After much research on a local, easy, Hispanic inspired meal, we decided to try out Yambo. It was pretty much what I expected after reading all of the reviews here on Yelp!. I thought I would get a local taste of Miami and get to try out my newly learned Español. I had to converse exclusively in Spanish, which was a little intimidating, but I got through it. The food though was totally worth it. The carne asada is very flavorful and filling. I was very surprised at how tender and juicy the meat was, I just didn't expect it from a food stand-esque place. I also tried the pollo y arroz enchilada (chicken and rice) and it was very tasty as well. Others have said that it tastes especially good after a night of drinking and I can see how it would, but until I give it a try, it will just have to remain at 4-stars. read more

This place is absolutely incredible - you can taste the authenticity of the food in every bite! Although it's a bit difficult to order if you don't speak Spanish, the food is displayed at the front counter, so you can just point at what you want. The restaurant is very casual and has a fun little patio that you can eat at (otherwise you can easily take your food to go). Overall, the perfect place to go if you're looking for some authentic Nicaraguan food. But make sure you bring your appetite because the portions are massive! read more

Yambo Restaurant - Carne asada, brown rice & beans, fried plantain (yum!), coleslaw, and fried cheese - Latin American Near Me - Miami, Florida

I come to Miami once a year for work, and always have certain things I MUST have while I'm here--stone crab and/or fresh seafood, Versailles, cafe cubano, and now Yambo!! This is one of those great hole-in-the-wall places that only locals know about, and I am so glad I was able to get a glimpse of what REAL Little Havana is about! I just came here for the 1st time last night after going out, and I loved it so much I had it for lunch again today. The carne asada is so incredibly delicious! It's marinated in a bunch of stuff, but the 2 ingredients I remember are vinegar and bitter orange. The carne asada comes with: black beans & rice, more than one human can eat, and very tasty; fried plantains, one of my most favorite things on the planet! Take a bite of plantain with a bite of the white cheese it comes with, great combo. Also comes with a nice fresh slaw. Last night it was blah because it was plain cabbage & carrots, but today at lunch it had a great light & citrusy dressing, very refreshing. Also, make sure to slather on a bunch of the salsa from the big wooden vat on the table. The salsa is just spicy enough to make things interesting, and chock full of onions. Love it. Also not to be missed: Cacao! It's basically like iced chocolate milk, but not so sweet. It's made with REAL cacao, people, no mix! Here's a tip from my friend who brought me here--DO NOT order drinks at the window, you have to order them from the girls standing around. Not exactly sure how you tell if the chica works there or is a patron, but if you look like you don't know what you're doing when you order, they will screw you on portions, can't have that! My friend who is Nicaraguan says this food is just like back home! You will stick out like a sore thumb here if you are not Nicaraguan, but who cares the food is amazing! My friend loves the salpicon here, haven't tried it but sounds delish--beef, grilled peppers and onions! I love everything about this place, but I can't give it 5 stars until I have tried more of the dishes! Will definitely be back! read more

Went here late night a few months back on a friend's recommendation... his challenge is always to find the best unknown places in Miami. To say the least, the characters found here can be quite sketchy, especially at 3am +. The food, however, is great and suuuuper affordable. As mentioned in other reviews, they only take cash, but their is an ATM available inside if necessary. I had a huge plate of liver and rice and other stuff for only about $4 or $5. It was great! I will definitely go back here at some point... read more

Good authentic Nica food when you want it most!!! This is a tiny place in Little Havana with window service that is perfect to help kill a buzz after a long night out. You can eat like a king for about $8 - you get beef, rice, beans, fried cheese, mariquitas, and cole slaw. It's not the healthiest or most delicate cuisine, but it sure is good! ;) read more

Delicious food! HUGE portions. I always go eat here because of how delicious the food tastes. I recommend the full meal with rice, steak, fried cheese, plantains and cole slaw. The flavors are delicious. Even when I feel full, I want to keep eating! Cooked to perfection. One portion could be suitable for two people because they do serve A LOT in the to-go containers. The walls are filled with Hispanic decorations and cute art. There is an indoor area but I prefer sitting outside. Trust me,if you want a satisfying, big Hispanic meal, it wont disappoint! read more

This was the worse place ever!!! I went there to eat with my family The cafe con leche was hot milk I asked for water for my son they said they had no water What kind of restaurant doesn't have water!! I asked for chimichurri for the steak didn't have Asked for juice for my child didn't have Doesn't accept credit card By far the worse experience and biggest waste of money Don't recommend to anyone!!! I don't know how they have been open since '83 Waited 15 minutes for my suppose to be coffee Horrible horrible horrible To top it off the prices in the menu are not right once you eat they say everything is double the price I rate 0 stars!!! read more

