Miami’s favorite spot for Cuban sandwiches is opening a new Coral Gables restaurant
At the original Sanguich de Miami in Little Havana, standing in line — often far too close to a hot parking lot — is frequently part of the experience. Famous for its pressed Cuban sandwiches, the tiny restaurant in the tiny strip mall draws big crowds, and at lunchtime, sweating a little before you get a table is not unusual.
Soon, though, fans will have another option.
Recognized by the Michelin Guide as a Bib Gourmand for the past three years — a designation that indicates a restaurant that serves good food at a reasonable price — Sanguich is ready to open a new, larger location in Coral Gables. The original restaurant on Calle Ocho in Little Havana will remain open for business, too.
After the usual delays in permitting and construction, husband-and-wife co-owners Daniel Figueredo and Rosa Romero could not be more relieved.
“This has been quite a roller coaster,” Figueredo admits.
“We’re really excited,” Romero says. “It feels like we’ve been working the last several years just to get to where we are now. I don’t think we’ve taken a moment to really stop and look and see what we were able to accomplish. We tend to work with blinders on.”
Fans of Sanguich are excited, too: Figueredo says he can’t keep the windows clean because people keep trying to peer in to see the new space.
The new restaurant represents a big step for Sanguich, which began as a pop-up almost seven years ago. The new space is 2,100 square feet, including a bar area (there are also family-style benches outside on a patio). Like the Little Havana location, this Sanguich will also have a ventanita for to-go orders, which isn’t necessarily easy to get permission to build in fussy Coral Gables.
“We did our best to remain cohesive and respect Coral Gables,” Figueredo says. “It’s a beautiful plaza. The last thing we wanted to do was put in something that just didn’t go with the building.”
The menu will mimic the simple menu at the Little Havana location and feature the brand’s classic sandwiches like the popular Cubano, with slow-cooked pork butt marinated in a garlic and spice blend; pan con lechon and pan con croqueta. There’s also the sleeper hit Sanguich de Miami, with turkey, smoked bacon, Swiss cheese, lettuce, tomato and mayo on Cuban bread. All sandwiches range in price from $11.50-$13.89.
The new Sanguich will also sell the popular batidos (milkshakes), which come in flavors like mamey, banana and trigo (sweetened condensed milk, whole milk and puffed wheat cereal).
Figueredo and Romero are planning on adding breakfast sandwiches to the menu at some point. Like the lunch menu, the breakfast choices will be limited.
“It’s very tightly curated, like everything else that we do,” Romero says. “Our motto has not been to offer everything but to offer what we can do well.”
The Coral Gables restaurant isn’t the only new location on the horizon. Figueredo and Romero, who also maintain a Sanguich training center and manufacturing location in Little River, are planning to open a fourth location later this year at Bayside Marketplace in downtown Miami. They’re not sure if the increased interest in the brand comes from influencers and national media or the three years of Michelin Guide recognition.
Either way, Romero says, the Bib Gourmand award comes with a “huge responsibility” and that it’s something they keep in mind as they train their team.
“It holds you to a different standard, and people are a lot less forgiving of someone who is recognized,” she says. “My job is to make sure we don’t mess that up along the way.”
Sanguich de Miami
Where: The Plaza, 111 Palermo Ave., Suite 103, Coral Gables
Opening: June 7
Hours: 10 a.m.-9 p.m. Monday-Thursday; 10 a.m.-11 p.m. Friday-Saturday; 10 a.m.-8 p.m. Sunday
More information: www.sanguich.com
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