The now-shuttered sidewalk café has long been the poster child for complaints about scammy restaurants on Miami Beach's craziest, most argued-over promenade. For years, tourists have griped that they've been stuck with hefty bills after ordering items whose prices were left off the menu of Ocean Drive establishments.
After one too many people paid $120 for an appetizer, Miami Beach has finally stepped in with a dramatic solution — issuing guidelines for menus and requiring city approval for every one of them. Restaurants now must list prices, along with terms and conditions for specials. Service charges have to be spelled out in
In the upside-down-world of Ocean Drive, these were things that actually had to be spelled out. Customers frequently complained that they were blindsided by bills after being enticed by a hostess hawking two-for-one drinks or other deals. In some cases, the prices for specials weren't on the menu and came out to hundreds of dollars, though everything else on the menu was priced in about the $20 range.
"We're trying to ensure that the customer has clarity on what they're about to pay and that they know," Commissioner Mark Samuelian said when the measure was discussed in an April meeting. "That is the basic principle."
Just a few bad actors have ruined the reputation of all of Ocean Drive's restaurants, he and other commissioners say. The new menu rules were created with the support of the Ocean Drive Association and the Chamber of Commerce.
Now, city leaders say they're starting to get the problem under control. In January, City Manager Jimmy Morales ordered La Baguette to close. He cited employees selling alcohol to minors, allowing customers to take alcohol off the property, and not properly disclosing prices. The restaurant will remain closed until it comes up with a menu that meets the city's new requirements.
Commissioners in April voted in favor of the ordinance proposed by Samuelian to require city approval and set rules for sidewalk café menus. During a commission meeting on Monday, they approved menu design guidelines.
The city will start enforcing the new rules in the mixed-use entertainment district on October 1 and in all other zoning districts on January 1 to allow sidewalk café owners time to submit menus to the city for review.
Don't worry: Those giant slushy drinks with two beers sticking out of them are still perfectly legal on the new menus.