Oooooooohhhhhh Yambo how I long for your delicious juicy meat in my mouth. Not only are you the cheapest in town, but also the must satisfying. read more

Food is disgusting. This place has gone down in quality. Food seemed reheated from a previous day. Undercooked as well. Eeew! read more

Yambo Restaurant - Nastiest food ever! This place has really gone down in quality. Food is under cooked and seemed reheated from last night. Disgusting! - Latin American Near Me - Miami, Florida

Awesome food! Awesome restaurant! We found this on yelp, and it's Spanish only. We speak English and Chinese but still want to have a try. Luckily, there's some English explaining the dishes. As a seafood lover, I got the fried snapper for sure. It was a whole fish fried warmly with lemon aside. I finished the fish and leaving the bones only. My friend got BBQ beef which was marinated well. Another one got a bit spicy pork which is also got a great seasoning. Another great thing is, they have huge portion side salad which made all of us pretty happy. For drink, there's no explanation, so we just decided to try our luck. We got chalala (guava), cacou (choco), limonade and chicha (purple corn juice). I have to say they are all successful picks and chicha is really good tasting! The decoration is very unique with tribe sense and latin American style. But still clean and lovely. And the waitress is very nice and kind waiting us pointing at random things. :D read more

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I was in the area with some friends so I thought we could stop by for a quick taste of the local cuisine after reading all the reviews about how phenomenal their carne asada was. I was sorely disappointed!! The meal itself was generous in size, but the meat was just terrible. Despite being marinated very well, it was ruined by being over cooked and dry. Their pollo frito and chicken tacos were almost as bad. The food reflected its price, cheap. I'd rather go to a Taco Bell than eat here again. read more

Yambo Restaurant - Carne asada,very dry. - Latin American Near Me - Miami, Florida

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WHEN you come to this place you'll think you left America and entered Nicaragua .If its your first time come around lunch ,week end and you need to know what to pick not little desserts that aren't sweet and try the modungo soup with tripe and other juicy inereds end of story !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! IF I COULD I WOULD GIVE MORE STARS read more

Stopped off at Yambo's for Carne Asada meals to go. Each container weighed like 3 pounds. Loaded with Gallo Pinto two generous pieces of carne, 3 pieces of plantains and we added fried cheese. It was as good as ever. My only negative was the picante was not as good as I remembered. Too much vinegar and only onions. But everything else was spot on. It averaged out to about $11 per meal with fried cheese added. Two thumbs up! Also one of the rare times there was no one there, no line. Took all of ten minutes to take out. read more

I asked for an order in uber eats the truth that it was late but they waited more than an hour to let me know that they had to cancel the delivery read more

Unfortunately they're portions on Uber eats are about half the size as they normally would be and yet they charge you more for it. Too bad caña brava isn't open 24hrs or else this place would never have my business. If you want the best Nicaraguan food go to Caña brava instead. This place is mediocre at best. read more

Atmosphere was eh... but the person who served me should be fired. The employee was eating food at the same time serving me. She didn't even bother washing her hands after and proceeded to touch the slotted spoon to place the food onto the box. No glove was worn at all either. It's extremely unsanitary and do not recommend people to eat here. read more

Well, after a night of drinks, shots and good music we were hungry!! so, after seeing that LaMoon was packed we decided to followed one of my friend's suggestions and head to Yambo. It was around 4am, so the staff faces weren't that friendly but they did what there were supposed to do. There is not much variety of options, so I went for carne frita and arroz pinto, which were really good. The tamarindo juice was really good too. My only and big BUT is that they don't accept Credit cards! it really bothers me, they have an ATM inside but why they can't just accept CC???!!! anyways, it is a good spot to get some homemade taste. read more

I completely love Yambo! It is so good!! Delicious, affordable 2nd best Nicaragüense Food I've ever had! There is a ton of cool art, and history that this restaurant carries. A reminder of Nicaragüense struggles and success. The pieces on Ruben Dario, nicaragüense revolutionary, are really cool. I read some reviews on here about this place being cluttered and having horrible service. I will argue the complete opposite. This place is full or art, and culture, images and symbols so dear to nicaragüense culture. The outside portion, you don't have a waiter. The inside you do. If you want full service, go inside. If you just want to go through the take out line and pay at the end you can do that, but know that you don't have a server. It's a cultural experience- enjoy!! read more

