La Viña Aragon Restaurant y Cafeteria
Cuban restaurant · Hialeah
8155 W 8th Ave, Hialeah, FL 33014
Highlights
Authentic Cuban food, huge portions, cash only, friendly service
Authentic Cuban food, huge portions, cash only, friendly service
"You need two very important things to eat at this Cuban restaurant in Hialeah. First, cash—they don’t accept cards. Second, bring a monstrous appetite. Portions here feed you for days. We love the pollo empanizado. The breading is so crispy it crackles like a campfire. But our favorite dish is the vaca frita, the best in all of Miami. You’ll notice a giant bottle of vinegar and peppers on your table—pour it on anything you order. With its wood paneling and sunwashed family photos, La Viña looks like the home of a Cuban grandparent—a place most Miamians would correctly say is where you’ll find the best Cuban food in town. But La Viña is the closest any Miami restaurant comes to a true home-cooked Cuban meal." - ryan pfeffer, virginia otazo, mariana trabanino
"Dad works hard. Sometimes that means long hours under the sun or behind a desk surrounded by twenty-something analysts who use slang that makes his brain swell with rage. It can be hard to get him out of the house after work, when all he wants to do is binge reruns of NCIS. Luckily, La Viña is a wonderful daytime operation to take dad out to lunch on his day off. They have giant plates of pollo empanizado and ropa vieja. Everything comes out fast, the entire menu is under $20, and they only accept cash—the perfect excuse for him to whip out his sinfully thick wallet." - ryan pfeffer, mariana trabanino, virginia otazo
"When Miami’s road ragers, rising rent prices, and wet air start to irritate us more than usual, La Viña reminds us why we put up with this city's nonsense in the first place. This Cuban strip mall restaurant in Hialeah probably hasn’t changed since it first opened in 1983 and that’s a great thing. It’s cash-only and makes our favorite versions of Cuban classics like ropa vieja and pollo empanizado at ridiculously low prices. Come with a few friends, order more than your hearts can handle, and spread chisme until your butts start to ache." - mariana trabanino, virginia otazo, ryan pfeffer
"You need two very important things to eat at this Cuban restaurant. First, cash—they don’t accept cards. Second, bring a monstrous appetite. Portions here feed you for days. Everything is large and excellent, but our favorite dish is the vaca frita. La Viña is also great for breakfast. You’ll notice a giant bottle of vinegar and peppers on your table—pour it on your eggs (or anything). But this place also stands out for its attention to detail and warm hospitality. Even in a city as packed with Cuban restaurants as Hialeah, this is our favorite." - mariana trabanino, virginia otazo, ryan pfeffer
"We once sat next to an empty table with covered dishes and the words “ocupado” scribbled on a paper napkin here. It was probably the table of some mystery VIP who no doubt eats the same thing there every day. Maybe that will be you someday—we think it serves Miami’s best Cuban food so it shouldn’t be hard to keep coming back. This Cuban restaurant has been around since the '80s and few restaurants (or their prices) are as genuinely, delightfully stuck in time as La Viña Aragon. Regulars here always have cash on hand for crispy vaca frita and crunchy pollo empanizado, because this Hialeah spot also still lives in a world where credit cards don’t exist. " - virginia otazo, mariana trabanino, ryan pfeffer
