La Cerveceria de Barrio opens second Beach location on Ocean Drive

As we sat down for lunch at La Cerveceria de Barrio on Ocean Drive it seemed as though the first location on Lincoln Road had just opened so, I had to ask the manager and she confirmed that it indeed opened four months ago.

However, I only tried samples from their menu at their Lincoln Road grand opening so when I was invited to visit the new spot, I was happy to stop in for lunch.

Now in all honesty, I found it surprising that they chose Ocean Drive but I will admit, it is on the quieter side of the very touristy strip of South Beach, away from the craziness between 5th and 10th streets. They're located on 14th St. very close to The Betsy Hotel.

The space is surprisingly large, very colorful and inviting. The refreshing draft beer was great with the complimentary sauces and tostadas they bring out. All of the sauces have quite a bit of kick (I tried each one so I can attest to that fact) and my favorite by far was the bottled sauce that had a sweet flavor.

You come to a Mexican restaurant, you have to order the guacamole. This one was good, very fresh, but lacking a little in salt but the crunchy, salty, light tortillas made up for it a little. The crunchy white onions added zip and the molcajete it was served in made for a nice presentation.

We then moved on to mains where my son chose the shrimp tacos three to an order served in a guajillo sauce-smothered homemade corn tortilla accompanied by black beans topped with cotija cheese and fluffy buttery rice and a small black bean salad. I chose the gulf shrimp enfrijoladas, three tacos filled with shrimp cooked in onion, jalapeno and tomato served in homemade corn tortillas smothered in a black bean sauce and topped with onions and cilantro. They were good but portions were a bit small for the price.

We ended the meal with a homemade nutella empanada sprinkled with powdered sugar and oozing creamy, decadent nutella. The ice cream scoop atop fresh cut strawberries was refreshing and added a pop of color. It was delicious.

At La Cerveceria the service is attentive and the decor is pretty and even though the prices are a bit high, it's a nice Mexican spot.

La Cerveceria de Barrio, 1412 Ocean Dr. or 836 Lincoln Rd., Miami Beach