MIAMI
The Heart Behind George’s: Elizabeth Iglesias on Family, Flavor, and Staying Power
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By Eric Barton | Aug. 13, 2025
AUTHOR BIO: Eric Barton is editor of The Adventurist and a freelance journalist who has reviewed restaurants for more than two decades. Email him here.
It usually starts with the laugh. You hear it before you walk in, rising above the clatter of cutlery and the murmur of date-night conversations. Then the hug—if you’re lucky. If you’re a regular, it’s automatic. If it’s your first time at George’s, the long-running Italian restaurant that somehow still feels like a well-kept neighborhood secret, you’ll get a smile first. Either way, Elizabeth Iglesias makes you feel like you’ve wandered into a party that’s just hitting its groove.
In a city with the attention span of a goldfish on cafecito, where even good restaurants go to die before dessert, Elizabeth has managed to keep George’s alive and thriving for more than two decades. That alone makes her worth knowing. But what’s more interesting—what keeps people coming back—is the way she runs the place like it’s an extension of her own home: a warm, lived-in space filled with heart, hustle, and maybe a little chaos.
Elizabeth Iglesias with her brother George
Born in Los Angeles to a Spanish father and Cuban mother, Elizabeth grew up in Buenos Aires in a house where dinner was never just dinner. “Every meal was more than just food—it was connection, celebration, and love,” she told me. There were stories and shouting matches and a kind of ritual warmth that never really goes away, even when you’ve moved continents and opened three restaurants.
Before George’s, she was a teacher’s assistant, then a dental assistant, and then, as if completing the trifecta of stress, a legal assistant. Each of those jobs, she said, taught her how to listen, how to read people, and how to manage “chaos with a calm face.” There’s a certain clarity in that. Hospitality, at its core, is just taking care of people. It just so happens that in Elizabeth’s world, that care comes with house-made meatballs and a martini that could start a family feud.
Elizabeth runs the creative side of the operation—menu ideas, cocktails, the way the dining room feels on a Saturday night. Her brother George handles the business end. “He’s more numbers and operations, I’m more guest experience and aesthetics,” she said. “But that’s why it works.” It does work, and not just at George’s. Together, they’ve built Benoli Hospitality Group, which now includes Burgers and Shakes and Sazón Cubano. Each one has its own identity, but they’re clearly cut from the same cloth—comfort without pretense, flavor without ego, details that don’t scream but hum.
Mussels in a white wine broth
When I asked her how you keep a restaurant alive in a town that can barely remember your name, she didn’t mention SEO or influencer dinners. “We built George’s with heart, not just strategy,” she said. “People come back because they feel something when they’re here.” You can’t teach that in restaurant school.
Calamari
House-made pastas
She’s known for her meticulous eye—how the plate looks, how the room glows, even how the music shifts with the crowd. “Every element speaks the same language of care and intention,” she said. It’s not about perfection. It’s about making people feel something—nostalgia, maybe, or just the rare comfort of being known.
Pistachio gelato
On her days off, rare as they are, she tries to unplug. “I love being outdoors with my daughter,” she said. “But I’ll admit, it’s hard not to swing by work to check in.” Of course it is. Some people build a business. Elizabeth built a family.
And if you’re lucky, one night, while the room buzzes and the wine flows, you’ll catch her laugh across the room—and realize you’re part of it too.
