One of my hands down new favorite restaurants is Vietnamese eatery Tam Tam in downtown Miami. The food is downright exciting, eclectic and different from the usual pho and spring roll offerings (which aren’t offered here). Owners Harrison and Vietnamese native Pham pay homage to Pham’s upbringing in Saigon. Previous to opening their restaurant in May they had a popup residency in 1-800 Lucky and subsequent popups around the city.
Their creation is a “quán nhậu,” like a Vietnamese pub that’s a staple of Saigon social life where you get together with friends, spending time drinking and eating. But to say it’s a pub can sound like the main event is drinking. Not in my book. It’s the glorious food.
The menu is divided into smaller, larger and sweet dishes. Almost all of the dishes are priced in the teens.
I was fortunate to go with my friend and Asian food guru Eleanor Hoh who chose an outstanding menu for our group of four. We started with a flavorful scallop with coconut nuoc cham, rice paddy herb oil, crispy garlic and thai basil, a favorite.
Much welcome were the unusual vegetable offerings of lotus root salad with pork belly, shrimps, pickles, herbs, crispy shallot, peanuts and rice crackers and Delicata Squash with dill, scallion oil in La Vong Sauce.
Both were delicious and had a lot of textural interest. A star of the evening were the Tam Tam wings. I’m usually not a fried wing lover, but these that were perfectly fried and seasoned with fish sauce caramel , crispy garlic, cilantro and lime almost had me wanting to lick my fingers (almost).
Another standout was the lamb wrap situation. You use the lettuce leaf as a wrap with a lamb patty, noodles, cucumber, pineapple, peanuts, scallion oil, peanuts, bean curd and herbs. It was a perfect combo of sweet and savory. Next time I’d like to have the jungle steak tartare, made with wagyu steak, egg yolk, edible flowers, sesame rice cracker, and “fire ant salt,” sourced from Vietnam’s Central Highlands. We were told the menu changes every few weeks.
For dessert we had the Isabels cheese cake with cultured cashew cream, guava gellee and amaria cookie crust.
There’s an extensive wine list, no surprise since it’s about drinking too. There’s a limited list of wines by the glass (starting at $13) but never fear, bottles start at $42. There’s also rice wine, beer, spiked Viet iced coffee and a passion daiquiri in the cocktail department.
The 36 seat eatery with a counter has a friendly lively vibe that you’d find in a neighborhood restaurant. Service is professional and warm.
Tam Tam, 97 NW 1st Street is in Downtown Miami across from the Courthouse. It’s open from Tuesday to Saturday from 5:30 p.m. to 11 p.m., with lunch and happy hour soon to come. For more information, visit here.
One Response
Karen, it was so much fun hanging with you and Mr. W at Tam Tam! The authentic atmosphere, service and flavors were outstanding. I’d definitely return to try other dishes.