Sala'o Cuban Restaurant & Bar - Live music
Cuban restaurant · Little Havana
1642 SW 8th St, Miami, FL 33135
Highlights
Cuban & Caribbean fare, classic cocktails & live music
Cuban & Caribbean fare, classic cocktails & live music
"That stretch of Calle Ocho by Domino Park clogged with tourists is like a buffet of loud restaurants. But Sala’o is one of those few restaurants where the food is actually good and the blaring Latin music doesn’t feel so out of place. Sala’o specializes in modern Cuban seafood dishes, like sardine croquetas that hide slivers of roasted red peppers or a bowl of crispy fried glass minnows. They also have interesting cocktails, including a sherry old fashioned made with piloncillo (AKA unrefined cane sugar) and a jumbo coconut water ice cube. It’s not only a great place to take a loud friend, but the ideal place to take an out-of-towner who has been shouting “I’m in Miami, bitch!” since they touched down in MIA. At Sala’o they can let everyone know where they are (for the 20th time), get a selfie doing a little perreo, and then sit back down to enjoy a pan con minuta." - ryan pfeffer
"Visit this vibrant Little Havana restaurant on any given night and find entertainment ranging from a live band to salsa beats and Carnaval dancers. Sala’o’s food menu is just as colorful, a mix of croquetas, tostones rellenos, and other enticing Cuban bites, as well as raw bar options and plenty of seafood options like octopus and arroz ensopado de mariscos (seafood rice soup)." - Juliana Accioly
"Sala’o is an Ernest Hemingway-themed restaurant on the busiest part of Calle Ocho. Thankfully the entertainment here is live music, rather than a grumpy old man reading you his short story about fist-fighting a panther. They do it daily here, from 1pm to close (which is the 11pm curfew at the time of this writing). The house bands here play mostly Latin music, so you can tap your toes to “Chan Chan” while eating things like fried snapper, swordfish carpaccio, and sardine croquettes." - ryan pfeffer
"Little Havana's Sala'o, a restaurant that promises a vibe as soulful as its Cuban-American menu, recently debuted a bar cart specializing in gin and tonics." - Amber Love Bond
"Sala’o has one of the more interesting menus on Calle Ocho. The mostly-seafood spot serves fried glass minnows, oysters in a shot glass of tomato and lime juice, and pickled fried swordfish. It’s all pretty tasty too. Plus, the daiquiris are very solid and they have pleasant live Cuban music in the dining room. But we do have one problem with this place: its heavy-handed Ernest Hemingway theme. There’s just about nowhere you can look inside this restaurant where you won’t be making direct eye contact with him. But if you’re okay with the touristy atmosphere and constant gaze of a dead literary giant, then it’s a good choice. Just come early, because after 10pm, this place occasionally transforms into a full-blown club-staurant." - Ryan Pfeffer
