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Don Boyd | all galleries >> Memories of Old Hialeah, Old Miami and Old South Florida Photo Galleries - largest non-Facebook collection on the internet >> Miami Area RESTAURANTS, Drive-Ins, Bars, Lounges, Liquor Stores, Clubs, Strip Joints, etc. Gallery - All Years - click to view >> Red Diamond Inn Image Gallery - click on image to view the gallery > 1960's- Red Diamond Inn flyer, Miami
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Courtesy of Gary Licko

1960's- Red Diamond Inn flyer, Miami

117 NW 42nd Avenue (LeJeune Road), Miami, Florida


The Red Diamond Inn was on LeJeune Road between NW 1st and 2nd Streets on the east side, 13 blocks or so south of the airport's southern boundary. George Young, my friend and one of the first contibutors to this site, says they had the best pizza in the the county and I remember numerous fine Italian meals there with my dad, aunt and housekeeper.


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Guest 20-Feb-2025 01:21
Great memories! We used to go there all the time. My parents became friends with Phil and Ethel Gordon who were the owners. Phil and Ethel lived in a really nice house in Coral Gables on Granada down near Blue Road. Wonderful. Makes me hungry!!
Guest 14-Apr-2017 20:37
Ate there every year for my birthday though we went on my brothers, the 4th of July,(mine was the 5th, 6yrs apart) we agreed on where we wanted to go and it was tge vest!! Miss it!!
John Ritch Beeman 04-Jan-2017 15:54
In February, 1957, I was transferred to the National Children's Cardiac Hospital (on the south side of Flagler Street just west of Lejeune Road). At night I could see the red neon sign (Red Diamond) from my hospital bed. The sign was high up, so it must have been on scaffolding. My mom, sister and brother ate there when they came from Lakeland, Florida, to visit me. I was depressed, but the sign (I think it blinked on and off) gave me some comfort. Later (in 1962) NCCH moved to a new building next to the University of Miami. The hospital was a training facility for UM Medical School students.
Don Boyd24-Jul-2016 07:13
Richard, thank you for the address correction; the menu in the photo is blurry where the address is. I made the correction. Thank you also for your memories of other restaurants. Thank you also for the offer on the ash tray and I'll e-mail you later today. I knew some Mayo guys a long time ago but they lived on W. 64th Street in Hialeah according to my senior yearbook and they were a year behind me - any relation?

Don
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Guest 04-Nov-2015 16:32
I wish I had their recipe for cannelloni with that wonderful white sauce. Oh my, was that good.
Ron Williamson 27-Aug-2015 15:58
When I was working part-time and going to college the crowd at work used to go to the Red Diamond virtually every Friday or Saturday, night (many times both nights) after work.
We absolutely loved it! In addition to all the excellent food, they had the best garlic bread sticks of all time.....
Guest 25-Apr-2015 13:42
I attended Kinloch Park Jr. high,(now called middle school) and remember my school bus driving past Red Diamond Inn every day. We also ate there quite frequently as a kid since my mother's best friend Cynthia worked as a waitress there. There is a mention by someone in this blog about a waitress who could remember the whole order without writing it down, that would have been Cynthia they were referring to.
Roberto Vitale 18-Apr-2015 23:53
Haven't written here since 2012. YES, of course it was on LeJeune Road, about a block north of
Flagler St. Don Boyd corrected this. Still wish I had the recipe for Porl Chops Ubriago.
Roberto Vitale
Guest 22-Sep-2013 17:03
my family would go to red diamond as a treat. I have never had a better meat sauce! I would to have the recipe any one have it?
Guest 01-Sep-2012 03:22
My family lived in Hialeah and the Red Diamond Inn was a huge splurge. It was so very dark and I always considered it an extremely fancy restaurant when I was a kid! We went there for all 5 of us kids' high school graduation dinners (1964, 1965, 1967, 1972, 1974) and I think those were the only times we ate there. I remember our server at one meal being able to remember the orders of all 7 of us without writing anything down. I was extremely impressed!
Robert Vitale 30-Aug-2012 19:32
It's been a few years since I wrote the first post, DAN BOYD is right, of course, The REd Diamond was indeed on LeJeune Road, Just updating here - August, 2012. I don't know what prompted me to ro search our the RD again! Roberto Vitale - I wish I had the recipe for Pork Chops Umbriago!!! Grazie - belle cose!
Jan 04-Aug-2012 22:57
We used to eat there back in 1959-61 when I was a kid living in Miami Springs. The Red Diamond Inn was such a treat! They had the BEST garlic rolls ever!
reddiamondeater21-Apr-2012 04:52
Sorry, but I think you all have the location incorrectly placed. I remember it being located directly east of the airport - around 31st street on Le Jeune - as the airplanes would fly directly overhead. Maybe I'm wrong, but ??? I also remember the place for seafood (lobster), not pizza? And one more thing, does anyone remember all the mirrors that made you look fat or skinny? :)
Don Boyd26-May-2011 13:57
Nini, thank you for your comment and your memories. Anyone who knows Lefty from DAL can't be all bad. I added the Round Table to the list of restaurants gone but not forgotten.

