This Cuban diner in Kendall got an upscale makeover, new menu and a bar. Take a look
Amelia’s 1931, Chef Eileen Andrade’s twist on a Cuban diner, is basically a new restaurant with the same name.
The Kendall spot has reopened after a massive makeover, expanded in size and gone upscale, trading fritas for braised oxtail and chicharrón crusted mozzarella sticks for pan-seared halibut.
The plan has been in the works for three years, according to Andrade, who opened Amelia’s in 2017 and named it for her late grandmother, Amelia Garcia, who worked the counter at her family’s Islas Canarias restaurant, just across the parking lot. In the middle of the COVID pandemic, her landlord asked if she was interested in the space next door to Amelia’s. The dry cleaner there was leaving.
Andrade jumped at the chance to grow.
“The original Amelia’s was very small, and though there was so much uncertainty as to the future of anything, I saw it as an opportunity and took it,” said Andrade, who is also the force behind Finka Table & Tap in Kendall and the barbecue spot Barbakoa at Doral Yard.
The restaurant is more than twice its original size, with room for 127 diners. Now, instead of entering through the original Amelia’s front door, you come in through the former dry cleaner’s door. Don’t panic if the commercial washing machine facade and wall of bagged clothes make you think you’re in the wrong place. That’s the right entrance, a playful nod to the space’s former use.
Inside, you’ll find a brand-new menu, which Andrade said is more elevated and “dramatic.”
“I loved what we did with Amelia’s when we originally opened, but this menu, the new look and cocktail list feels right for a restaurant with my grandmother’s name,” she said, adding that it “still feels in sync with what people in this neighborhood, which is my neighborhood, are looking for.”
You’ll find Cuban and Asian influences in the menu — Andrade has long been known for her appreciation of Korean cuisine — with starters like escargot with umami butter and Cuban bread points as well as kimchi clam chowder and pork belly with sweet chili and queso frito. Entrees include bonaito gnocchi with cream sauce; braised oxtail; Gochujang (red chili paste) paella; and steak frites.
The new cocktail list includes drinks like the Yass Queen (Haku vodka infused with Earl Grey, St. Elizabeth all-spice dram, lemon juice, orange blossom honey syrup and nutmeg) and the Machu Pikachu (Hornitos tequila inflused with aji Amarillo, yellow chartreuse, lime and cucumber juice, simple syrup, sage). There’s even a drink called the Cereal Killer, with clarified Toki whiskey with lemon, honey and Cheerios.
The menu leans more to the gourmet palate than it did before, but Andrade said her goals remain unchanged.
“Ultimately, I aim to cook food that makes people happy,” she said.
Amelia’s 1931
Where: 13601 SW 26th St., Miami
Hours: 5-11 p.m. Tuesday-Thursday and Sunday; 5 p.m.-1 a.m. Friday-Saturday
More information and reservations: www.amelias1931.com or 305-554-4949
