Versailles cafeteria, restaurant, and bakery is a landmark eating establishment located on Calle Ocho (

8th St 8 (eight) is the natural number following 7 and preceding 9. In mathematics 8 is: * a composite number, its proper divisors being , , and . It is twice 4 or four times 2. * a power of two, being 2 (two cubed), and is the first number of t ...

) in

Little Havana Little Havana ( es, Pequeña Habana) is a neighborhood of Miami, Florida, United States. Home to many Cuban exiles, as well as many immigrants from Central and South America, Little Havana is named after Havana, the capital and largest city i ...

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at ...

. The large restaurant seats 370 people and has ornate etched glass and statuettes and features a bakery, a takeout area, a counter window and the ability to host banquets and parties.Eric Asimov
Choice Tables; A Fresh Breeze Sweeps Miami's Restaurant Scene
''The New York Times'', January 16, 2000. Founded by Felipe A. Valls Sr. (from

Santiago de Cuba Santiago de Cuba is the second-largest city in Cuba and the capital city of Santiago de Cuba Province. It lies in the southeastern area of the island, some southeast of the Cuban capital of Havana. The municipality extends over , and contains ...

) in 1971, Versailles is a popular restaurant among local Cuban exiles and tourists for its Cuban cuisine and connection to anti-Castro politics.

Gastronomical significance

Versailles is a popular place for Cuban food and social gathering in Miami, serving " cafecito", " cortadito", Cuban pastries (beef or guava), and " croquetas" at a walk-up window. In its main dining room, the restaurant also serves dishes including Moros, palomilla steaks (Cuban minute steak), maduros, tasajo, croquetas de yuca, tamal en cazuela, and milanesa. There is an adjacent bakery, a take-out counter, and ample meeting space. In 2001, the restaurant won a

James Beard Foundation Award The James Beard Foundation Awards are annual awards presented by the James Beard Foundation to recognize chefs, restaurateurs, authors and journalists in the United States. They are scheduled around James Beard's May 5 birthday. The media award ...

as an American Classic.

Political significance

For decades, Versailles has been ground zero for the

Cuban-American Cuban Americans ( es, cubanoestadounidenses or ''cubanoamericanos'') are Americans who trace their cultural heritage to Cuba regardless of phenotype or ethnic origin. The word may refer to someone born in the United States of Cuban descent or ...

exile community in South

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

. The restaurant has been a gathering point for anti-Castro protesters and the press wanting to cover their opinions.Kirk Semple
For Cubans in U.S., Views Have Evolved
''The New York Times'', February 20, 2008. During Fidel Castro's hospitalization in August 2006, the news media set up a small tent city outside the restaurant in case news would break from the location.David Gonzales

''The New York Times'', August 4, 2006. Cuban-American politicians, including those from out-of-state like New Jersey Senator

Robert Menendez Robert Menendez (; born January 1, 1954) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the senior United States senator from New Jersey, a seat he has held since 2006. Gale Biography In Context. A member of the Democratic Party, he was firs ...

, often hold fundraisers and rallies at the restaurant.David W. Chen
Menendez Plays to His Base, in South Florida
''The New York Times'', September 28, 2006. Revelers celebrated for hours in front of Versailles when Fidel Castro's death was announced soon after midnight in the early morning hours of November 26, 2016.

References

External links

Official website

BBC:
"Billing itself as 'Miami's most popular Cuban restaurant since 1971', ..."
Miami Herald:
"... Versailles, the unofficial town square of el exilio ..."

{{DEFAULTSORT:Versailles Restaurant Cuban-American cuisine Cuban-American culture in Miami Restaurants in Miami Cuban restaurants Restaurants established in 1971 James Beard Foundation Award winners