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GuideUpdated July 15, 2026

3 Best Places for Croquetas in Miami

Where to find the best croquetas in Miami — each restaurant rated 4.0★ or higher. Top-rated at 9.8★. Spanning latin american and cuban kitchens. Curated by TastyPals.

The best places for croquetas in Miami are Havana 1957 Cuban Cuisine Pembroke Pines, Alma Cubana | Cuban Restaurant Miami Beach, Chug's Diner. Start with Havana 1957 Cuban Cuisine Pembroke Pines if you want the strongest overall first pick.

By Carlos Mendez•3 ranked picks•Published July 15, 2026•Updated July 15, 2026
Methodology•Editorial team
Havana 1957 Cuban Cuisine Pembroke PinesAlma Cubana | Cuban Restaurant Miami BeachChug's Diner
3 Best Places for Croquetas in Miami
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Top picks at a glance

#1Havana 1957 Cuban Cuisine Pembroke PinesLatin American • Miami • value#2Alma Cubana | Cuban Restaurant Miami BeachCuban • Miami • moderate#3Chug's DinerCuban • Miami • $$

Who this guide is for

This guide covers the highest-rated spots for croquetas in Miami. Whether you're a local hunting your next regular or visiting and want to eat well, these picks are sorted by quality and review depth.

Quick picks

Havana 1957 Cuban Cuisine Pembroke Pines
Latin American • Miami
Havana 1957 in Pembroke Pines is a deliberate act of nostalgia — founder Eduardo Aroaz built the chain around a very specific fantasy of pre-revolutionary Havana, and the Pembroke Pines location co…
Alma Cubana | Cuban Restaurant Miami Beach
Cuban • Miami
Alma Cubana sits on Miami Beach at a zip code that usually means tourist-facing Cuban food with a faded mojo and prices calibrated to people who won't be back.
Chug's Diner
Cuban • Miami
Chug's is the Coconut Grove diner that the team behind Ariete built as a love letter to the Cuban-American luncheonette — and the Michelin recognition it's picked up says something real about how s…
Browse all Miami restaurantsBack to Miami hub
Editorial details
Published: July 15, 2026
Last updated: July 15, 2026

On this page

  1. 1. Havana 1957 Cuban Cuisine Pembroke PinesView →
  2. 2. Alma Cubana | Cuban Restaurant Miami BeachView →
  3. 3. Chug's DinerView →

How the restaurants compare

Editorial restaurant image stand-in for Havana 1957 Cuban Cuisine Pembroke Pines
Google
Havana 1957 Cuban Cuisine Pembroke Pines
Miami • Latin American
9.9/10
TastyPals Score
Price
value
Best for
family dinner
Mood
Casual
Editorial restaurant image stand-in for Alma Cubana | Cuban Restaurant Miami Beach
Google
Alma Cubana | Cuban Restaurant Miami Beach
Miami • Cuban
9.9/10
TastyPals Score
Price
moderate
Best for
dinner
Mood
Casual
Editorial restaurant image stand-in for Chug's Diner
Google
Chug's Diner
Miami • Cuban
9.9/10
TastyPals Score
Price
$$
Best for
bib gourmand
Mood
Easygoing

How we chose

We looked for restaurants that feel like a strong fit for the guide topic, not just the most obvious names in the city. The shortlist favors rooms with clear mood, dependable pacing, and enough distinction to help someone decide faster. Read our full methodology →

Room tone

Lighting, pace, and general energy all need to support the reason someone clicked this guide.

Food fit

We favored restaurants that feel best suited for the moment, not just restaurants with broad reputation.

Useful range

The final list tries to give readers enough variation in neighborhood, price, and style to compare real options.

