See Ya, Madiba

“You’ve reached what was previously known as Madiba Miami,” says the recorded voice on the telephone. “We are now open for private parties and catering only.”

And so we bid farewell to this hip import from Brooklyn, which had seemingly settled in comfortably on the west side of South Beach. The fun and funky eatery, named after a term of endearment for Nelson Mandela, was based on the traditional South African Shebeen, an informal social hall of sorts. The initial New Times review of the restaurant was lukewarm, but word of mouth was positive over the years, and the downstairs club had become a Beach bastion for reggae music on the weekends. Seems possible that nearby Sardinia, packing in the crowds on a nightly basis, stole Madiba’s thunder, but that is merely speculation — the owners as of this writing have not returned New Times‘ phone call. –Lee Klein