Versailles Restaurant, in front of you, has fed Cuban Miami for more than fifty years and served as an informal capital of the exile community's political life. Founded in 1971 by Felipe Valls, the restaurant takes its name from the Palace of Versailles — not for culinary pretension, but for the mirrored walls inside that multiply the dining room into an infinite recession of white guayaberas and café cups. The menu is a primer in Cuban home cooking: ropa vieja (shredded beef in tomato sauce), lechón asado (roast pork), black beans and rice, sweet plantains, and flan.
The ventanita on the side of the building dispenses café cubano and pastelitos to a perpetual crowd. But Versailles is also where Cuban Miami processes its politics. When a Cuban leader dies, when a political crisis erupts in Havana, when an American presidential candidate needs the community's blessing, they come here.
Cameras and reporters follow. The restaurant has hosted presidents and protests and quiet conversations that shaped American policy toward Cuba. Order a cortadito.
Take a seat. Listen to the table next to you.