Oh boy, I was glad my mother stayed in the car when we landed in Little Havana at Yambo in search of good food. I pretty much stood there with my mouth open, completely confused and overwhelmed with the smells of food and the decor. I definitely asked for the English Menu which was all in Spanish anyway and started the finger-pointing. We ordered a stewed beef/yam/plantain dish along with some steak dish. We also got the fried cheese and plantain chips. I seriously have no idea what we ordered but the food came out with some fresh coleslaw in little baggies, and we DEVOURED our meals. It was delicious, filling, and so tasty. This was my first time having Nicaraguan food and for a moment, I thought I was back in Taiwan eating the street food. The method is the same, the noises are similar, and the food although from different countries, gave me similar experiences. read more

Yambo Restaurant - Stewed steak/yam/plantains, plantains, rice and beans, steak asada - Latin American Near Me - Miami, Florida

Step 1: find Yambo on a map. Step 2: park in their parking lot Step 3: step up to the counter and point and gesture until you get a plate Step 4: ENJOY THE HEAVEN IN YOUR STYROFOAM PLATTER! Yes you may not receive what you thought you ordered. Yes they may be a little brisk behind the counter. Yes you may only spend about $5 for a mountain of food. And YES, YOU WILL INHALE YOUR FOOD BECAUSE IT IS THAT GOOD! My personal favorite, the carne asada with fried cheese and plantains. MHMMMH THOSE PLANTAINS! I'm still dreaming of them. Absolutely killed the carne asada also. Don't even know what was ordered but that food was AMAZE-BALLS! read more

Jambo, hii ni Yambo. That is what you would be greeted with if this were an African restaurant with staff who spoke Swahili. In fact, this is not an African restaurant, but una experiencia autentica. Yambo is, as others have mentioned, perfect for that late night food craving after the overpriced club. You will leave with many styrofoam containers of heapings of fried food and rice and beans (as you should). And you should definitely bring your own cash. Even though my Concierge warned against going to Little Havana so late at night, it went smoothly. I just wish I had a microwave in the hotel to eat all those leftovers. Don't forget to get a picture with the carousel horse. read more

I've had better experiences there and the food can be fresh and good, but tonight the manager or owner sat right next to me and turned on his phone with annoying media and then mocked me from 10 feet away asking in Spanish if he could listen to it there. Then I got charged too much, or different than the picture of exactly what my food was next to "$12" because the cheese is extra even though it's in the photo like that. The bathroom was disgusting, pools of liquid on the floor like an Amtrak bathroom. All of these things may be different another night and the place is otherwise charming and visually attractive and fun. The previous times I've been, the food was great. I hope they don't have new management. read more

Love this place and the prices! Got a gallo pinto, queso frito and maduros for just 4 bucks. The servings are good for 2. The frescos are like 1.50. Pretty much got a meal for 2 for 7 bucks and it was super good. Cant beat that and its open 24/7!!! No credit cards accepted though. Bring cash. read more

Love how it's open 24 hrs!!!!! The food taste fresh! I went for vacations from California and the Nicaraguan food in Miami always taste 10 times better I got the antojo plate with literally everything on it!! Can you believe I was sooo hungry when I went at 3:am and I had to get 2 boxes to go!! It was 4 of us eating and we got super full!! Love it and definitely recommend to everyone!!! read more

HORRIBLE SERVICE. I called for pick-up order, I was told it will be done quickly... I waited 30 MINUTES. The waitress came with orders for Uber Eats but not mine. I only ordered 1 meal for pick up. If you can't handle multiple pick up orders, don't offer the service. What a waste of time, left with no food. read more