3 ranked picks

Havana 1957 Cuban Cuisine Pembroke Pines — Havana 1957 in Pembroke Pines is a deliberate act of nostalgia — founder Eduardo Aroaz built the chain around a very specific fantasy of pre-revolutionary Havana, and the Pembroke Pines location commits to the bit completely. Think vintage memorabilia, a Mojito Bar stocked with over 120 rums from around the world, and live salsa kicking off at 6:30 on weekend evenings. At a single dollar-sign price point, that combination of atmosphere and affordability is genuinely unusual, and it's what diners consistently cite as the reason they come back. The menu centers on the kind of Cuban cooking that has clear right and wrong answers, and by most accounts Chef Juan Luis Rosales doesn't deviate from the script — which is exactly the right instinct here. The Ropa Vieja is the anchor: long-braised beef reportedly broken down into the tender, tomato-rich shreds the dish is known for, served alongside black beans and sweet plantains. Croquetas are widely regarded as the move to start, prized for the contrast between their crispy exterior and creamy interior. For anyone going full spread, Yuca con Mojo and Lechon Asado round out the table in the way Cuban comfort food is supposed to — starchy, porky, unapologetic. The Flan reportedly holds up as a proper finish rather than an afterthought, which matters more than it sounds at this price level. Practical reality: this place fills up fast on weekends, and the live music is a significant part of why people show up, so coming on a quiet Tuesday misses the point. Book ahead, come on a Friday or Saturday when the rum bar has context, and plan to stay a while. View restaurant →
Alma Cubana | Cuban Restaurant Miami Beach — Alma Cubana sits on Miami Beach at a zip code that usually means tourist-facing Cuban food with a faded mojo and prices calibrated to people who won't be back. From everything I can find, this place operates differently — a warm, family-style room that apparently draws a neighborhood crowd and treats the classics with more seriousness than its address would suggest. When crossing over to Little Havana genuinely isn't happening, this is the call. The menu centers on the Cuban standards that matter most, and the dish diners consistently point to first is the vaca frita — shredded beef crisped with lime and onions, a preparation that rewards the kitchen more honestly than ropa vieja does, because there's nowhere to hide if the execution is off. Alma Cubana is reportedly doing it right. The lechón asado is known for being properly marinated and tender, not just serviceable pork. Croquetas are the expected opener, and by most accounts they hold up to that role — the kind that justify ordering before anyone's looked at the rest of the menu. Sweet plantains round out the table the way they should, present and correct without requiring negotiation. This is a casual, family-style setup that reads well for groups or an easy dinner when you want Cuban food that isn't performing Cuban food. It gets busy on weekends, so the practical move is to arrive on the early side. The playbook here is straightforward: anchor the order around the vaca frita and the lechón asado, build the table with sweet plantains and black beans, and close it out with a Cuban coffee. Cortadito if you're staying awhile. View restaurant →
Chug's Diner — Chug's is the Coconut Grove diner that the team behind Ariete built as a love letter to the Cuban-American luncheonette — and the Michelin recognition it's picked up says something real about how seriously they're taking that assignment. The room is counter-and-booths, the vibe is deliberately unglamorous, and that's the whole argument: that Miami's diner heritage deserves honest, skilled cooking rather than winking reinvention. It's one of those places that knows exactly what it wants to be, which is increasingly rare at any price point. The frita cubana is what the place is known for — Cuba's riff on the hamburger, traditionally topped with shoestring potatoes, and by all accounts the dish that explains Chug's in a single order. Beyond that, the menu centers on Cuban standards done with evident care: croquetas that diners consistently point to as a benchmark, and pastelitos that hold up the pastry side of the Cuban-American canon. Breakfast is reportedly the cult service here, built around Cuban toast and a cortadito that regulars treat as the anti-thesis of chain coffee-shop output — pulled correctly, as the original review notes, which in Miami is not a throwaway detail. Chug's runs all day, making it right for a quick breakfast, a lunch counter stop, or a low-key dinner when you don't want ceremony. It's small and popular, so off-peak hours tend to be calmer if you want a seat without the wait. The practical move: anchor your order around the frita cubana, add croquetas and a pastelito on the side, and close it out with a cortadito. That combination maps the menu and makes the case for why this place has a following well beyond the neighborhood. View restaurant →

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Personalized city picksCleaner shortlistsBuilt for iPhone and Android
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Your taste. Our picks.
Smarter follow-through after the guide: better restaurant context, quicker narrowing, less second-guessing.
For tonight
Date night spots with warm rooms and polished service
Next step
Keep exploring in the app when you want a tighter shortlist