Imagine a date night at a restaurant with a trendy menu and live music to dance to, a place where you don’t have to pay a cover charge, fork over high valet fees or risk your life on Interstate 95 to get there.
Such a night out can be had very close to home. In Miami Lakes restaurants you can take salsa turns with a partner, hear a singer croon romantic ballads or form a line with friends and swing to a country and western song.
Banker Jessica Medina calls Miami Lakes’ entertainment scene “a well-kept secret.”
She and husband Joaquin Medina recently celebrated their eldest daughter Kaylen Medina’s high school graduation with three generations of the family at Café Mi Vitrola.
The Three Amigos band performs merengue, salsa, and cha cha songs at the restaurant at 15352 NW 79th Court in the Parc Centre Shops, and got the family out of their seats that night.
“We look for places with live music that you can dance to, and Cafe Mi Vitrola has both, which is great,” Medina, 37, said.
“It felt like a date, but we had family there and it was safe,” she said. “I don’t feel like it’s inappropriate for families. My kids were watching and enjoying and videotaping while we were dancing. They were dancing at one point, too.”
Medina, a member of the town’s Economic Development Committee, said the restaurant offers “good quality Cuban food, the drinks are very good” with “very good service.
“Absolutely I would go back,” Medina said.
New restaurant owners and longtime establishments are presenting music to attract customers who want to have fun after enduring the pandemic.
Singles in their 20s and 30s flock to The Garrison Taproom & Billiards on Main Street to take classes in country and western line dancing (second to last Tuesday of the month) and salsa dancing (the last Wednesday of the month).
“Both classes are very, very popular and both are free,” said Miami Laker Alex Perez who with his wife Sue owns the bar known for its menu of 80 craft beer brands. “We start the evening with a one-hour complimentary lesson and then everyone stays and practices what they learned.”
A small kitchen serves bar food such as buffalo chicken egg rolls, croquetas and a $10 house Angus beef burger; customers may also order from Pizza Scene next door.
Every Friday is Karaoke Night, the bar’s best night of the week, when young aspiring hitmakers sing everything from Top 40 to classic rock and pop.
“Some people even come in to do Hip-Hop karaoke,” Perez said. “Our DJ has over 20,000 songs. If you want a particular song these guys probably have it in their catalog.”
Father and son duo Jake on the Lake perform classic rock once or twice a month. If it’s a quiet night, there’s always the jukebox, which “has everything except death metal,” Perez said. “We find that’s a big turnoff at the bar.”
He said that as locals, he and Sue “always wanted a place where we can enjoy things like karaoke in a safe environment.”
“(Nearby) Chela’s is great, La Strega (Cucina Italiana & Steakhouse) is a nice white tablecloth restaurant and La Cumbancha is opening and they’ll bring live Cuban music to Main Street,” Perez said. “We’re excited about it.
“For Miami Lakers, there is no longer a need to drive to Doral or Miami or Las Olas Boulevard to enjoy good, quality entertainment.”
Patricia Gonzalez, owner of Hemisphere Title Company, said not having to travel to have fun keeps her visiting the local dining spots.
She and her husband Juan Gonzalez recently enjoyed a date night at Café Mi Vitrola, where she had a reunion with girlfriends on another night.
“The food is delicious,” Gonzalez said. “I love the risotto with churrasco. The music is wonderful, they sing really well.”
But no dancing for Gonzalez, who said she would not be at ease in a South Beach club.
“It’s comfortable at Café Mi Vitrola,” Gonzalez said. “I don’t have to get so dressed up, I can wear office attire or your date night outfit. And we don’t have to drive far.
“I think [all of the restaurants that are presenting live music] it’s wonderful for the area,” she said. “Now people can stay closer to home. It’s really revitalizing the area.”
The Café presents boleros (Cuban love songs) on Monday night; a guitarist who plays for a Flamenco dancer on Tuesday; Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday, a guitarist plays Cuban music and on Friday and Saturday, the Three Amigos perform.
Rufino Paulino co-owns Café Mi Vitrola as well as the restaurants Dr. Limon Ceviche Bar and Cruzeiro Brazilian Steakhouse, both in the Cypress Village Shopping Center.
“The way I see it, music is the extra ingredient,” Paulino said. “Wherever there is music, I love it. You feel another vibe, another atmosphere.”
Dr. Limon, at 7341 Miami Lakes Drive, has a DJ on Friday and Saturday; at Cruzeiro Brazilian Steakhouse, at 7419 Miami Lakes Drive, a guitarist plays on Friday.
“Music, I think, is a key factor to my restaurants’ success,” he said.
Dr. Limon is a date night spot, Paulino said. He creates the playlists and fills them with multiple genres, classic rock followed by a salsa or cha chas.
“People are like that, you don’t like just one kind of music,” he said. “People like variety.
“We get reggaeton stars at Dr. Limon, a bunch of them,” he said. “The food is great, the flavors are so on point and there is so much variety. [The celebrities] come because of the seafood, the ceviche.”
Paulino said when he opened Dr. Limon in 2017, “there were not that many fun options in Miami Lakes.
“Right now, with all the restaurants in town, there is something pretty much for everyone,” he said. “I know people are not going to come every night or every week to my restaurant. But you can try a little bit of everything in town. Cancun has the mariachis and I love the mariachis. You can have a decent meal in a lot of restaurants here in Miami Lakes. But when you have live music, that hits the spot.”
