Cafe Noir is an upscale dairy restaurant located in Miami, FL. The Kosher Cactus visited in April of 2021. This review was written in May, 2021.
- Where is Cafe Noir located?
- The vibe at Cafe Noir
- What kind of food do they serve at Cafe Noir?
- Kosher Certification
- Is Cafe Noir kid-friendly?
- Is Cafe Noir wheelchair accessible?
- Final Thoughts
Where is Cafe Noir located? What is the best way to get there?
Cafe Noir is located at 3000 Stirling Road, suite 112, Hollywood, Florida.
The cafe is open from 8AM-11PM Sun-Thursday, 8AM-2:30PM Fridays, and winter Saturdays from 7:30PM-12AM.
Cafe Noir is located in a strip-mall, with quite a few parking spaces available directly outside. It’s just a 13 minute drive from Ft Lauderdale International Airport, and 15 minutes from Hollywood Beach.
There is an outdoor dining patio, as well as seating directly in front of the cafe.
You can order from the Cafe online via PostMates or UberEats.
Do I need to dress up fancy to visit?
You can dress up or down, depending on how you feel.
The cafe space is bright and airy outside, with dim lighting and dark accent pieces inside. This gives you huge wardrobe flexibility- you can ‘jeans-and-tee’ your breakfast, or ‘black-tie’ your dinner.
When I visited, we came directly from an outing at the park, so we were dressed pretty simply. We sat outside because the weather was gorgeous. Basically, your outfit is up to you.
What type of food does Cafe Noir serve?
The restaurant serves dairy and parve food. The menu includes pastas, pizzas, salads, fish and more.
They specialize in brick-oven pizzas (I recommend the Milano Pizza, which is made with fresh mozzarella). All the pizzas are made in-house, and if you sit inside, you can watch them slide right out of the oven. It smells incredible.
The Cafe has in-house baristas, bartenders and sommeliers- this is basically the best restaurant in Miami to get really fantastic drinks.
If you aren’t drinking alcohol, the coffee is particularly good, especially the Iced Cappuccino.
What is the Menu at Cafe Noir?
We ordered Crispy Sweet Potato Salad (it was a late lunch), Fish and Chips, Quinoa Salad, Greek Salad, mac-and-cheese for the kids, Iced Cappuccino, Strawberry Mango Smoothie, Vanilla Milkshake and Dynamite sushi roll.
The food did not disappoint. Everything was served quickly and tasted incredibly fresh. The sweet potato crisps were hot, the potatoes were steaming, the iced drinks were freezing and the fish was perfectly done.
The hottest item on the menu, according to the staff, is any of the appetizers. That makes sense to me- everything looks delicious.
I can definitely see myself returning with some friends and doing a tasting menu of apps… I mean, they have an Eggplant TOWER. Like eggplant parmesan, in a TOWER.
What else do they serve?
- Appetizers
- Salads
- Sandwiches
- Paninis
- Burgers
- Pizza
- Pasta
- Fish
- Sushi
- Cold and Blended Drinks
- Hot Drinks
- Desserts
What is the best dish at Cafe Noir?
Because of its proximity to the water (hello, Miami), the best dish at the restaurant is the Fish and Chips. Served up for a whopping $20.99, this dish is crazy inexpensive for the sheer volume of flavor it packs.
The Fish and Chips is beer-battered mahi-mahi, fried to golden perfection and lightly drizzled with a house-tartar sauce. The chips are not french fries (thankfully), but thick cut potato wedges.
And to top it all off, a heaping of rustic coleslaw, with exactly the correct ratio of dressing to cabbage. Not gross and soggy, not dry and flavorless… just Per-fec-tion.
What is the Hashgacha at Cafe Noir?
Cafe Noir is under the kosher supervision of the Orthodox Rabbinical Board of Miami (ORB).
All food is Chalav Yisrael, all bread is Pas Yisroel, and all the wine is Mevushal.
Is the restaurant wheelchair accessible?
Cafe Noir is wheelchair accessible. The tables, inside and outside, are easy to navigate around.
Is Cafe Noir kid-friendly?
The corridor in the back (leading to the restrooms) was wide enough to get through with a stroller, and there are handicapped bathrooms available. The back bathroom was a strange layout- you can lock the outside door and the bathroom stalls. Just check before you sit!
Also- they do have baby high chairs available Although I can imagine the late-night crowd would not be so easy with a baby, at any other time of day the staff were extremely accommodating to our children.
Do I need to make a reservation?
Depending on what time you intend to visit the Cafe, you may need a reservation.
We visited off-peak hour (around 3PM), and it was crowded outside, but pretty quiet inside. We did not need a reservation (thankfully, because we had not made one!)
The cafe does have an option to make reservations online, or by calling 954-584-5171 . Just to be on the safe side, call- no matter what time you intend on visiting. You may reach a message box, but leave a message! They will call you back.
Does the menu have vegetarian options?
Cafe Noir has plenty of vegetarian options, and vegan options, too.
The menu was very cleverly set out in a QR code, which guests can scan to open the full selection on their own phone. I’d recommend looking up the menu before you get there because there are so many delicious things to eat that it will probably take a while to make a decision!
Yes, the Cafe does have a children’s menu. We ordered simple mac-and-cheese for the little ones, and it was exactly that; no extra ingredients to make picky eaters turn up their noses.
How is Cafe Noir dealing with COVID-19?
In following with Florida guidelines, Cafe Noir staff wear masks, and might ask you to keep yours on until you are seated at a table.
The Cafe is currently open at full capacity. If you prefer to be somewhat socially distant, you can sit outdoors (but then you should certainly make a reservation).
Final Thoughts:
Cafe Noir was my favorite restaurant that I visited on a recent trip to Miami.
The food was fresh and plentiful, the service was quick and the staff were polite and helpful. When it’s hot out (which it usually is), the servers are extremely quick to refill water glasses and bring fresh ice to the table. It’s a little touch, but it elevates the dining experience.
Our whole visit was full of thoughtful little gestures like that. In fact, the Cafe was probably the best restaurant I have ever been to in the US. I would genuinely give it a 5/5.
