El Rey de las Fritas is a landmark and mini-chain of restaurants in Miami, Florida. Their signature sandwich is the Frita Cubana or Cuban Frita, which some folks know as a Cuban Burger.
The Frita Cubana was street food in Cuba sold out of a “puesto,” similar to our hot dog pushcarts. The small sandwiches migrated to Miami in the early 1960s, where specialty shops continued spreading the good word of the spiced burger patty.
Let’s start with the food discussion and then move on to the history of El Rey de las Fritas.
El Rey de las Fritas in Little Havana
El Rey de las Fritas – Little Havana
1821 SW 8th Street
Miami, FL
(305) 858-4223
Website – https://www.elreydelasfritas.com
Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/reydelasfritas
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/reydelasfritas
Monday 8:00 am – 9:00 pm
Tuesday 8:00 am – 9:00 pm
Wednesday 8:00 am – 9:00 pm
Thursday 8:00 am – 9:00 pm
Friday 8:00 am – 9:00 pm
Saturday 8:00 am – 9:00 pm
Sunday 9:00 am – 4:30 pm
More Restaurant Locations
In addition to El Rey de las Frita‘s best-known location in Little Havana, there are restaurants in Hialeah, Westchester, and Sweetwater.
El Rey de las Fritas – Hialeah
421 W 29th Street
Hialeah, FL
(305) 863-0880
El Rey de las Fritas – Westchester
9343 SW 40th Street
Miami, FL
(305) 223-9944
El Rey de las Fritas – Sweetwater
10142 W Flagler Street
Miami, FL
(305) 223-7260
El Rey de las Fritas History
Victoriano “Benito” Gonzalez sold the Frita Cubana in Placetas, Cuba, until 1968. Before founding El Rey de las Fritas in 1979, Benito was the chef at Palacio de las Fritas. Most folks don’t know that the original El Rey location was right off Coral Way at 2240 SW 32nd Avenue.
In 1982, the former Fritas Domino restaurant location (1177 SW 8th Street) in Little Havana became available, and Benito snapped it up. His brother-in-law moved from New Jersey to run this new spot while he continued running the original location.
El Rey de las Fritas in Little Havana would popularize Fritas outside the Cuban community. Not long after closing the Coral Way restaurant, his brother-in-law Ortelio left the establishment to open El Mago de las Fritas in West Miami.
The King Must Expand
Benito‘s frita palace would flourish and open another location in Hialeah. But unfortunately, he would pass away in 2005, creating a legacy many Miamians hold close to their hearts. The business was left in his family’s (wife Angelina, son Yamil, daughter Mercy, and her husband Gino) more than capable hands.
Angelina runs the original Calle Ocho location. Mercy and Gino fluctuate between the locations in Hialeah and Sweetwater. Yamil’s restaurant is on a busy strip mall corner in the Westchester part of Miami, where I grew up.
Hot Dogs are BACK at El Rey de las Fritas
The original El Rey de las Fritas restaurant in Little Havana had hot dogs on the menu. It was a perro caliente enrollado or a wrapped hot dog.
The hot dogs had a slice of bacon rolled around the wiener and then griddled. When I first wrote about El Rey‘s dogs on this blog, the fellas were still on the menu.
In Cuba, bacon-wrapped hot dogs were a thing. In Nitza Villapol‘s (the legendary Cuban cook) cookbook, a recipe for perros rellenos, a brother from another mother of the enrollado, was featured.
Back from Menu Limbo
Hot dogs are back at El Rey de las Fritas after a more than ten-year hiatus. So, what exactly does the revamp include?
They swung for the fences with this puppy. The sando includes two split-griddled all-beef hot dogs topped with frita sauce, cooked diced onions, and julienne potatoes on pressed Medianoche bread.
I couldn’t help myself and requested the addition of a slice of American cheese (Swiss is available, too) and their house-made cilantro sauce. Now, this is the way to get it!
Trust me; I’m a connoisseur of cylindrical meats. So, when you order one, let me know which one you tried.
Of course, no visit to El Rey de las Fritas is complete without a Frita Cubana. Don’t know what a Frita is?
They’re Cuba’s version of smash burgers sold out of carts in the first half of the twentieth century. Few are still available on the island, but its permanent home became Miami in the early 1960s.
More about the Frita Cubana this way 👉 HISTORY + RECIPE
The best!