El Scorpion

closed!

Finally got the chance to come back for dinner. We came with an out of town guest, hoping it would not disappoint. The very friendly hostess sat us at a nice booth inside and our waitress came over immediately. It was about 6:50 pm, so we figured we had missed Happy Hour. She told us that we still had time for Happy Hour, wow quite impressed all three of us ordered some margarita’s. Most places do not let you order unless you are sitting at the bar area.
She brought over our delicious margarita’s. We decided to order some spicy guacamole. All of us dug right in and cleaned it right off it’s bowl. It was so good with just enough spice and flavor. Simply devine! As we struggled on what to order she suggested we get two orders of the Carne Asada, which came with rice, beans and fresh tortilla’s. She said it would be plenty for three people. It was $ 21 each. We ordered one steak and the other Chicken.
She made a great suggestion. The steak was moist, flavorful, perfectly cooked with peppers and jalapenos on the side, the chicken was just as good. Now the beans were just OK, more like soup beans, and the rice was OK as well. We had plenty of food and thoroughly enjoyed each decadent bite.
What surprises me so much here besides their delicious food is their service. It is beyond great. They constantly check on you, refill your drinks constantly, never disappear, friendly, and yes excellent! The manager (Harley) is always around and stops by each table. He is young, friendly, and a great manager. His expectations in his staff really shows.
Really like this restaurant very much. Quality food, nice décor, stellar service. Their prices are a bit high but they are on the beach.
Our out of town guest was very impressed and enjoyed our dinner very much. Fan, for sure.

mixed feelings on this spot…
if you are 20 something looking for a «tequila flight» — (isn’t one enough– and I’m part Irish darn it!!) and some cheap thrills at the youth hostel down the road 5 stars all the way.
loud music. loud crowd easily mistaken for Jersey Shore hits South Beach.
Food good. loved the chipolte guacamole and 5 types of guacamole on vegetarian options. Rice and beans above average. Lets get some portabello and tofu ranchero items on this menu! The cute dog at St. Augustine will appreciate it:)

Came for dinner with a friend and had a really good time because the place is comfortable, the service outstanding and the drinks very good. The food was more hit and miss however.
It started out great, with our order of Margaritas, both of which were delicious and one of them, The Spirit Bird was prepared table side by our charming waiter. We also got a big basket of chips and two salsas, red and green which were both delicious but one of them was a bit heavy on the garlic, I was still tasting it well into the next day!
After came a wonderfully different Guacamole, the «Elvis» with smokey bacon and plantains.
After that the quality of the meal started sliding and did not quite recover. We ordered the Elote which is not something I normally would get except that I had read many reviews raving about it. I wish I had stuck to my initial impulse to not order this kind of food at a restaurant! The cob came smothered in a gloppy creamy sauce that was mildly unpleasant tasting. In addition it is a thoroughly undignified thing to eat in public, unless dribbling pinkish sauce all over your chin turns you on…
We next got a Queso Fundido with Rajas, Chorizo and Mushrooms. This dish actually tasted very good but there were almost too many ingredients crowded in the queso, and the chorizo was highly greasy so there was a lot of paprika colored oil dripping off the dish. A little tweaking of these issues and the dish could be perfect.
The tacos were a big disappointment, they arrived stone cold and again they were also gloppy and messy and most bizarre of all the tortillas seemed as if they had been BOILED which made for a very unpleasant texture and look. We had ordered both variations of the Tilapia tacos and here again we had good taste squandered into a drippy mess. There was some coleslaw in the taco that although tasty was too overpowering and would have been much better being served as a side on the taco plate. This could have helped make the taco dish a little nicer esthetically than what arrived at the table, a big, somewhat plain and ugly plate with the two «boiled» tacos on one end and a slice of pickled carrot and radish on the other. Not great visually.
In Mexico tacos are served open faced and usually with the main protein and some cilantro and onion on top. The sauces, dressing, slaws, lime wedges etc. are on the side. There is a reason for this: it works! In two out of the three dishes the issue was not taste but sloppiness and presentation.
Finally we decided to split a Chocolate Mousse for dessert and this was our least favorite part of the meal. We did not actually eat it, after two spoonfuls I decided it was like eating pure sugar and my companion thought it tasted of powdered mix. We pushed it away at which point our waiter promptly removed it both from our table and our bill.
I liked this restaurant and will definitely return. They have an amazing drink menu, friendly and efficient service and despite the messiness the food was tasty enough to make me want to try more… For dessert next time I will try the Blackberry/​Bourbon cocktail instead of Chocoalte Mousse!

