Miami Curated Logo

The Restaurant at The Setai Miami Beach

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Though I’m not crazy about the word “classy”, I can’t think of a better one to describe The Restaurant at The Setai Miami Beach hotel, 2001 Collins Avenue, T.305-520-6400. The service, elegant international clientele (think Art Basel crowd year round), décor, it’s all part of the exceptional experience which also includes superb cuisine.

I hadn’t been to The Setai except for a lunch of spa cuisine in over a year. In that time, the culinary approach changed from Asian centric to the cuisine of the Mediterranean “Sun Coast” combining Southern French, Spanish and Italian influences. I liked the menu and food before, but now, the French born, Italian studied chef Matthias Gervais has taken the experience – and experience it is– up a serious notch.

Here you can find the finest luxe ingredients – black truffles, foie gras, 5 Jotas Jamon Serrano de Iberico from Spain, caviar, langoustines, and so on. And chef Gervais knows how to use these ingredients to their best effect, as well as combining others in many standout dishes.

We began our feast with a generously poured classic martini with a tangy American gin from Death’s Door, that could quickly become a favorite. American craft distillers are a major trend these days, surprisingly emanating from a highly successful launch not in the USA, but in London. Cinco Jotas, the gold standard in Spanish ham, jamon Serrano de Iberico was our choice as a tapa with our cocktail, the exquisite delicacy melting in our mouth. We followed this with a hot appetizer, a langoustine in crispy papillote with basil and parsley puree – art on a plate. Next up was a highly original and delicious combo of artichoke hearts with squid and chorizo sausage, a mélange of textures and flavors that worked.

It’s tough for me to turn down anything with black truffles, so we ordered the risotto with truffle butter and fresh shaved summer truffle, all sprinkled with 24 karat gold. At $48 it was an indulgence, but worth every penny. And speaking about “worth”, as you know, one of my criteria for food is is it WTC, worth the calories. Dining here I came up with a new meaning for the acronym – whatever the calories, as in throw dietary caution to the wind.

Tough was the best word to describe having to choose an entrée. Items we’d like to try another time are the giant pan seared prawns with emulsion of pata negra (Serrano ham) and seasonal vegetables; short ribs with potato gnocchi and nicoise olives, the meat from a New York favorite butcher Pat La Frieda; Moroccan lamb tagine; a 32 ounce tomahawk steak; and the scallops in a minestrone with flageolet beans. Mr. W loves lamb chop and I couldn’t have enough truffles, so we ordered the Colorado lamb chop with truffle mashed potatoes. The lamb was super tender and flavorful.

Desserts were sumptuous – a baba au rhum with vanilla ice cream garnished with gold leaf and a vacherin — maringue, berries ice cream, whipped cream, vanilla and raspberry coulis that was so beautiful I almost didn’t want to eat it.

We had a table beside the open kitchen which is always great fun. The service, from the greeting at the door of the hotel to the lobby greeter and all of the wait staff was European in the sense of being highly professional, though at the same time approachable and warm.

Plan on dinner starting at $70 per person. It’s WTM, worth the money, one of the top restaurants in Miami on all counts.

Photography by William Oberheiser.

The Restaurant at the Setai on Urbanspoon

Karen Escalera

Karen Escalera

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Karen Escalera at work
KAREN @ WORK
SIGN UP FOR MIAMI CURATED NOTIFICATIONS

Stay up to date on quality Miami food, fashion, culture & travel.

Get notified when MiamiCurated posts a new article and invitations to exclusive reader events.

FEATURED POSTS
RECENT POSTS

Discover more from MiamiCurated

Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive.

Continue reading

Miami Curated
Stay up to date on Miami food, fashion, culture & travel.
Get notified when MiamiCurated posts a new article and invitations to exclusive reader events.