Transport yourself to the streets of Latin America at Casa Latina 1986 in Miami Beach. 

Casa Latina 1986 is a super cute taverna, small but mighty, located on Washington Avenue, literally two blocks from the beach. Please be on the lookout for it, as you could easily walk past and not even notice it. That would be sacrilege, too, considering it serves hearty, wonderful dishes. It was my daughter’s birthday, and we wanted to be transported away to another vibe, era, and maybe destination! This little gem delivers in terms of food, ambiance, and well-thought decor. In my humble opinion, this is a real find. The prices are also rather reasonable for Miami Beach.   

Casa Latina 1986’s history started in 1986 as a family-run business. The family is from various Latin countries, and the restaurant ‘s menu reflects this. They offer traditional Colombian dishes, such as Colombian sancocho, which is a soup, and a traditional bandeja paisa, which is an Angus steak served with white rice, red beans, sweet plantains, egg, fried pork belly, chorizo, avocado, and arepita. They also offer Mexican and Cuban-inspired dishes. 

We ordered two Modelo beers, which came with two frozen glass mugs and lime slices around the bottle rims. To me, this spelled heaven, especially for hot Miami days.

We shared the recommended (and rightly so) shrimp ceviche. It was such a pretty and intriguing fun dish that comes with dry ice — children would surely love to see this! It makes for a fun and memorable appetizer! It was super refreshing and all the fresh ingredients gelled beautifully together. 

We then ordered tacos al pastor and tacos de carne asada. Both were excellent. The flavors popped and worked exceptionally well together. The taco al pastor comes with pleasantly charred pineapple pieces. Both tacos came with a fresh, lovely salad and two different sauces. My only complaint was that they were too light with the cheese! I also could have eaten more.

To finish, we shared a mango cheesecake! This is a delectable cream cheese with graham cracker crumbs, eggs, and ripe mangoes.  It was aesthetically pleasing and had flavors that exploded with zingy mango.

The decor is cute, cozy, cheerful, and bright. They have hanging memorabilia reminiscent of old-world Havana, Cuba as well as Colombia. It is small in size, but this adds to the charm of the place; you feel a personalized touch as if you were dining at your abuela’s house for some wholesome, flavorful homemade food. The service was personable, swift, and friendly. I would come back here in a heartbeat. 

For my next visit, I am aiming to try their Cuban mojo chicken, which is grilled chicken breast that is marinated with mojo sauce and served with white rice and red beans. For dessert, I’d like to try their tres leches, which promises a sponge cake bathed in evaporated milk, heavy cream, and condensed milk and accompanied by an egg white meringue.