Cuban coffee in Miami: the ventanitas, what to order and where to get it at any hour
How to order Cuban coffee in Miami and where: Versailles' ventanita, La Colada Gourmet on Calle Ocho, Sanguich, and a 24-hour laundromat window.
En corto
- The classic: La Ventanita at Versailles, 3555 SW 8th Street, since 1971.
- Coffee nerds: La Colada Gourmet, 1518 SW 8th Street, roasts daily, 10 am to 10 pm.
- Early: Sanguich Coral Gables opens at 7 am every day.
- Any hour: Mary's Coin Laundry café window in Silver Bluff, open 24/7.
- To share: Order a colada: four to six shots with tiny cups for the group.
Order a colada at the Versailles ventanita for the full Miami ritual, go to La Colada Gourmet when you care about the beans, and remember Mary's 24-hour window for the cafecito nobody else is open to sell you.
Hora a hora
- 7:00 amSanguich, Coral Gables · The earliest of the Sanguich shops opens at 7 am daily at 111 Palermo Avenue: a cortadito or café con leche with Sanguich's own espresso.
- 8:00 amVersailles, Calle Ocho · The restaurant at 3555 SW 8th Street opens at 8 am Monday to Saturday and 9 am Sunday. Its walk-up window, La Ventanita, sells coladas, cortaditos, croquetas and pastries.
- 10:00 amLa Colada Gourmet · Opens at 10 am every day at 1518 SW 8th Street, with more than 20 coffee recipes from beans roasted Cuban-style on site.
- 5:00 pmLast call at Sanguich, Calle Ocho · The Calle Ocho Sanguich at 2057 SW 8th Street closes at 6 pm, so get the afternoon cortadito there before then, or buy a colada to share with the group.
- 9:00 pmLate on Calle Ocho · La Colada Gourmet stays open to 10 pm. Versailles stays open to midnight, 1 am on Friday and Saturday.
- 3:00 amMary's Coin Laundry · The café window at this Silver Bluff laundromat is open 24 hours, as the business first was in 1991, after a pause during the pandemic. A cafecito at 3 am, with a pan con bistec if you need it.
How to order Cuban coffee
Four words cover almost every order. A cafecito is a small, sweet espresso with no milk. A cortadito is the same coffee with a splash of steamed milk, served in a cup the size of a shot glass. A café con leche is an espresso with steamed milk, the breakfast drink. A colada is four to six shots in a foam cup with small plastic cups on the side, meant to be shared around an office or a group of friends.
A cafecito comes already sweetened, so if you want it without sugar, say so before they pour.
A ventanita is the walk-up window that most Cuban restaurants and bakeries keep on the sidewalk. You order standing, drink standing, and leave. It is quick, it is cheap, and it is where the neighborhood talks.
Versailles Restaurant Cuban Cuisine
Open since 1971, with the walk-up window its owners call Miami's most emblematic coffee window, and listed by Miami's tourism board as MICHELIN-recommended. Founder Felipe Valls Sr., a Cuban exile, is credited with the walk-up window idea. It sells Cuban coffee, cortaditos and coladas, plus croquetas, pastries and cigars.
The restaurant is open 8 am to midnight Monday to Thursday, to 1 am Friday and Saturday, and 9 am to midnight Sunday. The ventanita's own hours are not posted, so plan around the restaurant's.
La Colada Gourmet
The Calle Ocho coffee bar that roasts its own beans Cuban-style every day, with an on-site roaster you can see. It lists more than 20 coffee recipes and sells its coffee, cafeteras and cigars to take home.
Open 10 am to 10 pm every day. It also sells bags online if you want the beans after you fly home.
Sanguich
The Cuban sandwich shop pulls espresso from its own Sanguich Espresso Café blend: espresso, cortadito and café con leche, plus a coladita milkshake.
Calle Ocho is open 10 am to 6 pm daily. Coral Gables, at 111 Palermo Avenue, opens at 7 am every day. There are also shops at Bayside Marketplace, Aventura Mall and a takeout window in Little Haiti.
Dónde están
More Cuban coffee stops across Miami
| Place | Area | Why go |
|---|---|---|
| Mary's Coin Laundry | Silver Bluff, just north of Coconut Grove | A café window in a laundromat, open 24/7 since 1991; known for its pan con bistec |
| Sergio's | Several branches across Miami-Dade | Cuban restaurant since 1975 with iced cortaditos in flavors like guava |
| Puerto Sagua | South Beach | Family-run Cuban diner since 1962; coffee at the counter, hot or iced |
| Las Olas Café | South Beach | A large ventanita known for its cortadito |
| Suite Habana | Wynwood and South Beach | Dark-roast Cuban coffee bar founded in 2018; iced café con leche |
Hours for these places were not on a page we could open, so check their Google listings before you go.
Miami and the Beaches Cuban coffee guide (9 September 2026), WLRN on Mary's (August 2024), sergios.com; checked October 2026
Lo que pregunta la gente
Where is the best Cuban coffee in Miami?
The Versailles ventanita at 3555 SW 8th Street is the classic, and La Colada Gourmet at 1518 SW 8th Street roasts its own beans daily. Both are on Calle Ocho in Little Havana.
What is a ventanita?
The walk-up window on the side of a Cuban restaurant or bakery where you order coffee and snacks standing on the sidewalk. Versailles' La Ventanita is the most famous one.
What is a colada?
Four to six shots of sweet Cuban espresso in one cup, served with small plastic cups so a group can share it.
Where can I get Cuban coffee at night in Miami?
La Colada Gourmet is open to 10 pm and Versailles to midnight, 1 am on Friday and Saturday. Mary's Coin Laundry's café window is open 24 hours.
What is the difference between a cortadito and a café con leche?
A cortadito is a small sweet espresso with a splash of steamed milk. A café con leche is espresso with much more steamed milk, the usual breakfast order.
Más guías
El mejor sándwich cubano de Miami, y los restaurantes cubanos para sentarse a comerLittle Havana · Cuban · Sandwiches · 5 min de lecturaLittle Havana for lunch: Calle Ocho without the bus tourLittle Havana · Almuerzo · Comer · 5 min de lecturaCalle Ocho, Miami: how to spend a day on SW 8th Street in Little HavanaLittle Havana · Little havana · Neighborhoods · 6 min de lecturaHours and details from versaillesrestaurant.com (home and La Ventanita pages), lacoladagourmet.com (home and store page), sanguich.com (locations and menu), WLRN (Mary's Coin Laundry), sergios.com and the Miami and the Beaches Cuban coffee guide dated 9 September 2026; checked October 2026.