Don
Nini Miller 26-May-2011 06:50
Great memories of Red Diamond. I was born and grew up in Miami. I worked with Ethel Gordon at the Round Table - across from the UM on S Dixie Hwy - from '76-'79. She went to work at Round Table after her husband, Phil, passed away. She was the sweetest, nicest lady ever. She took care of all the waitresses, busgirls, etc at Round Table like we were family.
The food at Red Diamond was awesome. I live in Seattle now - can't get pizza like that here, that is for sure!

Great site, Don. I used to work on the ramp for NAL, played some airline softball with Lefty at DAL. My Dad flew for NAL from '54 - '80, when he retired.
mike 06-Apr-2011 02:53
Ate there when i was a kid My grandma used to take me I have never had any better spagetti in my life than the red diamond , I have been in search of it every since Mike Smith Miami born 1952 Eva J Smiths Grandson . Love that place Im 58 now and miss her and that resturant
David 15-Oct-2010 00:20
First off, LINDSAY is my BIG BROTHER and he is the most incredible brother. He and I share so many memories... and this one is very special. My memory of RED DIAMOND is exactly the same as my brothers. I remember it felt like I was entering a dungeon when we got there.... it was dark and lots of red lights. The Shirley Temples were incredible..I can remember pulling the cherry out of my glass like it just happened! The pizza was awesome...THE MEMORIES...PRICELESS.
Lindsay 14-Oct-2010 21:34
My brother just sent me this website. It sure does bring back great pizza memories with my family back in the mid-70's. Such a classic place. I was just a kid when my Dad would drive us down from Coral Springs. I remember the dim lighting like it was yesterday, and it was definately our favorite Pizza and the Shirley Temples were pretty good too. It's great to see others enjoyed it the same as us. I'm not suprised. Best Regards, Lindsay
Martha 05-Jul-2010 01:30
My father worked there in the 70's and the food was wonderful, but in my memory there is that wonderful Italian rum cake with the layers of cream and pineapple chunks and almonds, does anyone have the recipe?
RayaSue 20-May-2010 21:11
I also attended Kinloch Park Elem and Jr Hi. Walked past the Red Diamond Inn every morning on the way to school. Mom used to send me to get a pizza to bring home for dinner. One evening, as I was leaving, there was a limo parked out front, and in it sat Jackie Gleason. Apparently, he also thought it was the best pizza in Miami because according to the restaurant staff, he came there often. I was so excited to see him in person, and he waved back when I waved to him.
Emilie Wise 02-May-2010 18:42
Hi, Emilie Fray Wise here. I used to work as a waitress at the Red Diamond Inn in the late 60's. I would have graduated Miami Jackson High in 1962. I really enjoyed working there.
Guest 02-May-2010 18:00
When I had the money to "splurge" I would take my daughter to Red Diamond. We ordered pizza and spaghetti and shared them both. That way we didn't have to decide which one to order -- we had the best of both worlds. I often recalled those evenings out with her and wondered what happened to Red Diamond.


Muriel Chapman, MHS '58
jim Jeffries 02-May-2010 14:36
I loved their pizza! When I got married in 1976 we had our rehearsal dinner there and it was great! Cheap too. Also, spent a lot of time there on dates and such when I was at Miami High.
Don Boyd22-Mar-2010 05:16
Robert, I think you have your road names mixed up. It was on LeJeune Road, 15 blocks east of Red Road, as stated on the photo.