It's places like Yambo that make random traveling so much fun. I found myself in Miami to watch a baseball game, but I arrived at the ballpark way too early. I was hungry, so I left it up to chance and used the Google maps app to see what was around the area. Interestingly, despite being right near Little Havana, the search query for "Cuban sandwich" returned very little, so I just zoomed in to see what was closest by. The closest thing listed on Gmaps was the little fork and knife icon with just the name "Yambo" listed. Walking to Yambo from Marlins Park, I walked through some pretty run-down neighborhoods, and seriously had to watch my step from all the dog waste littered on the sidewalks. It was daylight, and I'd been to Miami before, so this wasn't really much of a surprise or scary to me, so it didn't deter me on my pursuit of food. And then I turned onto 1st, and it was pretty much impossible to miss the place. Think like the Nicaraguan equivalent to TGI Fridays; except instead of canoes, toboggans and lacrosse sticks on the walls, it's more farm animals. A giant rooster adorns the front of the entire property, and there are gigantic ox and pig statues in varying other places. The walls are covered with a myriad of crap from license plates, random things, and I guess what might be perceived as Nicaraguan trinkets. But the smell of grilled meat emanated from the place, and that just further justified wandering into the place. I should mention that not a single person there, be it patron or employee, spoke a lick of English. I took two years of Spanish back when I was in junior high, but that was literally like 15 years ago, so it did me no good. But at least I was able to convey that "no habla Espanol" to the girl whom I think was trying to see if I wanted anything to drink, based on her pantomiming drinking, and pointing to a refrigerator full of beer, despite the fact that it was 10:00 a.m., but it WAS St. Patrick's Day. The food on display all looked really good, but there was no actual menu or any kind of indicators to what everything actually was. I already felt awkward being the only not-Spanish speaking person in the restaurant and probably one-mile radius, and I didn't want to draw any more attention to myself, so I was lucky to see a nondescript sign that simply said "especial de casa" and the words "carne asada" which I understood enough to know it would be a safe bet. After I placed my order, and nodded my head to every Spanish query that followed that I didn't understand, I watched as the woman behind the counter took a styrafoam container, and completely overload it with rice, and with her back turned, I didn't see what else was being put into it. A minute later, she put the container into a plastic bag, and it must have weight like a pound and a half. The old style cash register prompted $8.50, and I knew that regardless of what was in my container, I was surely winning on bang for buck (BTW, this place is CASH ONLY but they do have an ATM on site for you ill-prepared folk). I took a seat kind of near the exit, since I didn't want to be such an obvious tourist. When I opened up my styrafoam brick, I was overwhelmed by the mouth-watering steamy scent of a container full of rice and beans, and a gigantic generous portion of steak, along with fried plantains, and what I initially thought looked like a piece of French toast, but was actually a slice of fried cheese. The steak was tender, and spiced magnificently. I had never had Nicaraguan food in my life before, so I have to say that if all Nicaraguan food is anything like Yambo's, I need to ditch my pursuit of good Cuban in Atlanta and start looking for Nicaraguan. The plantains were a little dry, chewy and possibly overcooked for my taste, but they were still sweet, and not tasting like just oil. The cheese and rice were good, not great, but as long as eaten in good ratios with the steak, were good compliments. But the carne asada really was fantastic. Usually flank steak tends to get stringy or chewy, but Yambo's carne asada was just perfectly tender, and just barely needing a knife if you're too sissy to just use your hands. The experience as a whole at this place was just the kind of story you like to talk about with your friends, or when writing an overly-verbose review on Yelp. It's a unique place that sticks out like a sore thumb in the middle of a fairly dingy part of Miami, that is apparently open all the time, serves fantastic food for cheap, and has an outrageous ambiance about it. You can apparently buy clothing, booze, and blast random assortment of tunes from North and South America on their jukebox too. This is most definitely a place worth coming back to, if I were a Miami resident, and the kind of place that I'd love to get smashed at after a Marlins game, or if a night that isn't meant to end needs a place to keep going. read more

NPS = 9 Wow. Talk about a place you have to take your friends when they visit Miami. Make sure to take them at 4am though. The reason: So they get freaked out by all the weird decor! Talk about feeling like you're not in Miami anymore! This Nicaraguan place was introduced to me by one of my best friends (of Nicaraguan decent) so I knew it would be legit. This place is definitely worth experiencing after you have left the bar/club and are craving LOTS of greasy food for cheap. The rice and red beans are served to look like mountains and the carne asada is fire. Definitely get a taste of the spicy sauce found at the center of each table. A definite health code violation, this risk is definitely worth the reward. Remember to bring cash since they do not accept credit card. read more

Really disappointed when i went for lunch. I ordered carne asada and it came out very dried and overcooked. However the salsa set in the middle of the table was very tasty as far as the service goes i have no complaints-not their fault the cook wasn't very good! Hopefully he improves in the future. Ambience was decent. read more

This restaurant is definitely unique. It's vibrant and contains so many artifacts of Nicaraguan history and culture. They have a jukebox inside where you can select music of your choice. You can eat outside or inside. The layers of artifacts are all over. The food is alright. The portions are huge-- enough for 2-3 people. The gallo pinto we had was dryed out, but it could have been just that batch. Also we didn't appreciate that you have to pay cash-- the sign was so tiny you wouldn't even notice it. They do conveniently have an atm machine there. I would not return to this place even for the artifacts. read more

Honestly, there are better nica places in Miami. Food isn't as good as it was a few years back.

