Tarpon Bend

I’m here on a Friday to join my friends for happy hour. Super crowded. Which I don’t mind… Has a good vibe with huge sliding glass doors that open so you can walk between the outside and inside.
However… I go to get a drink from the bar and I ask what scotch do you have? The bartender has NO IDEA!!! She tells me she has to go to the back to check?! So I asked another gentlemen bartender and he only knows 3 scotches they have which are lower quality… How can you not know if you have any good scotches more than 12 yr. SO DISAPPOINTING!!!

I stumbled into this place on Friday night for happy hour w some coworkers. The bar was packed but the service was pretty fast. The crowd is great because it’s mostly people that work around the area and are just unwinding to start the weekend. Overall the best happy hour in the area.
Food
Since I was extremely happy with my first visit I decided to come on date night for dinner. The server was extremely knowledgable and friend. The food was great (I had the salmon). While everything was quite perfect, my only complaint is that is a little to loud for date nights or business meetings.

If you are staying near coral gables and you only have one night to experience south Florida food and night life, this is the place. Fantastic drinks and food seriously, fantastic.
The grilled calamari steak app was very very tasty. I had the fresh grill mahi del ajo that was really special. The plantains were out of this world.
The 2 – 1 dirty martinis were just great. Last but not least crowd here is greeting ready for the nightclubs so you get to see the crowds without having to industrial house music.
I will go back again.

This place is just a great spot to always have in your back pocket. When you’re in the Gables and want a quick break, they have a long happy hour and their food is delicious. I love the fish tacos here, the spinach and artichoke dip, the ahi burger, pretty much everything. Not sure if its a seasonal plate, but I had a coconut curry soup there and I probably could’ve eaten about 5 of those bowls.

Always great food and the best happy hour

Tarpon bend is amazing. I recently tried it w my girls for a hangover meal and it totally hit the spot. Andrew, the Manager, totally saw to it we had great service and the mimosas with sage and pineapple were amazing! We pigged out on everything from he fish tacos, fries, crepes with cinnamon whip cream, turkey burger and Brussel sprouts… All were great dishes. The atmosphere is very hip and vibrant and I love the music. Has a nice indoor outdoor feel. Perfect for happy hour as well! I’ll definitely be back.

Salmon and Mahi were cooked to perfection. It’s obvious they know how to prepare fish. Nothing worse than dry over cooked fish.
Smoked fish dip was delicious!
We have been coming here for over 10 years. Consistent service and quality.

I went to Tarpon bend with a few friends for happy hour. It is a nice looking place. The deals on the drink were pretty good for the area. The food is super expensive for a bar. Overall a good place to have a few drinks with friends doing happy hour

Started going here at first for their happy hour with friends… You can’t beat the ambiance and the 2 for 1 drinks. Then I tried their food one day and realized their seafood is really fresh and delicious! My favorite is their pan fried snapper. The oyster shooters topped with a shot of vodka are yummy and the mojitos are pretty good too!

Good place for local gables residents. Parking can be a little inconvenient but usually not bad. Slightly overpriced but reasonably. Bottomless mimosas on Sunday and they have tv’s at the bar for football. That itself is worth a trip to at least try. Def worth a good try!

Second time we’re overcharged for drinks at this place!
Never coming back! The first time we were billed over $ 600 for a $ 200 bill. They do take the time to go over it but when they give you their explanation of the tab it’s like they take advantage of the fact you were drinking to question your reasoning and talk to you like you don’t know what you’re talking about. They need to better train their waitresses.

Went for a business lunch our group was 12 and we were seated outside under the covered patio. The service was terrific as they assigned several staff to our table. For appetizers we all had oysters on ice as well as tuna sashimi served a cucumber edamame salad. For my main course I had a grilled shrimp and arugula salad. My colleague shared his fried chicken the outer coating was delicious.

