Versailles Cuban Bakery
3501 SW 8th StreetDay two in Miami was a little bit slower paced. We were able to work from our hotel most of the morning before venturing out to the downtown Miami in the afternoon.
We wrapped up our work a little after 6:30. We had been hanging out on one of the islands connected by the Rickenbacker Causeway just kind of south of downtown. The view was good and it got better as the sun set and the city lights came on.
We started heading back towards the hotel and my colleague asked where we were in relation to Little Havana. I asked if he like Cuban food. He said he liked Cuban sandwiches. Me too…and wouldn’t you know it, there is a really famous Cuban restaurant in Little Havana that we weren’t too far from.
So, our original idea was to sit down for a meal at Versailles Restaurant but that was way too busy. We could tell when we drove by there appeared to be a line but we thought maybe since it was just the two of us, we might be able to get a table. We parked in the large parking lot across the street and checked in a the host stand. No dice. It was over an hour wait and we still had work to do.
Right next door to the main restaurant is Versailles Bakery. I was curious….would they do sandwiches? That’s all we really wanted anyway so I walked over there to check it out.
Versailles Cuban Bakery is on 8th Street and 35th Avenue in Miami’s Little Havana. The large building shares a block with the restaurant right next door. There are some parking spaces between the building but not many. It’s much easier and more convenient for everyone to use the large parking lot across 36th Avenue.
The bakery was pretty crowded as well but I could see the menu hanging over the counter when I walked in. They had hot sandwiches including the Cubano we were both looking for when we made the trek into this part of the city.
We joined the line and started looking at all the sweets in the display cases.
There was so much goodness to choose from. Co-Worker got a couple things but I was trying to be good and ignored it the best that I could. It was really tough though.
It took about 15 minutes or so for the two ladies helping customers to work their way through the line to us. Co-worker put in an order for two Cubano sandwiches, got his sweets, a box of coffee grounds to take home and we made our way to the front of the line to pay.
Each of the sandwiches cost about $8 and it was going to take a few minutes for them to be made. Co-Worker put the meal on his credit card then we took a seat at one of the few tables inside to wait for our sandwiches to come up.
It only took five minutes or so for us to notice the cook had bagged up the sandwiches and put them on the counter. The lady that had helped us was making an espresso (something else they’re famous for) so it took her a few more minutes to grab them and hand them to Co-Worker.
We headed back for the hotel and he dug in to his right away. I was tempted but didn’t want to eat while driving on unfamiliar roads. I had a hard enough time hitting all my exits.
I had actually had one of these sandwiches before. I was in Miami two years ago on a work trip and found a Cafe Versailles near our gate at the Miami International Airport. I really liked the sandwich then and had the same high expectations for this one.
Of course my expectations were met. This is a fabulous Cubano. The bread is perfectly pressed and toasted. The ham and cheese is layered in between the slices of crunchy bread pretty thickly. The only thing that would slightly improve this already delicious sandwich is a little more mustard and another pickle or two. Even saying that is being super nitpicky because this sandwich is so dang good.
We were really hoping to eat at the restaurant but Versailles Bakery was a fantastic way for us to still be able to get that Cubano sandwich we wanted.
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