Reviewing Bakan: Quality Mexican fare in the Wynwood art district in Miami. 

The Wynwood art district in Miami can be quite popular, and I’ve found it’s not a good idea when you have guests to try to grab a table as a walk-in at most restaurants in the area. I was chill, knowing I had reservations at a place my daughter recommended. I did raise an eyebrow, however, when I found out Bakan was Mexican. My out-of-town guests were from Albuquerque and Tucson, so I hoped Bakan would pass their cultivated taste tests. 

We originally had the wrong address and thought Bakan was another block or so away as we approached, but our spirits lifted as we came across a super cute-looking place. My guests seemed enthralled so we decided to take a  look at the menu. After all, we could always skip out on our reservation at Bakan if this place looked great,  but then we saw the Bakan sign above the entranceway and realized we had arrived at our intended destination after all. Yay.  

The whole outside vibe is so earthy and natural. We even saw little birds sitting up in the ceiling woodwork. Inside is lovely, too, and I would describe it as just a tad more sophisticated than what the outside leads one to expect.  And yes, the inside has air conditioning. That might factor in when you make your online seating choice. But ours was an incredibly lovely Miami day, so we were very happy to enjoy our seats outside.  

Among our party was a teacher so we had to order the Hops for Teacher draft beer, and we also ordered the classical and sera melon margaritas with tequila. All got an A+. 

For lunch, we ordered the Carnitas Prensadas, three pressed pork tacos with guacamole, black beans, and chicharron (crunchy crumbles of fried pork crackling.) We also got the Enchiladas Suizas which came with three enchiladas made of pulled chicken, a delicious Chile poblano cream sauce, salsa verde, onions, and melted cheese. The last dish was tacos de camaron con tortilla de lechuga, the shorthand for this being shrimp tacos. The shrimp was spiced up with tamarind and chipotle, mixed with pickled cucumber and carrot slivers atop jasmine rice and on a Bibb lettuce wrap.

The surprising little twists on each dish left us all delighted. Parking was easy, and Wynwood Walls is so close and an easy walk to. We decided that Bakan has it all…great location, great drinks, great food, great service, and great atmosphere.