La Fresa Francesa! Yes, I’ve heard of it. Yes, I know it’s in Hialeah. Yes, I’ve read it’s amazing. Yes, people say it’s like nothing ever before seen in Hialeah. Yes! Yes! Yes! So why hadn’t I been there? I took care of that problem on a recent Saturday and invited my mom, Cary, to lunch at the place, apparently, everyone had been to but me.
No rice and beans here just a mash up of some of your Cuban and French favorites. The food mash up the result of the human mash up made up of Hialeah girl Sandy Sanchez and her French boyfriend/chef Benoit Rabla.
She runs the front of the house taking orders and he’s in the kitchen making things like the red wine braised oxtail sandwich with arugula and radishes ($15) My entire Cuban family has been eating oxtail aka “rabo encendido” my entire life. I’ve never been a fan but this sandwich just takes it to a whole other level. The French onion soup is executed to perfection and so are the tortured (shaved) Brussels ($12) with hazelnuts, dates and Parmesan cheese. Even Cary, who’s main vegetable intake consists of avocados and tomatoes, was amazed by how tasty the Brussels were. She was also fascinated by the pistachio crusted goat cheese ($10) served with frisee lettuce drizzled with honey and a sherry vinaigrette.
I don’t think I’ve ever seen my Cuban mother eat goat cheese. The French toast is to die and their foie gras sandwiched between a Cuban guava
pastry ($20) is OUT OF CONTROL! Cary was very impressed!
Menu items like the “un Cubano in Paris” sandwich ($9.75), “el pollo Eiffel” chicken ($9.75), and the “oye mami” Cubanita crepe ($7.50) are just some of the innovative things on the menu that make this place so unique.
The decor inside La Fresa Francesa is sort of shabby chic. Gershwin tunes play in the background, the vintage dishes are mismatched and the guava mimosas are served in old fashioned champagne coupes. It makes you feel like you could be in a little Paris or Provence cafe only you’re in Hialeah on Rue Okeechobee Road.
Belkys Best Bite: Braised oxtail sandwich (special of the day so not always available)
La Fresa Francesa
59 W 3rd St.
Hialeah, FL 33010
?(786) 717-6886
Follow me on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook @belkysnerey
Copyright 2025 Sunbeam Television Corp. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.