Versailles Restaurant

What It Is

Versailles is a large Cuban restaurant on Calle Ocho in Little Havana, opened in 1971 and decorated in the etched mirrors and chandeliers that give it its name. It serves classic Cuban fare to a steady mix of locals, exiles, and tourists, but its real reputation rests on its role as a gathering place. The ventanita, the walk-up coffee window, is where regulars argue politics over tiny cups of espresso, and the restaurant has become the default site for political theater, campaign stops, and spontaneous crowds whenever major news touches Cuba or the exile community. Candidates of both parties make pilgrimages there to court the Cuban-American vote.

Why It Matters

If Little Havana has a single nerve center, it is Versailles. Founded in the wake of the first Cuban exile wave, it grew into the public square of the exile community, the place where the politics of a diaspora are performed in real time. When Fidel Castro's death was reported, crowds gathered there to celebrate, an image broadcast worldwide. It is the most literal expression of the city's thesis, a piece of Cuban civic life operating inside the United States, where U.S. politicians come to participate on its terms.

Neighborhoods: Little Havana Eras: The First Cuban Exile Wave