Last night my sweet Michelle took mami and me to dinner at Tarpon Bend (my old stomping grounds at Miracle Mile in Coral Gables). They have fairly priced valet service and the ambiance was nearly perfect; with bright – but not so bright lighting, ocean décor and live soft music to lull you.
Our drinks were perfection! For our main entrée, mami ordered the Mahi, Michelle ordered southern-​fried chicken and I ordered the pan-​fried snapper. Fortunately for [moi], I made what turned out to be the best choice of the night. Mami’s Mahi-​mahi was good, but the rice and beans might as well have been prepared at a fast-​food place! They were not authentic Cuban-​style (more like instant rice, and beans from a can). To make matters worse… overly salty! Michelle’s chicken was terrible and although our server wisely attempted to emphasize the difference between southern-​fried and battered fried, to my disdain, her effort was insulting, as I have eaten southern-​style chicken in Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana. This chicken was simply and visibly burnt to a crisp (see photos). Be that as it may and having worked for many years in the service industry, and my daughter having been a server trainer in a gourmet restaurant for five (5) years, we know excellence in customer service first-​hand and the staff working last night are no amateurs! What soon became a very unpleasant experience was turned around by the catering customer service skills of Mariah, coupled with Andy, the manager who stands up above the rest in his connection and kind service to his patrons. Our night was redeemed and I suddenly found myself dining at Bouley in New York City.
Due to Diana, our perky, fun and professional hostess, Mariah and Andy, I am compelled to award this Tarpon Bend five stars for overall customer satisfaction, and a short three stars for the food. That being said, we will recommend and return to this restaurant, as we are confident that Andy will correct the food preparation issues with his Chef. The owner is very fortunate to have him collaborate beside him!

Fantastic. I came here on a Thursday with my friends to celebrate a birthday. And what a perfect night it was! Every Thursday, Tarpon Bend has Mojito Madness, during which they offer Mojitos of many flavors for $ 3.50 each. They’re made of fresh fruit and come in watermelon, blackberry, grapefruit, pineapple, peach, raspberry, regular Mojito flavored and others. The service is good and they’re quick to offer seconds. Because they’re so cheap, it’s a good opportunity to try several and establish your palate. It’s not often that you can try so many at this price. My favorites are the standard Mojito flavor and the raspberry drinks.
We ordered a few appetizers as well. We split the spinach and artichoke dip which was addicting, as those dips usually are, and perfectly warm to compliment with the crispy chips. We also ordered a side of sweet potato fries and the Szechuan Calamari which I loved. I’m a fan of fried calamari whether it’s with chipotle sauce, avocado, marinara and lemon, sweet dipping sauce, pretzel crumbs in the batter, or on its own, but this was a style I had never experienced. Tossed with a garlic chili sauce, miso aioli chopped peanuts, and sesame, this was an entirely new experience. I loved how sweet and savory it was and that it was still crunchy on top of it all. They key to calamari is that it’s crunchy without being too chewy, and this mixed Asian flavors on top of the fried saltiness, so it was consistently surprising.
They have events multiple nights per week here so check it out. It’s a great spot for small groups in booths, or large groups after work. It’s a fun place to go on the weekends, because it offers various indoor and outdoor settings.

I love the big round table circulating the bar near the entrance, it looked modern and cool. This allows people walking by to see Tarpon Bend’s edgy and stylish architecture, which I liked a lot. Once inside, the lighting is great and they start dimming the lights and the music becomes more lively. We did not have any trouble finding parking, which was a miracle since Miracle Mile is always packed.
So I came here yesterday for the celebration of a dear friend of mine. While I did really like the restaurant, I am not sure I can say the same about our waiter. He was not very attentive and a lot of the people from our felt like he tricked us into paying more. The wait time for our drinks and food took a whilllle. I was so happy with my choice for a meal. While I usually don’t like veggies these were great! The cream on the pasta was not too thick and not over powering, so I could taste the mushrooms and other vegetables.
It’s supposed to be «ladies night» at Tarpon Bend, but apparently that only applies if your table is seated with girls ONLY, no guys whatsoever. You could only imagine my disappointment. Yes, it did cross our mind to tell the guys, «You can’t sit with us» haha! I wish they could have made the exception since the girls outranked the guys at the table. Instead we were given the option of buying 2 drinks for the price of one, which lasted up until 9 PM.
It was about 8:58 PM (I looked at my watch) when our waiter started coming around the table offering us if we wanted to get another drink. We were a large group, engulfed in our conversations so we did not realize the offer had expired.
The girls at the table did not realize this and believed the waiter asking them if they wanted the second drink that for the 2 for 1. I think he should have reminded them that the offer was over and the regular price applied, alas he did not which a lot of the guys at the table found unfavorable. I was saved because I noticed the time and did not order the second drink. Needless to say, no one was happy with his service. So imagine when we saw our receipt and saw gratuity is included in the payment
I really hate it when restaurants do this, especially when you are not pleased with your customer service. I am on the fence if I’ll return here again, honestly.

