Xixon
Reviews
Name: Cassie Glenn
Occupation: Yelp Miami Community Manager
Lives In: Miami, FL
Restaurant Pick: Xixon Spanish Restaurant
Reviewed: Xixon Spanish Restaurant
After living in Madrid for a year, Spanish food is among my favorite, and in Miami, we’re fortunate to have a wealth of authentic restaurants to choose from. Xixon is my go-to and always hits the spot when my belly starts rumbling for tapas. I recently met up with a friend for a casual lunch. The restaurant is pretty large and you can choose between three different spaces to sit- the intimate wine cellar down below, the casual bar area in the middle, or the dining room in the top. We opted for the wine cellar because it’s perfect for a relaxing reunion with friends. We ordered an array of tapas, including croquetas de jamon iberico de bellota, tortilla Española, pan con tomate, huevos rotos and gambas y gulas. My favorites were the croquetas and tortilla, with the pan con tomate being close behind. We also decided to order one of the chef’s specialties, the octopus. If you’re a fan of octopus, this is definitely a must try! It was perfectly cooked and a great portion for sharing amid the rest of the small plates. We ended on a sweet note and buñuelos with chocolate with turron ice cream. Service was super friendly and food came out fast! Definitely a great spot for anyone looking to enjoy Spanish bites among friends, family, or even catch a soccer game!
Name: Chris Lordi
Occupation: Bartender/ Caterer
Lives In:
Restaurant Pick: Snook’s Bayside Key Largo
Reviewed: Xixon Spanish Restaurant
As I sat and waited for my meal at Xixon, I asked the bartender what the tapas were for because I didn’t see them on the menu, so she grabbed another of these plastic menus and opened it up. Wow, to my surprise now that I’ve ordered, there appears to be an inside to the menu that I had flipped back and forth for at least 10 minutes hoping that something else was going to appear. So I told her that I didn’t even know there was an inside, she giggled and walked away. That being said, the menu is printed on a piece of paper from the computer and tucked inside a plastic sleeve that appears to belong in a child’s 3 ring binder for school. The one I received must’ve been stuck together and the 2 pieces of paper were aligned perfectly so that I couldn’t see there was another part to the menu. So after that, my steak had arrived and was plated very nicely. It was served with a blue cheese dipping sauce and mushrooms. Everything was cooked to perfection. The only issue is the white glass ramekin they served me with the sauce had a huge chip missing out of it so I didn’t know if it was in my blue cheese dipping sauce or had broken previously and they decided to continue the use of it. I finished my entrée which was amazing; I ordered coffee and then a dessert. Coffee was good, but when I received the dessert menu, it was a paper menu and the corner was saturated in grease and food, there was an onion that was smushed on the back of the menu and the inside appeared to have what looked like lipstick or red marker inside. So not wanting to touch the menu much, I asked the bartender for a recommendation and ordered a dessert the bartender said was similar to a crème brulee. It was a small bowl with custard and a sugar topping that had been glazed hard as a rock, I had to hit it a few times to break through it. Then I began to try to eat but the sugar was too thick and too hard for me to continue to eat. I don’t know if that was the way it was supposed to be prepared and I didn’t enjoy it or if there was too much sugar glazed and cooked too long but it hurt my teeth. So I then asked for my check and where the restroom was. Also that dish of sausages that were there over an hour ago on the back bar were still there when I was leaving. I paid my tab and went to the restroom where there was a lightbulb completely missing from the only non-occupied part of the restroom so I had to go in the dark. Overall this placed appeared to have great potential but definitely missed the mark.
