This restaurant is going to be a little more difficult for my California-based readers to visit, but I’m hoping you can bookmark this for your next Florida vacation!

Key Biscayne is one of the first of the Florida Keys, meaning you can reach it by car and not by 4-hour-long ferry ride (sweet).

I’ve never been much of an island person (I’ve always felt that if you’ve seen one you’ve seen them all) but I’m not opposed to spending a few hours wasting away the day on an island now and then.

Cantina Beach is a beachside restaurant serving up delicious Cuban and Mexican food with a view of the ocean. It’s located at the Ritz Carlton Key Biscayne, which immediately made me think it won’t be very authentic at all, but I was wrong.

Plantain empanadas filled with corn, Chihuahua cheese, cilantro and poblano sauce; elote; crispy shrimp in a spicy mango sauce and mojitos in every fruit flavor are just a few of the delicious items you’ll find on the menu.

We ordered so many plantain empanadas I thought we were going to burst!

Besides the delicious food, you’ll want to stay in the atmosphere. The restaurant has a palapa roof, which was built by the Miccosukee Tribe of Native Americans, and has soft couches and fire pits to enhance the experience.

Getting here from South Beach was an expensive Uber ride (and a long Uber ride thanks to rush-hour traffic) but I’d do it again and again for some more of those plantain empanadas.