Chivitoteca

Mindblowing experience — i actually signed up for Unilocal to leave this review. Called this place 4 times to get an order placed — noone speaks english. 5^th call got through — person on the phone tells me they are closed at 11 pm — so i actually drove there to eat. The place stayed open for another 2 hrs. «Great» customer service!

Finally got around to write a spectacular review of the MOST memorable restaurant I visited over the Labor Day Weekend 2015. And by that, I mean it in a bad, bad way.
How is this place, you asked? Well, let me break it down:
Food: Does the food deserve the ONE-​STAR rating that I am giving it? No. The food is actually ok (I give it 3.5-Stars). I am not a big fan of sandwiches in general, but the Chivito Canadian was actually decent. (Yes, I give them credit for the food). But being a Canadian myself, I am totally confused as to why they are calling this Uruguayan sandwich «Canadian»? I am pretty darn sure the two countries are quite far from each other. I am probably ignorant, so please enlighten me. The egg and meat were actually pretty tasty, and the sandwich was well constructed. The fries? Nothing special — a bit bland. If you ask me, It’s missing the gravy and cheese curds… If you want to call the sandwich «Canadian», might as well making it a Poutine!
Price: The sandwich was way (wayyyyy) overpriced. $ 20+ after tax and «mandatory» tip? No thank you! You taste good, but still not worth the price tag. Subway sells a foot-​long for $ 5! I would be happy to pay $ 10 for the sandwich. And from the pictures that someone took earlier, looks like the price had increased by at least 25% in the past two years. Really? I don’t think our economy is doing all that hot, or the food ingredient price hadn’t gone up that much.
Service: The staff was just ok — they were not super friendly, and they messed up our order. Math lesson — there were 3 of us at the table, and you took the order of 2 sandwiches… umm. doesn’t take a rocket scientist (or a mediocre server) to realize that you missed one sandwich? hello??? anyone there? Definitely doesn’t deserve the mandatory tip! (can you subtract $ from your bill?)
So, now you ask, why does Chivitoteca deserve my ONE-​STAR rating? Here is my beef with them.
So we finished our meal, and started to head outside. and just like any other afternoon in September in FL, it starts to pour. So we decided to wait outside under the canopy. for about 20 minutes… and all of sudden, my friend realized that she did not get her credit card back from the restaurant. and walked inside to get it. Of course. it was there. Now — if you see your customer who just dined and forgot his/​her credit card, waiting outside for the rain to stop, shouldn’t you go outside and give the credit card back? Or would you wait for them to come in once they realize it was forgotten? This smelled SUPER sketchy. what were you planning to do? Waiting for us to leave, so you can go on a shopping spree? Or just simple laziness?
So did that deserve the ONE-​STAR? Almost… let me give them the benefit of the doubt — that they did not see us standing outside through the «all-​transparent glass» windows for about 20 minutes… (btw, the restaurant was empty the entire time we were there, so it’s not like they were busy and didn’t see us outside).
Now, here is what really pissed me off! So I come back from my vacation — checked my credit card statement for the weekend. BOOM! I see a $ 25 charge from Chivitoteca. Strange. Because I remember most restaurants in South Beach had a mandatory tip of 18%, so most of my bills came out to be non-​rounded numbers. and I certainly don’t remember rounding up for the overpriced sandwich… so I checked my wallet for the receipt. Of course, the check was $ 20.96. So these guys decided to tip themselves an additional $ 4.04 on top of the 18% that was already stolen from my pocket. Is this a freaking fraud/​scam?
Anyways, my lovely credit card company had fixed this for me. But it’s not about the $, it’s the principle — honesty!
Sketchy — Sketchy — Sketchy. SHAME ON YOU! And for those reading the reviews on Unilocal,don’t come here. unless you like getting scammed and have money taken away from you by dishonest people. There are LOTS of GREAT restaurants in the city that deserve your attention!

I’m visiting Miami for a week and a half and came across this Uruguayan place. I order a Canadian chivito and let me tell you it is by far the best chivito I’ve ever had. I tried a Uruguayan place in Elizabeth, NJ and this place has beat it by far. I might come here again in a few days because of how good it is.

Para los Uruguayos que extrañan la pizza típica este es el lugar donde la van a encontrar tal cual como en Uruguay. El pizzero es Uruguayo y la hace perfecta.

Good food but they don’t have air conditioner… Soooo hottt! Don’t like it

I am Uruguayan and this my families go to spot for some great food. Their chivito (Canadiese) is the best in miami hands down. Great place to watch games with 3 big HD TVs. The pizza, Milanese, and steaks are all delicious. The prices are very fair for the area and the service is always great, very attentive. So if you’re looking for some great Uruguayan, Argentinean, or just any great food this is the place to go!

