08/12/09

Hidden Diamond

by Lovit

When I was looking for a good seafood place to eat when I visited Miami, I came across this restaurant and read the reviews. I noticed that a lot of them are VERY old and not all that great. My family owns restaurants SO I know a restaurant goes through a lot of changes and a good chef makes a world of a difference. I wanted to make sure I wrote a review because our experience was superb! Before we made reservations, I visited the website and from what I saw it looked nice and the menu items were enticing. The only this I was scared of was the reviews but we decided to make reservations and try it out anyway. When we walked in, the atmosphere with the lighting and modern paintings instantly put a smile on our faces. The service was professional and the server gave suggestions and helped with our wine choice. My husband and I ordered the Lobster Bisque and Crab Crusted Scallops to start. Both items were very tasty. The Bisque was full of lumps of true lobster and not overly rich. Then for the main course I had the seafood mixed grille. It had grilled salmon, a skewer of grilled shrimp and a TRUE lump crab cake to DIE for and was served with coconut rice and fresh string beans. I am from NJ and finding a TRUE MARYLAND style crab cake almost doesn't exist in Florida. This crab cake was PERFECT and I will be going back just so I can have another. My husband had the Parmesan crusted Chilean Sea bass over angel hair pasta. The fish was cooked perfect and the flavors of the fresh basil and fresh tomatoes in the pasta with the fish made you want to finish every last bite even when you were at your limit. We had the lava cake for dessert. I'm not a chocolate fan but my husband mentioned my birthday to the server and I guess he thought EVERYONE likes chocolate. So, it was good if you like chocolate. I would have prefered to try the key lime pie...well, there WILL be a next time.

I hope this helps you decide to try out this hidden diamond of a restaurant.

• Pros: Crabcakes were TRUE lump crabmeat, DELICIOUS
• Cons: address wasn't accurate and we got a little lost

10/24/08

HORRIBLE HORRIBLE

by MrsMiranda

I have been to this restaurant only three times. Each time I have had a problem with service and or food. I will not be back.

On Wednesday, October 22, 2008, my husband took me to this restaurant for lobster dinner. The gentleman behind the hostess stand never even acknowledged us. A woman finally came over and asked if she could help us. When my husband replied that there were two of us for dinner, she asked if we had a reservation. We did not. After she conferred with the gentleman behind the counter and the reservation book, she coldly escorted us to our table. There were very few patrons in the restaurant and the attitude was unjust. After we were seated and placed our order, our waiter Fernando informed us that the restaurant had not received any lobster that day and they were out. Since we had specifically came for lobster, I reluctantly ordered the crab stuffed shrimp as and an appetizer of calamari. My husband ordered the Chicken Marsala. The bread that we were served was stale. When we notified a wait staff that came by, nothing was done. No fresh bread was delivered to our table. The calamari came as our appetizer and was obviously re-heated. It wasn?t crispy nor heated all the way through. Our dinner finally came and my shrimp was over cooked and chewy. My husband?s chicken was mediocre at best and he left half of it. As we left the restaurant, we passed a woman eating LOBSTER!! When we brought this to the attention of the wait staff, we were informed that the lobster had been held for a large party and that was why we were told they had none. This did not impress me as we were seated and ordered before the group of people seamed to arrive. I have never in my life experienced such unprofessional courtesy. We have never had a problem with service nor menu choice when we dine at Azul, Baleen, The Forge or any other upstanding restaurant.

I would not be surprised to hear that the establishment closes.

• Pros: they weren't busy on a wednesday night but now i see why
• Cons: unless you valet-its quite a hike...the wait staff cant be bothered, they choose who can order what, they treat you crappy if you dont make reservations even on a week night

07/03/08

best seafood restaurant

by lutvia

I went to the Chart House last week. The place is just amazing, love it! The food and service were just perfect. It was between the Chart House and The Rusty Pelican, I'm glad a made the right choice.

• Pros: food, price, ambience