Don
Robert Vitale 21-Mar-2010 14:40
Yes, the Red Diamond was on the east side of Red Road, just north of Flagler Street. I remember it from the
1950's when I was a student at the University of Miami. I was a transplanted New Jersey Italian-American. I especially remember the Pork Chops "Umbriago" (drunken - with Marsala, I think). The pizza was great. Ethel and Phil Gordon were the gracious owners. If you asked for an"Ethel Gordon", you got a free glass of wine. Many years after the "offer" expired. you could still get an "EG" if you mentioned her name - they always honored it. After the Red Diamond closed, they built a castle-like restaurant called EL CID in the same spot. It did not last long. CIAO - Roberto Vitale
Guest 25-Dec-2009 00:17
Went here with my parents!!!! Loved the spaghetti with mushroom sauce!!!! Jeannie Guyer Saenz
Don Boyd22-Jul-2009 04:51
Thank you for posting those great vivid memories, Kim.

Don
Kim 22-Jul-2009 01:58
we went every Fri night, My Father knew the owner Mike, Earl was the host, Rose was the cashier, there was also a Hostess who was blond, Emily who also worked at Doctors Hospital in the gables durning the day.

the shirley temples were made from 7-up and grenidine....and Earl made the Drink up for me... if thats not true...oh well ...that is what Earl would tell me.

A localy famous photographer " Workman " would take photos

Mine was on the wall ...In an Indian head dress...and a girl Whom I went all thru school Dana Deward...also had her photo on the wall...in the cockpit of a plane.
she flew with her father.

Our waitress was Helen...and when she finnally retired, Maria became our one and only server.

The numbers over the door were for the waitress..to tell then when their orders were up.

I had my 11th birthday party there.

Tried to give the new owners our loyal patronage, but it just wasent the same.