Mexican food for people who don’t know what good Mexican food tastes like. The food is fine but nothing, nothing, to get excited about.
The server worked so hard to upsell us on the expensive tequila, the expensive guacamole, the expensive water, it felt like a used car salesman pitch. It was annoying and enough to make me not want to return or recommend it to friends.

I ate at El Scorpion for lunch on a weekday, and it seemed as though the whole restaurant was empty and the staff was having some sort of meeting. Kind of made for an awkward lunch, but as long as they were willing to seat us and it wasn’t a problem, I was ok with it.
i wish I would have taken a hint from the empty dining room and gone somewhere else. The menu was interesting, and there were many things that sounded great. I chose a taco platter ($ 17) with fish tacos. My boyfriend also had a taco platter with a fish taco and a bacon taco (sounds great if you love bacon, but it was texturally strange and didn’t make sense.) I opened up my tacos and found the tiniest amount of fish I’ve ever seen. I’m not exaggerating, it was literally a teaspoonfull of chopped fish, and 4 shreds of purple cabbage. It was a delicious 2 bite snack. Next time I would order several tacos ala carte and forget the platter with the beans and rice (blahhhh.)
Hopefully this was a strange kitchen fluke?
Pros
Extensive Tequila list
Margaritas are real and delicious!
great looking interior
Cons
Food ingredient quantity is a rip-​off (i hate saying that!)
strange staff meeting created a weird ambiance… having the meeting in the back or closing the restaurant between dinner and lunch would be a better option.

I’ve been here a few times now, and I’m craving to go back again… although I’m not sure why really.
The service is amazing. Everyone is really friendly and helpful.
The ambiance is great. The restaurant is big and open so the dim cozy lighting just makes you feel like you’re at home instead of in a dingy den.
They have a killer selection of tequila’s and a variety of specialty margaritas (some of which contained ingrediants I’ve never heard of). I tried a few of them and all were really well balanced and tasty.
The food is good, but not great though. Although the guacamole (whichever one you go for) is de-​lish!!! But I kind of equate avacodo to truffle oil and cheese… it almost doesn’t matter how you use it in a meal it makes your dining experience that much better.

Bacon and guacamole? Let it sink in.
Done marinating? It’s not that strange if you think about it, avocado and bacon are often accomplices on a variety of sandwiches. Now, I’d read the New Times, I knew this dish was voted one of Miami’s 100 Best but I don’t think I knew it would also be addictive. Served in a heavy, stone bowl which you might think is meant to be decorative or authentic… don’t be fooled, they just don’t want you to pick it up and lick the bowl.
Post bacon guac (dear, sweet bacon guac) we enjoyed a family style meal of chicken enchiladas, Veracruz red snapper, carne asada, rice, and beans. The snapper was delicious and light, the carne asada was different from my Nica version but still tasty and hearty, the enchillada had a little kick to it but was also good.
It took all the willpower I have to not down my vanilla cake and vanilla flan dessert.
Perhaps what most caught my attention though was El Scorpion’s bar.
Tequila isn’t my friend. Tequila isn’t my enemy. It’s more of a frenemy. Sometimes smooth and easy sometimes sneaking up on me with the hellish double whammy surprise of intoxication surrounded by regret. Knowing that about 130 Tequilas reside at El Scorpion is both tempting and frightening. Could this be the ultimate Cinco de Mayo location for a night fueled by ice cold tequila shots, sangrita chasers, only to end in the morning after maladies from which the holy trinity of pain killers, water, and greasy food can barely save me? I don’t know but I do know that if I ever want to take a trip down that cactus laden rabbit hole I’m coming to El Scorpion, sitting at the comfortable, pretty bar, and pointing at my poison.

