Located on Washington Road (a major road dotted with head shops and tattoo parlors). Chalan on the Beach is not in fact on the beach but close to it. Chalan serves a primarily Peruvian ( a great choice when you have World Cup fever and the Miami heat both going on in the middle of June) based ethnic food that bleeds into typical South American fair. A major highlight is the huge number of seafood dishes like ceviche de pescado or camarones only to name a few. Most of the fish is caught locally so the food tends to be fresher than other restaurants but mostly only for Atlantic fish.

While the major highlight of the menu is fish, there are still a fair number of chicken, beef and vegetable dishes all with a Peruvian twist like skirt steak with wine sauce or cilantro based soup. All of the main dishes come with a good helping of two sides (French fries, rice, beans etc.) that make sure that one leaves quite full if one can even move after eating in the first place. A large selection of ethnic wines/beers along with typical house wines and American beers (all are cheaper than typical SPBE prices).

In addition, they have great Peruvian coffee that should be on a list of things to try if you are in the area. The restaurant itself is small as are the tables. Having three large dishes on a table makes it hard to have any space to eat without touching someone else’s food.  The night we dined the wait staff was a little thin to that service can be a little slow. For us it took some time to get a check as our waiter had five other active tables. Come if you have time to enjoy your dinner time in a leisurely fashion, but not if you are in a rush to move onto other activities.

With hours from 11:00 a.m., to 11:00 p.m. most days, Chalan is best if one goes later in the night to avoid overcrowding in a small dining area as it is a popular place any given night.. The prices are reasonable with $11-$14 being the cost of many dishes. In addition but one’s money buys a lot of food so expect leftovers.

· Location: 1580 Washington Ave, Miami Beach, FL 33139
· Menu:: http://southflorida.menupages.com/restaurants/chalan-on-the-beach/menu
· Phone: (305) 532-8880

Hours:Monday to Saturday-11:00 a.m. to 11 p.m. and 11 a.m. until 10 p.m. on Sunday