Name: Stacy Moya
Occupation: Legal Assistant
Lives In: Miami, FL
Restaurant Pick: Chef Michael’s
Reviewed: Xixon Spanish Restaurant
I was really excited about trying Xixon because I had never been there before and I absolutely love tapas. Upon arrival, the hostess showed me to my table and asked if I liked it or preferred to sit somewhere else. I chose to sit at a different table because it was closer to the window. I knew I wanted to try a couple tapas as well as one of the Chef’s signature dishes. I decided that I would order the duck confit with potato cake and orange sauce. The waitress advised that they didn’t have it (strike one), I then opted for the grilled giant prawns but they didn’t have them either (strike two). At this point, I was very disappointed because I couldn’t understand how two of the “chef’s signature dishes” were not available but I was determined to make the best of it. I asked for a glass of wine while I contemplated what to order. They had two Tempranillo wines by the glass on the wine list, which I wanted to try and asked the waitress to kindly bring me a glass of one now and that I would try the other later. I also ordered serrano ham croquet and the bacon wrapped dates as appetizers and finally decided on the octopus leg with Galician potato foam which they fortunately did have. The appetizers arrived incredibly quickly and were very nicely presented on individual slate plates. The croquet was very small but flavorful and the bacon wrapped dates had cheese melted over them as opposed to being stuffed and those were very good too. They also brought out a loaf of bread which was sliced into pieces. The octopus leg arrived shortly thereafter. I had specifically asked the waitress how the octopus was prepared because the menu did not specify. She advised that it was grilled “a la parilla” but it was in fact served cold as well as the Galician potato foam (foul ball). At this point, I asked them to please wrap the food up so I could take it home and asked to see the dessert menu. The waitress returned to my table with aluminum containers which she placed on the table for me to pack up the food and handed me a dessert menu. I decided on the flambé torta whiskey and asked her for the second glass of wine of the other Tempranillo available. The waitress advised me that the automatic wine dispenser with that particular wine was broken and thus, not available (another foul ball). The dessert arrived shortly thereafter and the waitress attempted the flambéing with a BIC lighter while she poured the whiskey onto the torte out of a miniature Cuban coffee tin cup. What a disaster! The whiskey barely caught fire and when I tried a spoonful of the cake with the sauce, the whiskey was too overwhelming. I was done. I asked for a container to pack up the dessert and my bill. A different waitress came to my table (I don’t doubt that my original waitress was beyond embarrassed at this point) with the check and attempted to pack my dessert but flipped it over while doing so (strike 3, you’re outta here!). Sorry for my baseball references but the World Series is on. My check for 1 was $65 including tip, very pricey but more importantly not worth it.
Restaurant Information
Location: 2101 Coral Way, Miami, FL 33145
Parking: Street, valet
Phone: 305-854-9350
Website: www.xixonspanishrestaurant.com
Restaurant Owners: Begona Tuya, Carlos Mattos
Executive Chef: Tomas Cuadrado
Chef: Claudio Bueno
Type of Cuisine: Spanish, tapas
Signature Dishes:
Vegetarian Options: Yes
Alcohol Served: Full bar
Corkage Fee: $25
Bottle Limit: None
Restaurant Hours:
Monday –11-10PM
Tuesday –11-10PM
Wednesday – 11-10PM
Thursday –11-10PM
Friday – 11-11PM
Saturday – 11-11PM
Sunday – 12PM-5 PM
Meals Served: Lunch, Dinner
Prix Fix Menu: No
Take-Out: Yes
Delivery: Limited
Average Dinner Price Range (per person, full meal, tax, 20% gratuity, w/o alcohol): $60
Average Lunch Price Range (per person, full meal, tax, 20% gratuity, w/o alcohol): $45
Payment Options: do you accept credit cards and if so, which ones? All major credit cards
Accept Reservations: Yes, Open table
Need Reservations: Recommended for weekends
How far in advance do you require reservations be made: 3 months
Accommodations for Children: Yes
Dining Style: Casual
Disabled Access: Yes
Restaurant Size: 200 seats
Accommodate Groups: Yes
Private Dining Room: Yes
Tables with Scenic Views: No
Outdoor Dining: Yes
Entertainment: Spanish guitar on weekends