A high end, casually elegant seafood restaurant in North Miami has been missing. Enter Avra Miami from New York and Beverly Hills and in just three months the place is on fire, it’s so popular. The main event is fresh fish, not only the usual selections but more unusual Mediterranean favorites like fagri and lithrini, prepared any way you like it – grilled whole over charcoal, baked in salt, made into ceviche or carpaccio, you name it. Then there’s the handsome décor that’s a combo of city style and taverna. It’s open for dinner now, but can’t wait for their upcoming lunch and brunch hours.
The menu is divided into salads, caviar, raw bar, appetizers, fish by the pound, sashimi and ceviche, from the sea, from the land, sides and dessert.
At the entrance to the 330 seat restaurant is a striking bar with, instead of the usual chandelier, terracotta pot as an overhang and focal point. The entryway features a bougainvillea intertwined pergola that adds a colorful and taverna-like touch. The main area of the dining room has floor to ceiling windows, high ceilings, white and cream color tones, small trees throughout, and a handsome, unusual rock sculpture on the walls. A spacious outdoor terrace has a view of the swimming pool and ocean beyond.
A signature cocktail menu has wonderful whimsical names like the Jacqui o Daquiri, Medusa’s Espressotini and the Martini of Athens. Mr. W tried the Helios Heat with creyente mezcal, passion fruit, agave, lime and tajin. Even in Mexico, land of mezcal, it wouldn’t have been better. My classic gin martini was perfect.
Before ordering your dinner, have a look at the dazzling display of fresh whole fish and shellfish as a guide to which you want to choose. The fish is so fresh we saw a hook still in the mouth of one of the offerings.
We started with the signature ceviche, an unusual preparation with tropical fruit and chick peas ($33). The sweet and the citrus really worked, along with the welcome crunch of the roasted chick peas. Next time we’ll try the Avra chips, paper thin sliced zucchini and eggplant chips, a favorite when I see them on a menu ($30). While waiting for the entrée we enjoyed the house made bread we dipped in their Avra extra virgin olive oil from the Pelopennese which is considered the finest in Greece. I could have eaten it without the bread.
For our entrée, a tough choice considering there are 14 kinds of seafood, we opted for the Dorado, charcoal grilled (M/P by the pound). It’s served with their signature ladeolemono sauce which is lemon, olive oil, saffron and mustard. It was so tasty and fresh, it would have been delicious even without the sauce.
We accompanied it with fasolakia (green beans and tomato) and sauteed spinach ($15).
Next time we‘ll try the mussels in garlic broth with crumbled feta ($42), the lobster pasta, or the dover sole meuniere with Ossetra caviar.Options for carnivores include a selection of steaks, lamb chops and chicken.
Don’t miss dessert which is made in house. Tops is the moist and delicate olive cake with bruleed figs and lemon Chantilly cream, an elegant dessert, or the baklava cake with ice cream to which Mr. W, an expert on the topic, gave high marks ($15) . There’s also an appealing selection of Greek after dinner drinks such as ouzo, mastiha and brandy, and not your usual Greek herbal teas. The management group certainly knows their business: service was professional and friendly.
Avra Miami has an extensive wine program with a list that includes more than 1200 varieties and spans the globe. The highlight is Greek wine, but there are even offerings from Slovenia, Slovakia and Israel. A glass (5 ounce pour) starts at $14 and bottles at $65 Cocktails are $18.
Avra Miami is open for dinner daily except Monday. It’s located at the Estates at Acqualina at 17945 Collins Avenue, Sunny Isles beach, FL 33160. Valet parking is offered.
