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Chug's is a Coconut Grove Cuban diner that can be several different restaurants—sometimes all at once—and every winding path of the Chug’s experience will lead somewhere great.
You can come early for a quick weekday breakfast of cafecito and the best pastelitos on this planet. Or maybe you want to have a lazy Sunday brunch with cocktails and a phenomenal cast iron pancake. A pan con bistec for lunch is a good call—as is a chill dinner with entrees like an outstanding masitas de puerco. You could even come solo, sit at the terrazzo counter, and let the classic diner nostalgia wash over you while you eat a Yoo-hoo tres leches and drink a martini.
photo credit: Cleveland Jennings
There’s something familiar and comforting about Chug’s. It has the DNA of a classic diner, with booths, counter seating, and laminated menus you can flip through on each table. But its familiarity stems from more than just design details.
The restaurant is largely informed by Miami Cuban food, but it also isn’t afraid to riff on the staples. Their pastelitos are filled with unique rotating ingredients, including an unbelievably good PB&J version. They serve things like medianoche pierogies, a guava gimlet, and include an oxtail jus for dipping with the pan con bistec. It makes this place feel like the past, present, and future of Miami Cuban cuisine all at once.
Food Rundown
photo credit: Tasty Planet
Medianoche Pierogi
photo credit: Emily Schindler
Pastelitos
photo credit: Tasty Planet
Pan Con Bistec
photo credit: Karli Evans