This place was really really awesome. I was looking for authentically prepared tacos topped with cilantro and a side of lime. I was looking for fresh margaritas made with house squeezed sour. El Scorpion delivered on all counts.
Raul, our server, was a doll. Completely well-​versed on the menu items and didn’t steer us wrong once.
The guac was homemade and served in one of those volcano looking earth bowls — lovely touch. Everything was delicious and I expect this to become a South Beach restaurant a step above the rest.

I tried not to let the fact that Tuscan Steak was one of my favs get in the way of my liking El Scorpion… RIP Tuscan!
I was very much looking forward to trying this place, and went for a friend’s 30 b-​day bash. The décor is nice and the ambiance is lively. You can tell everyone was having a fun time.
We started off w/​some wine, which was ridiculously overpriced and the selection was surprisingly limited. My husband works in the wine industry and was taken aback by this. Thankfully the food was delish, so we were able to let the wine$ distaste go.
We ordered appetizers for the table, and I have 2 words for you — Bacon Guacamole. We tried the regular, which was also good, but the bacon guac was heavenly. Even the bites without actual bacon were bacon infused. We also ordered corn on the cobs baked with cheese and spices — almost melted in your mouth.
The nachos were my favorite. They were gourmet style and each bite packed a melting pot of queso blanco, cilantro and pinto bean. Yum yum yum, and very well done. My only critique here is that they were were small, especially for nachos.
Last we ordered a healthy serving of taco samplers — the Chorizo were my choice of the night, but everyone had good things to say all around.
The wait staff was friendly, but a little disorganized. We were a party of 10, and it was as if were were too large for them to manage; however, they were all very professional and had a good crasp of the menu.
I would try it again, and I hope to give it 4 stars next time.

Decided to try this place out after seeing it in the Miami New Times review and I was in the neighborhood with a friend of mine. We sat down and were given an extensive Tequila list and a menu. We both were not interested in alcohol but they sure seems to know their tequila. We started with an appetizer of «Borracha Salsa» which I personally did not like I felt the tequila in it overpowered the rest of the vegetables and spices. We continued to munch on chips and the house salsa when we asked for more they said it would be a $ 2.50 charge only the first ones free.
We both ordered the Taco Platter, I ordered the baco, chorizo, and Al pastor soft taco’s. They tasted very good and for a little extra they come with beans and rice which tasted great. The only thing I did not like was the fact I was not sure which taco was which, there was no explanation when they were delivered. Finally I had to get my sweet tooth filled so I had a cinnamon nacho/​with cream cheese and dulce leche basically a diabetic shock waiting to happen. The mixture of the cinnamon sugar with the creamyness of the cheese is a great balance. Very tasty but highly recommended sharing because it is a good amount of sugar. Overall it was good food but this place seems to be going more for their tequila selection than their food quality. Their desserts were the only thing I felt that really stood out.
The Good: Great Service and knowledgeable staff, she knew the menu inside and out.
The Bad:$ 2.50 charge for salsa refill.