Be forewarned if you go to La Diosa Taqueria: You may get pulled into a conga line while enjoying the creative Mexican fare and drink mixes made in-house.
Co-owner Youry Ordaz said that live entertainment was very popular at their 8th Street location in Miami, so they brought it to Miami Lakes, where customers “love it. We have a lot of requests, and we have a lot of reservations at that time because they want to see the mariachis play.
“Musical acts play for about an hour to an hour and a half, and people get up and dance as well as enjoy the music while eating,” Ordaz said. “The music is not too loud. It’s not like a club, it’s a fun dinner.”
The restaurant at 7321 Miami Lakes Drive in the Cypress Village Shopping Center has a DJ on Wednesday and Friday and the Mariachi Sol de Oro perform live on Thursday. The Alex Del Sol band appears Saturday and Sunday.
If you missed Hora Loca (Crazy Hour) at Chela’s Cocteleria on the last Saturday of the month, you’ll want to get there next time. It’s like a Happy Hour on steroids, with tall stilt walkers, a light show and smoke machines.
The restaurant, at 15301 NW 67th Ave. has indoor and outdoor dining and a cozy “speakeasy” called Santa Diabla (one translation is she-devil) that’s perfect for date nights.
The speakeasy has a $25 charge which is to ensure reservations are kept and is applied to the bill. It holds 25 people who can sample a Spanish tapas menu.
The ARG Duo play guitar and sing. It’s mellow at 5 p.m., becoming livelier as the 2 a.m. closing time nears.
Chela’s opened as a pop-up during the pandemic and has grown to become a destination and anchor for the east end of Main Street.
Co-owner Carlos Padilla says the Cinco de Mayo celebration is their biggest event. A Brazilian Carnival party was successful, and they’re planning more events around holidays in Latin America.
“We’re going to do two new festivals, a Venezuelan and a Colombian festival,” Padilla said.
“We’re trying to reach other communities outside of Miami Lakes, so they come to spend their money in Miami Lakes.”
On the last Thursday of the month, Chela’s has a Havana Nights party with a live band, domino contests and cigars.
“They like it, it’s a different [scene], they’re able to sing and dance,” Padilla said about customers’ responses. “The culture [they’re able to] enjoy…[and they can] bring the family.”
Brandon Diaz, 26, lives downtown. A young professionals committee member with the Miami Lakes Chamber of Commerce, he likes going out to places in town, especially those he can walk to.
Diaz said he enjoys both the nostalgia and “cool experience” of the Havana Nights party at Chela’s as well as the country line dancing at The Garrison Taproom & Billiards.
“When I grew up in the town, there wasn’t that many venues or you can say restaurants that kind of catered to the young professional crowd that has moved to the town over the years,” Diaz said.
“With Chela’s coming to Main Street, that’s been the start of the revival,” he said. “They’ve done a great job of programming the restaurant. The Garrison on Main Street does a great job with that too, they have different themed nights. (The restaurant scene) gives the younger professionals in the town different activities to go to, whether it’s a Tuesday night … or over the weekend.”
As Ghobrial Nash, owner of Trattoria Pampered Chef Italian Restaurant said, “the Town of Miami Lakes has everything.”
Additional restaurants in the Miami Lakes music scene:
Trattoria Pampered Chef, 7347 Miami Lakes Drive. Friday, Saturday and Sunday, singers perform to a recorded track for outdoor diners. “Believe it or not we have regular customers for 30 years,” Ghobrial Nash said. “Some of them, they love the music. If they don’t like the music they go inside.”
El Pimiento, 16403 NW 67th Ave. Singing Flamenco guitarist Cristian Puig appears Wednesday; Flamenco dancer Maria Mercedes Perez performs on Thursday.
La Cumbacha, 6743 Main St. Opening in August, co-owner Julio Cabrera said. Salsason Music will perform and jazz groups may play some nights.
“We’re going to have live music, mostly Cuban music with some other mixed in as well, [such as] salsa. It’s pretty much traditional Cuban music,” Cabrera said. “No Spanish, no reggaeton, it’s going to be traditional Cuban music to dance. We’re going to have a stage for the musicians and we’re going to have tables around. People can dance around the tables.”
La Strega Cucina Italiana & Steakhouse 15281 NW 67th Ave. Entertainment Wednesday thru Saturday, 8 p.m. Open mic night on Wednesday; Sujeid sings in four languages to a recorded track on Thursday and Friday; a trumpeter plays jazz on Saturday and pianist Gilberto Ferrer performs multiple genres on Sunday.
Co-owner Tulio Polo said La Strega has a more laid back and romantic vibe.
“It’s not a party atmosphere, it’s an accompaniment to dinner,” Polo said.
El Novillo Nicaraguan Restaurant, 15450 New Barn Road. A pianist and guitarist perform Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
“It’s Latin American Lite music, like Lite Salsa,” General Manager Luis Debayle said of the sounds that float from inside the restaurant out toward the patio.
“[Patrons] are content with it and it’s a little bit festive,” Debalye said. “It’s really to liven up the environment and create that ‘it’s the weekend’ type feel.”
Cancun Grill, 15406 NW 77th Court. Cancun has featured free mariachi performances for 20 years. Mariachi Guadalajara appear Friday and Saturday, half-hour sets at 8 p.m. and 9 p.m. and Sunday, 1 p.m. and 2 p.m.
“People like it, and they ask what time it starts so they can come,” General Manager Yoel Delgado said.