Chug's Diner

"Cuban diner Chug’s breakfast-heavy menu is served every day until 5 p.m., with options like the cast-iron skillet pancake, breakfast sandwiches, arroz con leche blintz, and lechon hash. Unlike most diners, Chug’s features a full bar, too." - Eater Staff

"Chug’s is a great mix of vintage and modern. It has the DNA of a classic diner, but serves food that's exciting and interesting. The interior has a familiar diner aesthetic, with booths, counter seating, and laminated menus you can flip through on each table. But it’s also more lively and energetic than your average neighborhood greasy spoon. The food is the main reason you come here, though. It’s a great call for a quick coffee and pastelitos, but also works if you want to eat like a bear preparing for hibernation. If you’re trying to do the latter, make sure to get the excellent cast iron pancake and La Completa, a hefty plate of three eggs, potatoes, and Cuban toast. A slice of one of the rotating pies for dessert is also a very good idea." - ryan pfeffer, virginia otazo, mariana trabanino

"The Chug burger is elusive, but worth the effort. The towering creation, held together by nothing but good burger engineering and every one of your fingers, used to be a fixture on the Ariete menu. Then it vanished, and now it appears at Chug's every Thursday from 3pm till close. It is very much worth organizing your week around. It’s two patties, american cheese, pickles, shredded lettuce, and house sauce between a sesame seed bun. But, like everything this Coconut Grove Cuban diner does, it’s perfectly cooked, meticulously arranged, and hits your table looking like the burger equivalent of a supermodel." - ryan pfeffer, virginia otazo

"When: 6-7pm, Daily The Deal: 99-cent Martinis Chug's has a pretty standard Happy Hour Thursday through Sunday with $9 cocktails and $5 beer. But every day from 6-7pm, they do something that sounds like it should be illegal: a special 99-cent martini Happy Hour. The martinis are tiny and they require a purchase of food. But you can get them dirty or dry for just 99-cents, making this a deal you couldn’t even theoretically get at the modern dollar store. 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." - mariana trabanino, ryan pfeffer

"The Deal: $30 lunch Mon-Fri This deal is almost worth it for the dessert section alone—we’ve never had a slice of pie or scoop of ice cream at Chug’s that didn't make us forget we're adults for about seven seconds. But it’s also one of our favorite Cuban restaurants in Miami, and if you want a Miami Spice meal that'll leave you well past full, this is it. Bring a friend or two so you can try everything: the buffalo chicken croquetas, plantain-crusted snapper, pollo empanizado, or the lechon-filled abuela's plate. Yes, you have room for dessert, because Chug’s rotating ice cream flavors (one of the Spice options) are always pretty stunning." - ryan pfeffer, virginia otazo, mariana trabanino