I used to like this place and continued my mental patronage due to sentimental reasons (coming with a friend multiple times and not really eating out of the box). However my experience last night and really my hesitation to come back over the past year has changed my perception of Tarpon Bend. We came for ladies’ night last night (advertised as 50% off food) and were told that since we had a man in our party, we would not be able to take advantage of the deal. Well maybe Tarpon Bend should stipulate THE EXACT RULES to be able to participate in Ladies’ Night since I seemed to be under the strange assumption that LADIES NIGHT simply applies if you are of the female persuasion.
As for the food, the burgers are fine but the oysters are tiny and expensive. On Fridays it’s incredibly packed and impossible to order. I completely agree with Cassie’s review in that I enjoyed this place before I was a young professional, and now have found much better options to spend my time.

My experience at Tarpon Bend was delightful last night. It was a super quiet Saturday evening (not sure why) in the Gables and my sister and I decided we were in the mood for seafood. Our server Joel was so nice and accommodating and really recommended a lot of great dishes and wine. We started out with the Mexican shrimp margarita and it was really tasty, I had the Ahi tuna burger witch was perfectly preparend and my sister had the Cordova special. We both really enjoyed the overall food and the dining experience.

We ordered:
— We all (4 of us) ordered cocktails, they were all very good. No complaints there.
They are slightly high on price, specially given that they are served in smaller cups than other places.
— Sizzling Seafood Kettle: This is more of a showy meal. It comes out literally in a big ol heavy kettle. They pour the soup content onto a plate for you. It’s «showy». It comes with some shrimp, calamari, clams, some fish. It comes in a red tomato sauce. There are some veggies and a couple slices of potatoes.
I was disappointed… and a lil pissed because the portions flat out sucked for this dish. $ 23 for appetizer portions. The portions on the seafood, veggies, even potatoes (literally like 2 or 3 pieces) were all so small it got me a bit… flustered… The flavors were alright, but nothing that left me with a longing to keep eating it…
Overall, I give this plate a 3.
— Tarpon burger– The burger was decent. 3 out of 5. The fries were surprisingly good, like 5 out of 5 for fries. They were thin and crispy.
–Asian Tuna burger: This tuna burger was really good, this is one I would recommend. Easily a 4 out of 5.
— Truffled mac n cheese (as a side) — I also really liked the mac n cheese. I do recommend it as well.
–Blondies– For dessert we ordered their version of blondies. This was definiely the best part of our meal. If they are offering it, do yourself a favor and order these. If I go back to Tarpon Bend, it would probably be just to order these again.
Overall 3 out of 5 experience. The prices were a bit too high for the food I ate (and portions offered). I probably won’t be back given that there are so many good food options in the area and others to explore. The only thing that really stood out from this meal were those dessert blondies!

This neighborhood restaurant and bar was always packed on weekends so I never sought to brave the crowd. However, it was relatively mellow on a Thursday evening, so I decided to give it a go.
I was dining solo so I sat at the bar. There were lots of tv’s with sports showing. The bar area was opened to the outside, which was a nice dining experience during Miami’s mild February winter. Also, they have Happy Hour nightly until 8pm. It’s basically a 2-​for-​1 where they give you a token for a free second drink. Pretty neat!
When I sat down, the bartender greeted me quickly. He asked if I had been there before and I explained that I was new to the area. He then explained the menu and made various recommendations.
I decided to have their Beef Short Rib dinner. While I awaited my meal, a manager appeared with a complimentary platter of Smoke fish & veggies (carrots and celery). He welcomed me to the neighborhood and thanked me for choosing Tarpon Bend. Nice touch! Tasty too!
When my meal arrived, the short rib was a lean, tender 8oz cut served atop creamy mashed potatoes. There was also a delicious jus accompanying the beef. Unexpectedly delicious beef at a seafood restaurant. Kudos!

Came here last night for dinner with the ladies since on Wednesday nights, ladies get half off all food items… Yes, you heard correctly, HALF OFF ALL FOOD ITEMS!
Our server, Joel, was awesome! He was super attentive and incredibly patient. One of my friends didn’t care for her mojito and he took it back immediately with no complaints.
The food was soooo fresh! My tuna sashimi was the freshest I’ve had in a long time. It comes upon a seaweed salad that was very very good.
The meatball appetizer melts in your mouth and the shrimp cocktail was delicious.
They have happy hour until 9pm and we made it there about 5 minutes before 9. Joel was happy to rush in our drink orders… Another reason we loved him!
The one thing I will say is that their wine selection isn’t very good and a bit pricey considering the wine but if you go for happy hour, it’s totally worth it!