First off…50% off! we had made reservations for the night that was supposed to be their opening day, they didnt get their licenses in time so they told us if we came in that weekend they would give us 50% off our check, which they did without us even having to remind them.
Guacamole (verde) — really good. i am usually very tough on restaurant guacamole and i love theirs. ive tried a few of their versions and while this one is still my fave they have all been good.
Habanero remoulade — nice and spicy, very good.
Queso fundido (reg) — what can i say, melted cheese… its delicious.
Borracha (salsa) eh, would never have again bland and expensive
Elote — obsession worthy. a big corn on the cob with yummy cheese all over and a nice cream sauce
Rajas c/​crema — roasted poblanos with a yummy creamy sauce. i could honestly just eat a whole plate of this… unfortunately for me, i actually do care about my waist line
Camaron tacos — ok
Pollo barbacoa — ok
Tilapia taco — delicious, probably the best of the tacos ive tried
Al pastor — ok, not the best pastor ive had but def very good
Chorizo taco — really good
Bacon taco — amazing.
Vanilla bean flan — wouldnt order again. overall, desserts are very weak in this restaurant. i really think this place would do well with ordering desserts from somewhere instead of continuing to try to make them…
the service is really outstanding here WHEN yoshua (sp?) is your waiter. if you can, request him, he is adorable and is very excited and knowledgeable about the menu

4 not 5 because the encheladas verde are better at La Taqueria in NYC, and a few other places. But, the Mexican corn is the best Ive ever had, better than La Taqueria and Calexio in Soho, people lovin mexican cuisine and are in NYC know that’s saying alot! Flan kicked us to flan heaven and the house margherita called the «Spirit Bird «just might be the reason this review is a 4! Seriously though, order the «spirit bird margherita «and get the waiter tell the story of the bird to start your night. Then order the queso with chorizo and guacamole with bacon as a starter. From that point on, you are guaranteed SATISFACTION for your night out in South Beach. Your Welcome ;)

I thought this place was awesome! Great ambiance and the prices were decent… The only reason I won’t give them 5 stars is because our server was just not all there. We would ask for recommendations and she would just say «everything is good»… Ok? Thanks for the help there buddy… But that wasn’t the answer I was looking for! And also, I know it’s a tequila bar and all, but they didn’t have a wine list or a dessert menu… But overall I think this place is great and I’ll definitely come back for more!

Very dissapointing! Not Mexican food at all. Service was good. But definitely not to China Grill management stardards. So sad. Rosa Mexicana in brickell is sooooo much what I was expecting.
We ordered guacamole verde and it was lame no flavor at all. Ordered salsa borracha for $ 8 which was more like a fruit salad. Bad! My taco platter was aweful. Beans came out of a can. Rice was dry and no flavor. My friends ceviche was so spicy that he couldn’t take one bite. I’m mexican and it’s a disgrace what they’re doing to Mexican food! Go to Rosa mexicana in brickell!

