There was a conspicuous lack of cigars, however, perhaps a nod to modern American views on smoking in restaurants. To finish the meal, it is an essential part of the experience that one has Cuban coffee. This can be obtained at your table, but Versailles also has a coffee counter outside, which is a more authentic experience. The coffee counter is a take-out window at which Cuban coffee can be ordered. The intent is that it is consumed on the spot. If one watches the locals, there is an entire system and lingo for ordering Cuban coffee at Versailles that can be difficult to penetrate without a strong working knowledge of Spanish. However, a simple shot can be ordered. The cost is absurdly cheap compared with espresso in most coffee shops, but the coffee counter at Versailles has very low overhead and high turnover. The coffee is thick and very sweet, and is consumed very quickly. The strength of the coffee lingers for hours afterwards, making it perhaps more appropriate for morning than for after-dinner, but when in Little Havana, one must do as the local Cubans do.

At Versailles, entertainment is provided with the food. The restaurant is not a dinner theatre, but troubadours roam the restaurant, strumming ballads for each table. These entertainers take requests for tips, so can serenade your loved one with mid-20th century standards like Besame Mucho and other such fare. The music throughout the restaurants adds to the...

Versailles may attract the occasional couple or solo diner, but most of the customers were in families or other large groups. Dining out is a social occasion in many cultures, Cuban among them. Everyone from grandparents to children sit at the same table, swapping stories and dining on copious amounts of salty pork product.
The egalitarian vibe at Versailles is matched by the prices. As befits most Cuban restaurants in Miami, Versailles is inexpensive. There is almost nothing on the menu that tops $20 and a family can be fed for under $50 quite easily by taking advantage of the inexpensive rice and bean side dishes. This allows entire families to make the restaurant a destination for a night out -- it hints at formality but quickly dispenses with its exclusive aspects in favor of a good time.

Versailles is a distillation of what Miami Cubans remember of their homeland. The faux-stylish surrounding and staff hints of a longing for a sophisticated era marked by the realization that the people themselves have working class origins. The food is strictly comfort food, a reminder of where the patrons come from, and for the rest of us a taste of what once was, what might have been and might yet be once again for our Caribbean neighbors.