should close down. And not to mention, it was only 2 other tables. Definitely not "We the best!" as DJ Khaled loves to scream. read more

i visited all the way from Chicago I tired the Grilled Lobster Dinner nastiest sh** I ever put in my mouth no flavor food wasint cook properly read more

Service was fast, I just don't understand how you can only order your steak WELL DONE! There is no other option for your steak but only well done! Pasta was small portions, noodles were of course factory made. The Alfredo sauce was very thin. You can also only order the baby lamb chops well done, who wants a lamb chop well done, you must want to chew forever. The Red Velvet waffles had black specs on them. I suppose the waffle maker needs to be cleaned. You can only order the chicken breast if it is cut up I suppose they need to check to make sure it's done which is outlandish. This restaurant is overhyped! Especially for the price and the quality of the food. read more

See all

My fried turkey wings and string beans were so good and so flavorful I highly recommend. read more

The Licking South Beach - Fried turkey wings, rice with vegetables, and green beans - Soul Food Near Me - Miami Beach, Florida

Straight trash, waited 57 minutes, the food came out stale and cold. Fries tasted like they had been sitting for days. read more

The Licking South Beach - Straight trash....... stale cold chicken - Soul Food Near Me - Miami Beach, Florida

Seems I didn't visit the same location I visited back in 2017. There has been several locations to open since then; this being one. Learned that not every location has the same menu. Would suggest viewing the menus prior to going so that you get what you want. The service received at this location, compared to the wait, was actually good. The waitress was very friendly, patient and kept her cool. Visited at night and dined in. The later it got, the more packed it became. During this visit, tried the chicken wings for an appetizer, grilled chicken breast with peppers & onions with mac n cheese & green beans for sides and the fried shrimp dinner with mac n cheese & collard greens. Also, tried the mystery punch and flavored lemonade for beverages. The beverages come in a large cup; big enough to share. If you like sweet, try the lemonade. You have plenty of flavors to choose from. Wasn't able to finish and got the rest to go, in a to go cup. I'm trying to determine if the portions are good or not. The plates used for the wings and entrees, in my opinion, were too big! Basically, the plate didn't fit the food. The chicken wings were smaller than what one may be used to. But they were hot and saucy. The fried shrimp was nice sized, fried to perfection and well seasoned. In my opinion, the mac n cheese could use some work. It lacked cheesiness and flavor. The collard greens weren't anything to write home about and the candied yams were yammin' all the way from the table to the front door!!! Overall, this experience at this location didn't compare to the location I visited back in 2017. Granted I know things change, but 2017 set the bar for me. read more

See all

Awful service, awful food, and so loud in there. Please go elsewhere. Also, I didn't they give us everything we ordered, but still charged us. What a scam resturant. This place does not deserve business read more

Chef Berto Loved everything, but the grilled snapper was my favorite!! The service was also on point. It's a nice vibe and I'll definitely come back. read more

I wish I could give 0 stars. The place is absolute trash. Smells like mold. Waitress are racist and very rude. Walked in with my 14 year old son to get some wings. Got sent to a back room that was shady as can be. Weird vibes. All we wanted was wings and got disrespected looked at sideways and the waitress had a damn attitude. So I got up and told my son ti get up and left. Felt like we were going to get mugged in there. So we went next door a beautiful Mexican restaurant. read more

Currently visiting The Licking. We were greeted when we came in and sat shortly after. It took a while for our server to come take our orders and after she took our order she didn't return to check on our table until our food was ready. Seems like there was only one waitress working period (18% gratuity already included). The restaurant wasn't really clean but not disgusting. Just could use a good cleaning. The music was on point (hip-hop/rap). It took about 40 minutes for our food to be done and it was good. The collard greens and Mac n cheese was a big hit at our table. The turkey wings were over fried but the taste was good. The lobster man n cheese was definitely overpriced at about $50 but the flavor was good. If they could just pull up their service and cleanings could definitely give a solid 4-5 stars. read more

See all

Customer Service was terrible , my waiter didn't smile Not one time , I was trying eat my fish in peace but the tv was so loud , I couldnt Enjoy my food, all I heard was "spit In my gooch by NLE choppa" and my kids was sitting wit me, the food was over seasoned just like the price, and they had a few bad reviews but still gave it a chance, yea one two three not it read more

My friend and I came here and we didn't even get a chance to try anything. Initially service was good, although it was weird the bartender came to let us know to order drinks from him or the server...and when we asked for drinks, they never came. Our server told us we had to take our drinks to go unless we ordered food so my friend ordered fries. We waited about 20min while other people got their drinks and food and ours never came; we were not acknowledged again. So we got up and left. Even IF the actual food was good, I'd never come back based on service alone. read more

Great food and nice atmosphere. I enjoyed all of it would return. Service was fine and prompt read more

The Licking South Beach - Soul Food Near Me - Miami Beach, Florida

See all

Let's start by saying I've been to several Licking Locations so I know the quality. I was very let down by the portion size which seems smaller at this location. The food seemed not warm enough. Staff was a little lax and half of the menu was unavailable. I'd avoid this location. read more

We're passing through Miami as family members who enjoyed the food the night before. As we went today I met Bobby, which they had just opened and had a delivery. He let us know what was and wasn't available to eat. We decided to stay and I appreciate his service and patience. NOW as for his staff the young females there, RUDE and UNPROFESSIONAL. As we were making our order, the female seemed bothered and roll her eyes at times asking questions regarding the order as she used her phone at the same time to scroll through. While waiting for the food, we get it as a "takeout" which we never asked for takeout. So we asked for plates to eat there "NO! We don't give plates to people who order take out and sitting in this area!! Never again!! No stars deserved. read more

Music created a great atmosphere. Our wait time after being seated and greeted for a table of 2 was extremely long. Very chill spot to experience. Food arrived great presentation and I enjoyed the greens. However the lobster Mac and cheese was overly salty to my liking. read more

The Licking South Beach - Lobster Mac n cheese w/ greens - Soul Food Near Me - Miami Beach, Florida

Well just say..... This place had a line around the corner the whole time from open to close. Walking down South beach I spot the place. We decided to look up the menu and Yessss lord! I'm get in this line too! There was everything from Chicken wings to Quesadilla and Seafood items! The Security guy was cool and Our server was very nice! As we had to wait along time to get in and it was about an hour before closing. Our food didn't take long at all. Ordered wings and a Shrimp Quesadilla. Food was Bomb.com! Oh! The atmosphere was so chill! Just good food and vibes all around. The staff is just loving their jobs! I'll be back sooner than later South Beach! Keep up your good work! read more

See all