A new crop of upscale yet affordable restaurants has sprouted up in Miami during the past several months. Here’s a look at three venues that specialize in different cuisines and offer seasonal menus and buyouts for events.
1. Au Pied de Cochon opened on Washington Avenue on May 29. Operated by French restaurant group Les Frères Blanc, the 6,000-square-foot Miami outpost is situated on a corner lot inside a two-story Art Deco building. Replicating a traditional French brasserie from the 1940s, the main dining room, which seats 90, is dotted with brass chandeliers, oversize gilt-framed mirrors, and paintings that echo the Art Nouveau mural from the Paris flagship, open since 1947. For alfresco dining, South Florida architect Charles Benson created a landscaped patio for 40. The restaurant is open 24 hours, serving breakfast, lunch, and dinner and features a menu of fresh seafood and brasserie fare.
2. First opened in 2006, Coral Gables restaurant La Cofradia Ceviche Bar reopened in May after closing in January due to the flagging economy. The redesigned space has a new ceviche bar concept, reduced menu prices, and an altered look. Chef Jean Paul Desmaison redesigned the restaurant’s menu to focus on authentically Peruvian dishes like eight different ceviches and lomo saltado, a stir fry of beef, onions, and tomatoes. Slate floors, terra-cotta-colored walls, and natural dark wood tables are among the aesthetic changes in the 75-seat dining room. High-tops in the front lounge area accommodate 20 with additional seating at the 12-foot bar. The street-side covered patio can also seat 20.
3. Following the opening of his first Apple Restaurant and Lounge in Los Angeles last year, chef Bryan Ogden opened a South Beach location earlier this month. In the former Snatch space on Washington Avenue, the 3,000-square-foot eatery has a nature-inspired ambience, with a box-hedge grass ceiling as its most talked about decor element. The main dining room is lined on one side with golden brick walls, oversize woven-leather banquettes, and zebra wood oval tables. The tables and chairs are removed nightly after dinner is finished to transition the 20-seat restaurant to a nightclub and lounge for about 200. The opposite side of the main room features a 25-foot bar and a mezzanine-level wine room for 40—accessible via a central iron staircase—which overlooks the space. The contemporary American menu changes weekly, highlighting local ingredients like fresh seafood, fruit, and signature small plates like the beef short rib-stuffed crepe with sweet onions, shallots, and grain mustard.