I held back on writing this review until after making a second trip. Both my meals were EXCELLENT. Sure the server the second time around just arrived from from somewhere that has Spanish as an after-​school elective and had never heard of cortaditos and she gave us serving spoons for our desserts, but I have to imagine they were understaffed and threw her out there for abuse last minute. Why do I say that? Because my server the first time, the manager and just about everyone else seem to know the menu inside and out.
On our first trip, we had originally scheduled our reservations for their grand opening on Wednesday, which they had to cancel. As a result, they offered us a 50% discount on the entire meal, which they honored, including liquor.
The restaurant looks little changed from its predecessor, which is ok. Tuscan Steak was a fine looking restaurant. If some serious changes were made, I apologize, I was not a fan and did not dine there often. Décor was obviously new and we sat under a large picture of a jimador harvesting an agave piña.
On to the food:
Verde guacamole — limey then creamy, finishing with a fresh albeit slightly earthy taste. Their guacamole is very good.
Bacon Guacamole — sound fatty? It wasn’t. This is more of a balanced guacamole, with the bacon adds a smoky aspect that is nice.
Elote Asado — Corn scraped tableside and served with crumbled cheeses and lime and chiles. I thought it was a silly order for $ 7.00, but it tasted very good.
Regular Nachos — ton of flavor in these. Slightly smokey and charred complementing the cheese used.
Queso Fundido — pure cheese as advertised, though none of the grease you usually get. Tasted great with the pineapple pico de gallo they brought us.
Rajas con Crema — my wife loved this. Basically a light cream combined with some roasted poblanos. I think we were supposed to use the flour tortillas with it and combine with other things on the table, but we mostly dunked our chips into it.
Tacos:
Bacon, Camaron, Chorizo — I think the bacon was my favorite. Rich, intense, with an underlying aromatic note from cloves (?) (which I typically dislike). Excellent. The one I believe was the chorizo tasted very similar to my wife’s Barbacoa taco.
Al Pastor — Interesting, a little sweet for me owing to the pineapple, but very good.
Both fish– I did not try but was told they were very good.
Enchiladas Verde– Very good quality, but nothing better than a good recipe made at home.
Puerco Pibil — excellent, nuanced flavors that danced around, begging me to take smaller bites to enjoy better. Light spice, light smoke. It was an enjoyable dish even if it’s not as heavy as you might be used to.
Both times we finished the meal with an incredibly custardy and not so sweet (if you’re cuban) flan. It was very good, even if somewhat different to the one I am accustomed, and about the size of one serving spoon.
The bar here was above par for Miami. I am not a huge fan of margaritas, as I find them somewhat boring, but ordered a cadillac margarita (pick your blanco, cointreau, lime juice). Margarita was so-​so. My wife had the gumption and wisdom to order a mezcal based drink, for which she was rewarded with a «Scorched Earth». For any cocktail nerds, this has no bearing on the drink by the same name by Gary Regan. What did come was an up cocktail with mezcal, reposado tequila, sparkling apple juice, couple other ingredients, and a flamed orange zest. It is a drink worthy of any NYC, Boston or DC bar. Clean interesting and sophisticated. This made me very happy. Second time around, they had incorporated a «molegroni», a mezcal variation on the negroni, with mole bitters (
). I confess I have not tried mole bitters yet (just arrived in the US), but I could not tell they were in there. Still, it was a superb variation of the negroni.

Inedible. I went in with high expectations, knowing the owners of the restaurant and being under the impression that they knew what they were doing. The food was greasy, flavorless, sloppy, ugly. At one point, I bit into a shrimp taco that tasted so fishy I had to spit it out in front of my entire table. I guess if you drink enough tequila the food may begin to take a back seat to the «decent» guacamole which was nothing special (I can make it better at home). Alas, the dessert failed as well. The flan was weak, was lacking flavor, and could have been found at a buffet line at a poor hotel. I would suggest not going here, saving your money, and going to Lime, which is 100 times better, fresher, and tastier.
Sorry for the awful review, maybe someone over there will read it and taste the food next time before sending it out to the patrons.

Went here for a birthday party last night. We had a big group and were very lacksadasical about ordering, so I really cannot comment on the service speed. The servers were pleasant and friendly, though.
The food was quite good. Surprisingly, really. I call it fru-​fru Mexican. Now, to me, Mexican should be down-​home. I was really unsure if I was going to like this. And, honestly, most swanky restaurants do too much and just ruin good food. But, we ordered the Guacamole, of course, and it was some of the best I’ve had (aside from my own homemade). Very fresh, not too much nonsense, just a good mix of veggies and lightly spiced.
The beans were very good, but too salty. The rice had an interesting smokey flavor. I had the chicken enchiladas, and they were quite good. More tangy than I am used to, but still good.
Still and all, for your money, just go to El Rancho Grande for good mex at good prices.

We waited for friends at the bar before getting seated and decided to eat at another place. The restaurant is soooo noisy with music blasting that it is impossible to hear another person talk.
I will check it out again later because I am curious what the food tastes like. Will wait for better reviews at Unilocal confirming that the volume went down a bit.

Yes for bacon guacamole! Yummmmm. Happy to have some authentic Mexican on south beach. Service is lacking but it’s still new and they’re probably still working out the kinks– besides, south beach and good service don’t normally go together anyway. Perfect for a light dinner and some good tequila to start out the night. Great music selection, and a pool table (just bring your own quarters. the bar was out…)