The Marhaba Trio is the right place to begin: $20 for hummus, smoky babaghanouj and labneh, served in the compact Coral Gables dining room on Madruga Avenue. Marhaba’s newer outpost brings an established South Miami Lebanese restaurant into a smaller, more intimate setting, with traditional mezas, salads and individually chosen grill skewers. The menu is broad enough for a shared meal but clear enough to navigate without much ceremony. Tabouleh costs $10, chicken kabob is $25, and the mixed-grill combinations run from $35 for three skewers to $65 for six. It is a useful address for Mediterranean food when the table wants to share first and decide on the grill afterwards.
Karpo can check Marhaba’s live hours, help with the route to Madruga Avenue and suggest a nearby Coral Gables backup if seating is tight.
Start with Marhaba’s mezze, then add the grill
The Marhaba Trio is the clearest introduction to the restaurant’s format. At $20, it brings together hummus, babaghanouj and labneh, giving the table three different textures and flavours before the heavier dishes arrive. The babaghanouj is described as smoky, while the labneh brings a tangy counterpoint. It works particularly well as a shared opening rather than a solitary appetiser. The $10 tabouleh is another strong choice, especially for a table that wants something fresh beside the richer mezze and grilled meat. Its parsley, tomatoes, mint, green onions, cracked wheat, lemon and olive oil make it a bright part of the meal, and Coral Gables Magazine singled it out for freshness.
For the main course, the $25 chicken kabob keeps things straightforward: chicken breast with angel-hair rice and grilled vegetables. The more flexible route is the Marhaba Combo. Choose three skewers for $35, four for $45, five for $55 or six for $65, then select from beef, chicken, lamb and lamb kafta. The practical shortcut is to decide the skewer count first, then build the order around the table’s preferences. That makes the combinations easier to share and avoids treating the menu like a long series of separate decisions.
The grill-combo shortcut is the useful part of the menu
Marhaba’s mixed-grill system suits a group better than a single fixed platter. Three skewers at $35 is enough for a smaller order, while four, five or six skewers let the table widen the selection without abandoning a clear budget. Beef, chicken, lamb and lamb kafta are the available choices, so a group can keep the order familiar or use the meal to compare the different meats. The structure is simple: choose the number, then choose the skewers. It is less complicated than ordering several individual mains, particularly when the table is already sharing the trio and tabouleh.
There is one clear skip. Kibbeh Nayeh is described on the menu as raw meat, so it is not the choice for anyone who does not eat raw meat. That is worth knowing before ordering, since the rest of the menu moves between cooked mezze, salads, seafood and grilled items. A meal built around the Marhaba Trio, tabouleh and a chicken or mixed-grill order keeps the direction more familiar. It also reflects the restaurant’s strongest angle: shared Lebanese plates followed by a skewer selection shaped around the people at the table.
Madruga Avenue keeps the dining room compact and close
Coral Gables Magazine reported in May 2026 that this address was Marhaba’s newer Coral Gables home and that the space previously housed the city’s last Chinese restaurant. The setting is therefore part of the story, but it does not overwhelm the food. The menu is specifically Lebanese, covering traditional mezas, salads, raw kibbeh, seafood and individually selectable mixed-grill skewers. The result is a room that feels suited to a measured dinner rather than a quick, anonymous stop, particularly when the table intends to order several dishes for everyone.
Call before the busy Friday and Saturday window
Marhaba says seating is limited and takes reservations by phone at (786) 752-8330. Calling ahead is the sensible move rather than relying on a walk-in, especially on a peak evening. The restaurant is open Sunday and Tuesday through Thursday from 11:30 a.m. to 8 p.m., and Friday and Saturday from 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. It is closed on Monday. The later Friday and Saturday closing times also make those evenings the busier period, so the extra hour should not be mistaken for guaranteed availability.
For a quieter visit, a recent diner reported arriving around 6 p.m. That is useful timing for a table that wants to settle into the room before the evening gets busier. Marhaba does not publish how far ahead reservations can be made, so the phone call remains the best way to confirm both availability and timing. A booking is especially worthwhile when ordering for a group, since the compact dining room and shareable menu work best when everyone can sit together rather than wait for separate tables.
Parking is the practical way to reach this Coral Gables address
The address is 1533 Madruga Avenue, Ste. #3, Coral Gables, Florida 33146, in a small retail-strip setting. The sources reviewed did not verify a specific transit line or station serving the restaurant, so public-transport directions should be checked before setting out. Apple Maps lists a parking lot, while Atly reports ample free parking near the restaurant. That makes driving the clearest practical option based on the available information, though the compact setting still makes it sensible to allow time for the arrival rather than treating parking as an afterthought.
The exterior approach is quieter than the menu might suggest. From Madruga Avenue, the restaurant sits within a low strip of neighbouring storefronts rather than announcing itself as a large standalone dining room. That context is useful when navigating to it: look for the small retail setting and the recessed entrance, not a prominent freestanding building. Once there, the parking information is more dependable than any assumed transit route. For a first visit, checking the route and the restaurant’s current status before leaving removes the two uncertainties the available information cannot settle in advance.
Marhaba or the nearby San Lorenzo alternatives
Marhaba’s trade-off is focus and scale. Its Madruga Avenue room is intimate, its menu is specifically Lebanese, and the order makes sense when the table wants mezze followed by a custom mix of skewers. Nearby Sawa Restaurant & Lounge, at 360 San Lorenzo Avenue, offers a more upscale Lebanese-Mediterranean and Japanese fusion menu with indoor and garden-side seating. That is a different sort of meal, with a broader fusion identity and more formal setting. Marhaba is the more direct choice when the aim is to share hummus, babaghanouj, labneh and tabouleh before choosing grilled meats.
Lebanese Street Food is also at 360 San Lorenzo Avenue and is the more casual alternative, centred on chicken shawarma, meat shawarma and falafel sandwiches. It suits a quicker sandwich-led meal rather than Marhaba’s sit-down mezze and skewer format. The distinction is useful when choosing between the three: Marhaba for a compact Lebanese dinner built around shared plates and selectable grill combinations, Sawa for a more upscale Lebanese-Mediterranean and Japanese fusion setting, and Lebanese Street Food for casual shawarma or falafel. None replaces the exact mix of room, mezze and build-your-own skewers found at Marhaba.
- Address: 1533 Madruga Avenue, Ste. #3, Coral Gables, FL 33146.
- Hours: Sunday and Tuesday through Thursday, 11:30 a.m.–8 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 11:30 a.m.–9 p.m.; closed Monday.
- Reservations: Call (786) 752-8330; Marhaba says seating is limited and does not publish how far ahead bookings can be made.
- Getting there: Apple Maps lists a parking lot, and Atly reports ample free parking near the small retail strip; no specific transit line or station was verified.
- Price signals: Marhaba Trio $20, tabouleh $10, chicken kabob $25 and Marhaba Combos from $35 to $65.
Tags: #Miami #CoralGables #Marhaba #LebaneseFood #MediterraneanFood #Mezze #Tabouleh #Babaghanouj #Hummus #ChickenKabob #MixedGrill #MadrugaAvenue #MiamiDining
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Before heading to Marhaba in Coral Gables, ask Karpo to check the current hours, live wait, route and nearest Lebanese backup.