Had the Canadian Chivito (sandwich) — WoW!!!
Definite recommend.
It was my first time trying Uruguayan food and it was a great experience.
Place can accommodate a crowd and it has a small site out area. Friendly staff.

If you like Chivitos, this is your spot. If you’ve never had one, this is the place in Miami to try one!
Lovely place. Sweetest staff we have encountered in Miami. Great Uruguayan classics. Even Pilsen!
Thank you for sharing a taste of Uruguay!

Just happened to stop by on a whim. While waiting for the food the smell in this place is divine. I ordered a chivito sandwich and a Pilsen beer. The beer was fantastic! The sandwich was incredible. It was a perfect size. The prices are a bit steep but the flavor is worth it!

The food here is good, not great. The staff are friendly, and inviting. Overall a good restaurant, but I am giving three stars because they messed up two orders. While the food I received was good, it was not the food I ordered.

Our first and the experience wasn’t the best. The Parrillada was ok. The meat wasn’t that good and for the price we were expecting something better, comparing with other Uruguayan restaurants in Miami. The service was horrible. Very slow, the guy was very nice and apologize saying that the grill is too small and that they have problems with that when the restaurant gets busy. I might go again and give it another chance.

I’ve never had authentic Uruguayan food until our first Miami trip in September, and this was delicious and unexpected. We of course had the chivito and it was enormous. We each ordered our own, and we really wish we had shared. We hardly made a dent in our food, but it was meat-​filled and delicious, and if you add an egg to any sandwich it is 1000% better. It was just a lot of food, and definitely went home needing to take my omeprazole and tums before bed. ;)

Unfortunately for this restaurant, I’m always in a hurry. Although very nice, it was difficult to get service. However, the food was prepared very quick. I had the monster, which was meat on top of meat on top of an egg. The food was prepared well, but lacking flavor.

I loved the food here especially the pizza. The girls here so nice and welcoming. Stop here for good and food and service. Love it

Chivitoteca, formerly known as El Rey Del Chivito, is a Uruguayan restaurant that serves up – arguably — the best sandwich in existence, aka the Chivito: churrasco beef, bacon, ham, mozzarella, hard-​boiled eggs, lettuce, tomatoes.
If you’re a meat-​enthusiast, you may want to try this out. This place is not for Cross-​Fit-​types; not for self-​conscious eaters, just expect a purely authentic meat-​eating galore. They also make bomb Uruguayan-​style pizza (order the metro). Prices are a tad bit on the high side, but I think it’s worth it.
Oh, and if you can, order a Pilsen beer.

Their chivitos are the best I’ve had in Miami by far. Their service is always good, not great as they do take quite a while to serve the food. But once the food is out, it’s 5 stars from there. They do have an open chicken, and being an avid viewer of Bar Rescue, I do watch for proper cooking habits and cleanliness. I will say, I’ve seen them pour frozen gnoccis into their 4-​Cheese Gnocci meal, but it was yummy none the less. Awesome Uruguayan food!

found this place on
(we had a groupon to spend)
There is convenient parking a block away & it is one block away from the beach making it a great lunch spot.
They only have one waiter, and that makes everything bad. Because of this the service was slow and the food was cold.
we ordered the mozarrella apetizer (yumm!) and baked empanada that was good too. & then ordered the parrillada for two.
It was well seasoned and plenty for two but we asked for medium and it was well done.

My companion and I enjoyed everything about our experience. We visited Miami and chose this place from a work-​related points site. Our dining experience took place on 02÷18÷14. We took a chance on this place and were not disappointed.
The food, service, atmosphere, waitstaff, etc. were all fantastic. There were different groups of people there (i.e. couples, families, parties, buddies). Our waitress was wonderful, prompt, and offered great dining suggestions. I could tell everyone was being taken care of and enjoying themselves.
We had the mozzerella de carrozza, Mahou (a Spanish beer), Hawaiian Supreme, and grilled skirt steak (14 oz). The steak was cooked to perfection! There was so much steak, it made a wonderful perfect addition to my breakfast the next day.
This place is absolutely worth a visit.

The place just changed ownership (it was called El Rey del Chivito before) and as a result it has a new and cleaner look, new menu items, several prices went down (like desserts!), the quality of red meat improved and service improved as well. The signature dish is the Uruguayan Chivito, a sandwich made of the best beef, ham, cheese, lettuce, tomato, bacon, a fried egg and onions. There are different variations of the Chivito, including a gourmet chivito with arugula, fresh mozzarella and prosciutto ham. They also have Uruguayan style pizza by the meter (!), Faina (a chickpea flour dish) and grilled meat. Relaxed atmosphere, free wifi and also perfect for a snack after going to the beach.