Grew up in westchester
coral park....rockway jr...and coral park
Guest 03-Apr-2009 01:13
I agree the Shirley Temples! But the life long, never to be duplicated, memory.... veal scallopine with peppers - to die for
Steve K 28-Feb-2009 22:26
We used to drive down all the way from North Miami Beach to go here. My parents said it was the best pizza in Miami. You could still get good cheap food in Miami up until about 10 years ago. Then all of the sudden, all these inexpensive restaurants with their "early bird specials" just disappeared.
Rachelle S.F. 13-Feb-2009 05:30
I went to Kinloch Park Jr. High 1955 - 1957 and then MHS '60. Several of us would get together and pool our money after the school dances and order pizza. It was as close to NY pizza as one could get in Florida. The lasagna was great also. My last visit was with the guy I didn't marry the summer of 1960.
Guest 10-Feb-2009 22:57
I was a busboy here for awhile and attended Kinloch in theearly seventies, the chef was animal, very mean to all the servers etc. I finally quit because of him.
upham7711-Jan-2009 20:58
This was my favorite restaurant as a kid! Spaghetti, duh! The best!! My parents would take us kids there at least once a week. But my two greatest memories were of the Shirly Temples, (my introduction to hard liquor, haha ) and the numbered board above the kitchen doors. The numbers probably flashed on when a particularly numbered table's food was ready but I had more imaginative ideas about those numbers! Like I was #7 and #7 flashed on because I was their favorite customer!! lol
upham7711-Jan-2009 20:33
This was my favorite restaurant as a kid! Spaghetti, duh! The best!! My parents would take us kids there at least once a week. But my two greatest memories were of the Shirly Temples, (my introduction to hard liquor, haha ) and the numbered board above the kitchen doors. The numbers probably flashed on when a particularly numbered table's food was ready but I had more imaginative ideas about those numbers! Like I was #7 and #7 flashed on because I was their favorite customer!! lol
Dave Sorokoty 11-Jan-2009 04:38
I remember as a kid my father would take me there before every U of M home game. We would meet his friends, eat the best Italian food this side of Italy. Of course the dads would have their fair share of wine. Then we would hop on the bus waiting in the parking lot to take us to the Orange Bowl to see the Hurricanes play. Those were the days!!
Guest 31-Dec-2008 21:02
I worked in the kitchen here 1965-66. We used to split the whole lobster tails and if we crushed one THAT went into a bucket of ice to later be battrer dipped and deep fried as Lobster Red Diamond.
I left there to work the kitchen of The Flick coffee house near UM....and then everything gets kinda hazzy..... :-)
Ed Pomerantz
Jim Welborn 23-Dec-2008 02:44
I remember it so well as it was where I had my very first bite of pizza. I was a student at the brand new Kinloch Park Jr. High a couple blocks away. We had just moved to Miami from a "country" enviornment in North Carolina and had never heard of pizza. What a pleasant surprise and I still think they had the best I have ever tasted.
Robbin P. Learned 04-Dec-2008 08:20
When I was A Small Kid, Growing up, in East Hialeah, By Hialeah Lanes Bowling Alley, My Family would Go To Eat At Red Diamond Inn, and I Remember How Great Their Pizza Tasted, it was Wonderful !!!! We Went To Red Diamond Inn, Mansene's, Gracie's, Patsy's, Villanova, and Mae & Dave's, For Pizza, and They all Had Great Pizza, Back in The 50's. Red Diamond Inn, and Mansene's, were Both Nice Places to Go And Dine In !!!!!
Victor Mc 04-Apr-2008 13:25
I attend Kinloch Park Junior High, which was in walking distance of Red Diamond. After the Friday night dances, alot of kids would go over to Red Diamond. One Monday morning the principal comes on the loudspeaker and informs us that we are no longer welcome at Red Diamond. Some kind of trouble on the previous Friday night. I was not one of those that went to Red Diamond after dances. I would go to Batistas on NW 7th and Lejeune or Mansenes on 37th. I did go to Red Diamond later and thought the food was great.
Guest 20-Nov-2007 02:25
What I remember the most is the antipasto. I can't figure out what made it so memorable. I am amazed that other people besides me remember the place.
Guest 20-Nov-2007 02:23
The place that cut the pizza into squares was Frankies.
Louis 15-Oct-2007 05:28
This place had the best Pizza in Miami, period. It was fabulous. The Red Diamond Inn, and the Bella Napoli Restaurant on NW 17th Avenue, were my two favorite Pizza joints in Miami. Later in life I frequented a pizza place on Bird Road that cut the pizzas in squares, can't remember the name. Then there was the drag meet, the old Pizza Palace on SW 87th Avenue, Galloway Road, not the best pizza, but a great place to go check out some really nice cars.
Karen 05-Oct-2007 12:43
Was one of my favorite resturant. My husband and I visited it alot.
Guest 27-Jul-2007 16:09
The best Pizza ever made. Still looking for something to equal the pizza's there.
CR
Sonya Klein Robbins 27-Jul-2007 13:33
When my brother Sandy was home on leave, my sister Carol and I took him to The Red Diamond for his very first taste of Pizza! We had to force him to try a piece and now he is still trying to find a pizza that comes up to Red Diamond's pizza! They were the best in town!
Guest 23-Jul-2007 13:57
I can still taste the "lobster red diamond" wish I had some right now.
Sharon H 26-Jun-2007 13:32
I remember going there as a kid. I loved their garlic bread!
Guest 21-Jun-2007 21:41
i used to work for fpl at the lfo (lejuene and flagler office )which was down the block and across the street
loved the red candles globes on the table
pizza was the old fashioned italian pizza garlic galore
it turned into a nite club then closed around 2000
Don Boyd13-Jun-2007 15:52
Haha, I think most of the places in town had a Palmetto bug or two back then. Better that roach was tickling your leg instead of your tongue. I really liked the place whenever my dad took us there. Don
Guest 13-Jun-2007 15:48
The best cheese pizzas I've ever eaten.
A bunch of us went there to eat the evening after we graduated from Miami High School, June 1958.
Felt something tickling my leg. It was a huge palmetto bug (we called them roaches back then).
That was the last Red Diamond pizza I ever ate.
LAURA 01-Jun-2007 20:12
I LOVED THIS RESTAURANT AS A KID! I REMEMBER EATING PIZZA THERE WITH MY MOM, DAD AND 2 OLDER BROTHERS! THOSE WERE THE BEST DAYS!
Mimi Newton 15-May-2007 02:58
The first pizza I ever ate was at the Red Diamond Inn when I went there with my crowd from the Miami Springs Rec Center.....in the early 50's.......
martha Pierson 11-May-2007 03:20
My mother used to take me, my sister and brother there for dinner when my dad
worked the afternoon shift at Eastern Airlines...the best spagetti!