Firstly, Yambo is an absolute hole. I mean, there's really no dressing it up, though Yambo's owners have tried really hard to do so. Yambo is something of a cross between a cigar shop and a carnival, where the inside looks like a pirate ship and the outside is adorned with ornate horses and colors and lights and old timey picnic tables covered in tiny tiles It's a freak show. And really, that's part of it's charm. It's so reminiscent of an attic between holidays where, among the asbestos, there are myriad tchotchkes alluding to pagan holidays and Hallmark scams waiting for that one time of the year where they prove relevant. At Yambo, it's always Christmas. And Halloween. And Valentine's Day. And the freaking Day of the Dead. The food is, by far, the best Nicaraguan food I've ever had and some of the best Hispanic food in all of Miami. You have your pick among a bevy of favorites, though if you want my advice, don't complicate things, and just order yourself a plate of gallo pinto, carne asada, and queso frito with an ice cold Toña. (I use the term "plate" loosely. Expect a Styrofoam box bursting at the seams.) Yambo is some of the better late night grub that South Florida has to offer, and after a night of drinking, nothing soaks up all of that alcohol sloshing around in your belly like a mountain of Nicaraguan food. Though I will proffer to warnings. Warning the first, you WILL wake up with heartburn. Warning the second, Yambo is one of the shadier restaurants (if not the shadiest) you can choose to visit in the middle of the night. Just this last Sunday, after stopping at Yambo prior to heading to Blackbird Ordinary, I bore witness to a rather curious melee (and I say melee because it was something of a rumble) during which time the five security guards (Security at a restaurant!) on hand looked more like fight promoters than anything else. Moral of the story: not sure that I'd go to Yambo in the middle of the night with a lady friend, but if I've got a crew of flunkies in tow (for nothing more than to play the numbers game since I'm so not a fighter), then Yambo totally qualifies as a total late night must-have for any and everyone. read more

Yambo Restaurant - Latin American Near Me - Miami, Florida

This has to be the nest Nica place Ive been to thats authentic, and good quality food for the prices. The carne asada is the softest Ive had, isnt dry-is juicy and has lots of flavor. The gallo pinto is fresh..and ask for sauce on top to moisten it up. You must add the chile?onion picante mixture in this huge bowl with your food. And the queso frito or fried cheese isnt rubbery-its not dry and is a huge piece. I ordered two full plates of this and in total it was $13.50. read more

YAMBO!!!!! I was expecting, mediocre food but I was wrong, a note I am on a Ketogenic/Low Carb diet - I ordered the Ropa Vieja -tons of meat!!(yup I flinged the onions and tomatoes off) with a heaping of Cabbage Salad for how much??? $5 I was astonished with the pricing, and the amount of food I got. They don't sell soda, there is a window (10 feet away) that sells beverages), I sat outside and enjoyed, also they don't accept credit cards so bring cash. There is onsite parking as well as meter parking outside. A must try if your're in Miami. read more

Delicious Nicaraguan food! It's amazing. I always get gallo pinto, carne asada, maduro, and queso frito. They are open 24 hours. The prices are very reasonable!! They serve you a lot of food as well. Even though this place is open 24 hours I do not recommend going alone in the middle of the night. If you do go with someone. The neighborhood can be a bit rough at night. read more

Oh yeah, Yambo! Good cheap Nica food... :) This place is a good Nicaraguan staple. Carne Asada, gallo pinto (red beans and rice), yuca or platano maduros, and ensalada de repollo (cabbage salad)... extremely yummy comfort food. And they have these delish empanadas de platanos - fried bananas stuffed with cheese (probably like a million calories but sooo good).. Its cafeteria style and cheap and quick. Under $8 for a complete meal that you can share between 2 people - definitely recommended! and dont forget the tres leches lol :) read more

Delicious Nica food at an excellent low price. The carne asada is always tender and bursts with flavor. The servings are so big, they can be shared by two. Neighborhood is not so great, so swing by during the day time instead. read more

Carne asada is tops. The cerdo is also great! If it wasn't for my mother in law getting her car almost broken into we would have had a better time! Be careful of parking in the "back" as this is a rough area. read more

Yambo Restaurant - Latin American Near Me - Miami, Florida

why is this place so good? It's such a Miami icon, I love coming here and coming out insanely full from food that always feels like home. Not Nicaraguan, but there's a reason I rep this fritanga over others. read more

The food is good but the window service is horrible. The ladies working there are rude. It's been this way for years. If you're white even if you're Hispanic white you're going to get shade from them before you walk up to place your order. Unfortunately today I was insulted by one of them because I asked for an extra sauce. She said I was being inconsiderate and more because her other customers weren't going to get any (cause future guests are more important or valuable) It's quite sad to be honest. There are other fritangas all over Miami so you're better off being treated like they want your business. read more

Excellenttttttt foooddd! You have to stop here. A sampler between 3 people and we all gave up mid way read more

Yambo Restaurant - Latin American Near Me - Miami, Florida

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