In the era of$18 salads and shrinking portions, Miami’s best Colombian restaurants are the affordable heroes we desperately need. We’ve never encountered bigger portions or more glorious mountains of meat than while researching this guide. But these are also restaurants that bring necessary joy to work weeks of spreadsheets and ugly confrontations with your boss. Some of these spots welcome you with complimentary chicken broth while others serenade you with acoustic renditions of “Despacito.” So next time breakfast calls for pandebono, lunch demands a big fried mojarra, or you want a bandeja paisa for dinner, this is where you should go.
What our ratings mean
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No rating: This is a restaurant we want to re-visit before rating, or it’s a coffee shop, bar, or dessert shop. We only rate spots where you can eat a full meal.
THE SPOTS
photo credit: Tasty Planet
8.7
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Colombian
North Beach
$$$$
Perfect For:
Dining SoloBreakfastLunch
Mi Colombia is our favorite Colombian restaurant in Miami. Because not only does the classic North Beach diner have the same charm as an elderly couple dancing on the street, but they make fantastic Colombian dishes, some of which are hard to find anywhere else in town. You can do a lot with $20 here, but whatever you do, make sure it involves their $12.50 bandeja paisa. Every centimeter of the plate is filled with delicious steak, rice, beans, chicharron, and plantain. The fried egg on top also means that it’s fair game for breakfast, which is also a great time to come here, even if you just want pandebono and a series of interactions that almost always end in “mi amor.” They don’t always have it, but ask for the corn-based milk treat mazamorra. It’s like eating cereal for dessert—only significantly better.
photo credit: CLEVELAND JENNINGS / @EATTHECANVASLLC
8.4
DirectionsPhone
Colombian
West Miami
$$$$Perfect For:Cheap EatsCasual Dinners
Walking into Rincon Antioqueño is like walking into the home of a sweet neighbor who loves to overfeed you. The TVs are playing reruns of La Rosa De Guadalupe and there’s an alluring smell of sizzling steak coming from the kitchen. They make a sancocho that tastes like the loving labor of 100 broth experts. They also make a juicy, flavorful morcilla, which you should start the meal with. Before leaving, browse the shelves filled with flour to make buñuelos, candies, chips, and other Colombian goods to add to your barren pantry—or donate them to that neighbor who always gives you leftovers.
photo credit: CLEVELAND JENNINGS / @EATTHECANVASLLC
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Colombian
Doral
$$$$Perfect For:Big GroupsCasual DinnersDinner with the Parents
Mondongo’s makes the best Colombian empanadas in Miami. These mini half-moons don’t spend time under a heat lamp—they arrive fluffy and hot. The restaurant is large enough to accommodate a quinceañera, and has a fancy ranch look that'd be fitting for one too. But it’s still unpretentious enough to show up in your workout clothes for lunch or dinner. They’re known for their mondongo here, but if tripe stew isn’t your thing, they make an excellent grilled steak and a bandeja paisa (called típico antioqueño on the menu) with ground beef minced into tiny little particles. If you’re just on a quick empanada run, takeout is seamless here.
photo credit: Tasty Planet
8.0
WebsiteDirectionsPhone
Colombian
Edgewater
$$$$Perfect For:LunchCasual DinnersSitting Outside
This Colombian spot’s empanadas, morcillas, and beefy pots of sancocho bring a pop of excitement to Edgewater’s forest of glassy residential towers. Just know that they're lying when they tell you the picada feeds two—it actually feeds three plus a child after a relay race. Still, it’s a nice surprise when the steaming pile of chicken, morcilla, steak, chicharron, and fries arrives at your table and you can already envision your leftover dinner plans for the next week. Despite being surrounded by expensive seafood towers and rental units, Palo Quemao serves giant meat platters for $22, and cauldrons of beef soup for $15. Edgewater desperately needs a place like this.
photo credit: Tasty Planet
8.3
DirectionsPhone
Colombian
Kendall
$$$$Perfect For:Walk-InsLunchCasual Dinners
A school of fried fish occupies 70% of the tables at this Kendall restaurant. Take it as a sign to also order the mojarra frita. But before that, savor the complimentary cup of warm chicken broth, which they always give you even if it’s not February 17th (Random Acts of Kindness Day). Aside from the exquisite fried fish, the Colombian restaurant makes great tostones topped with guacamole and chicharron, beef and potato empanadas, and agua panela. You can count on this place for a last-minute lunch or dinner. Show up in your Monday worst and you’ll still be referred to as “mi amor” by the sweet staff. Plus, they have a second location in West Flagler in case a free soup journey to Kendall is too far for you.
