Kiki – Do You Love Me?

Update 5/24/22 – I returned to Kiki over the weekend and the experience was the total opposite of my first post below. Our reservation was for 10PM and we arrived on time. We were told that the table was not ready and to wait at the bar. Forty minutes later I went to follow up on the table and was told that it would be another 45 minutes. After some time passed, I went to follow up a second time and was told it might be up to an hour! At this point it was evident that they did not actually know when they could seat us and/or the hostess was not willing to provide any type of help…so we just left. I did some research after and found that a lot of people had a similar experience. Here are some thoughts as to why this time was so different than when I went in 2021:

A) last time we were a party of 2 and this time 4; maybe they have a harder time with seating as groups get larger as most people come in groups and stay longer to enjoy the party vibe

B) Maybe we were just lucky last time and unlucky this time though I don’t think this is likely as there are many others on Google with similar complaints

C) The later you go in the evening, the harder it is to be seated on time

Regardless of the reason, I believe a business transaction is a two way thing. The restaurant needs to respect your time. If they have a strict cancellation policy, it should also be that they have a strict “seating within a reasonable time” policy. If they know they are busy, they should enforce a table maximum time limit. In terms of the vibe, it was still wild and fun; however, after this experience, I would not return.

2021 – Going to the website for Kiki on the River in Miami, you might be mistaken, as my friend was, that it is “just” a Mediterranean restaurant. He wanted a place to celebrate his birthday, I recommended Kiki, his reply “..but its just a Mediterranean restaurant”…..

If you only go by the website, you will miss out on a fun dining experience in Miami. Kiki, just like Baoli, is a hybrid club/restaurant venue. To me, the crowd and setting is better at Kiki; the food better at Baoli; but you don’t come to these places primarily for food, you go to party.

We went on a Sunday night and reserved a table for dinner (if you plan to go, you should verify the night you intend to go will be a “good” night). Here was the scene:

The food and service was not as good as Baoli. I had octopus and salmon. Decent, but nothing memorable.

Because it was so busy, service was a bit slow and not so attentive, but not bad. After dinner, you can head over to the club part of the venue.

As the name suggests, Kiki on the River is set on water. There are yachts parked next door to the venue, and there is a constant stream of beautiful people arriving at the front. Overall, if you are looking for a big night out with dinner and party, this was probably the best place we experienced.