photo credit: CLEVELAND JENNINGS / @EATTHECANVASLLC
8.3
WebsiteDirectionsPhone
Colombian
Doral
$$$$Perfect For:Walk-InsLunch
Patacon Pisao is a great spot for people who love to share. The casual Colombian restaurant in Doral specializes in all things patacones. Whole plantains are flattened, fried into canoe-like structures, and served with meat you can fill them with. Our favorite is the salteado, which comes with beef sauteed in onions and tomatoes. It’s fun to share and might result in a passive-aggressive battle to see who can break off a bigger piece of patacon. They also make great meat empanadas with a spicy sauce that should be used with caution. If things do get too spicy, wash it down with a coconut lemonade that comes in whimsical glasses with utensils for handles.
photo credit: CLEVELAND JENNINGS / @EATTHECANVASLLC
7.9
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Colombian
Coral Way
$$$$Perfect For:Walk-InsCasual DinnersCheap Eats
You’re going to this spot for specific cravings of Colombian soup, perros, or huge steaks topped with delicious hogao. This Coral Way restaurant serves bowls—actually, more like buckets—of comforting ajiaco and hotdogs stuffed with potato sticks, american cheese, garlic sauce, and pineapple sauce that tastes just like a hawaiian pizza. Other than those satisfying dishes, there’s not much excitement going on inside. The place is sparsely decorated with fake shrubbery and the green booths are as springy as your freshman dorm bed. Still, it’s worth going for the food, especially during a Colombian soccer match, which they project on a big screen.
photo credit: Tasty Planet
8.1
Colombian
West Kendall
$$$$Perfect For:Casual DinnersBig GroupsWatching Sports
El Gran Bamboo is a Colombian restaurant that shares a wall with the Kendall Ice Arena, so a meal here is likely to come with a side of children face-planting while attempting a salchow jump. The place is great for big groups of Colombian soccer fans who want to snack on excellent beef and cheese empanadas while yelling at a big screen playing a frustrating match. Their ajiaco and bandeja paisa are also really good even when no soccer is happening. On weekends, the ice skating becomes an ignorable backdrop and the restaurant turns into a full-blown party, featuring mariachi, DJs, and those LED foam sticks that are clear indicators of a fun time.
photo credit: CLEVELAND JENNINGS / @EATTHECANVASLLC
7.7
WebsiteDirectionsPhone
Colombian
North Miami
$$$$Perfect For:Lunch
Even though Los Antojos in North Miami is open until 9pm during the week, the Colombian restaurant peaks during the day. That’s when the empanadas are fresh, and the natural light brightens up the otherwise dark, cold dining room. But the mojarra frita will taste great no matter the time you show up. It’s crunchy and comes with a side of rice and pinto beans. Unlike the majority of Colombian restaurants in this city, Los Antojos actually makes a great morcilla. The shiny black sausage is slightly pink on the inside and comes with a garlicky vinaigrette similar to chimichurri. After a long day of kayaking at Oleta, this is the perfect hearty meal to revitalize your dehydrated body.
photo credit: CLEVELAND JENNINGS / @EATTHECANVASLLC
7.7
WebsiteDirectionsPhone
Colombian
Hialeah
$$$$Perfect For:Cheap EatsLunch
Do people in Miami work? We ask ourselves this when we walk into Mi Fondita, which is always packed at 2pm on any random weekday. But this casual spot is so much more comforting than your average nine-to-five. Servers kindly guide you through their extensive menu. Sauces come in cafecito cups and the staff smiles at you with the same genuinity of a golden retriever. For a quick and filling meal, get the arepa rellena mi fondita. It's generously stuffed with steak, chicken, chicharron, and comes with a hefty side of fries for only about $13. All of the empanadas are good, but definitely order the beef ones—their filling is like an unexpected good morning text from a loved one.
photo credit: Tasty Planet
7.3
WebsiteDirectionsPhone
Colombian
Tamiami
$$$$Perfect For:BirthdaysLive MusicBig Groups
Rancho Mateo is the Colombian steakhouse party your parents have been waiting for. The gigantic, taxi-yellow restaurant in Tamiami has live performances every day starting at 8pm (except Sundays, when singers perform during the day). This can include late-night DJ sessions of Latin rock, karaoke nights, and, for the salsa-obsessed moms, performances from legends like Willie Gonzalez if they’re so lucky. The steakhouse portion of this place is good and affordable, but you’re mostly here to watch your mom rip an air guitar solo to Maná.
photo credit: Tasty Planet
7.5
WebsiteDirectionsPhone
Colombian
West Kendall
$$$$Perfect For:LunchCheap Eats
There's a clay-tiled roof above the bar inside El Mayoral. We assume this impressive architectural choice is intended to make the restaurant feel like a house. But what truly makes this place feel like someone’s home is the complimentary chicken broth, friendly staff, and media picada that comes with chicharron, chicken, steak, morcilla, chorizo, empanada, and arepa. It could probably feed every person who lives inside your own home—even the $25 half portion.