Azul Restaurant

Elite '08

8

41

Deborah H.

Winthrop, MA

Stellar service.  

Gorgeous layout.  

Knowledgeable sommelier.  

Fantastic drink menu (had this fabulous pineapple champagne).  

Delicious food (we were spoiled with a tasting menu...and every dish was better than the next- though dessert fell a little short).    

This would be a great romantic dinner spot!

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Elite '08

71

131

Carla L.

Miami, FL

Once in a while, we are able to enjoy fine dining.  This amazing restaurant is fine dining at its best.  The restaurant itself is wonderfully romantic, definitely a destination if you want to impress someone special.  Make sure you are seated by a window, the view is gorgeous.  

Service is stellar, not that l would expect anything less for the prices and quality of the food.  

The food was delicious, l had the Seared Nantucket Bay Scallops and they were wonderful!!  My husband chose  a beef dish (l forgot the name, sorry..) l had a bite and must say that it was definitely melting in my mouth.

l was in the mood for something fruity for dessert so l had the Deconstructed Apple Pie..  mmmmmmmmmmm..

No wine that night for us, so on the choices for those, l will have to wait until next time.

VERY expensive to say the least, so just be aware that its not going to be an inexpensive meal, but it will be special! (4 stars for that reason and not 5 - the meal was too expensive for my taste, even though the meal was excellent, definitely too much)

WELL WORTH lT for a nice romantic and special evening.

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0

5

Sir. Dimitry G. M.

Bal Harbour, FL

Beautiful  design, excellent mixed drinks especially Lichi Martini the food is so-so.

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Elite '08

27

851

JD N.

Miami, FL

I came here with not-so-high expectations. I left, enormously pleased.

Did Chef Clay Conley mature in his cooking? I honestly don't know as this was my first experience trying his food. Either way, he's a pretty great chef in my book, simply because food all tasted good.

Also, our waitress, Marcela, was attentive, friendly, and paying attention to details - a perfect match for the detailed meals that came to pass. She was able to sweetly rattle off ingredients of each dish without any assistance (and several times for multiple times) - and she was at all times charming! I got the impression that she loves her job.

First, there's the complimentary breads. I don't normally write about this, but there were four different types - two were pretty standard: whole wheat thinly sliced (you can see holes) and baked bread (like a crostini) and palm-sized baguettes. The other two were the squarish rye & beer bread (if I understood right - and for some reason, there was a little kick in there), and miso & scallion round soft bread. I've never had such complimentary breads that were diverse in flavor as well as texture in such a long time.

For the first course, I had a crab monte cristo. It was tasty, and with the plum sauce, it tasted interesting. I liked their effort to combine interesting elements to remake the classic. The monte cristo was more memorable than the plum sauce, but overall, it may not be as memorable thanks to the minuscule portions (big enough only for two bites or four easily comfortable bites).

The second course was orecchiettes neros (or black little ears). It consisted of the pasta that looks like tiny little ears infused with squid's black ink. It was mixed with Italian sausage and Turks & Caicos conch. Again, interesting combinations, and this was quite flavorful. The portion was small, but it was filling - I even got full by this point thanks to what I've eaten before.

I tried also a bit of the salmon dish that was cooked a bit rare (as specified by the menu) and served on top of sticky rice flavored with rice vinegar. It was topped with avocado and sliced onions (and almost looked like a salmon ceviche). It was a lighter tasting dish than the orrechiettes but still flavorful and very refreshing. The salmon was just perfect.

For dessert, I had a egg custard (a well-made flan) topped with 2 string sopapillas, mango sherbet, two small slices of grapefuit and one small slice of orange (the orange tasted weak). It was delicious and I enjoyed my meal.

When the bill came, it came also with gratuitous treats - two small cookies (not sure what type, sorry), sweet guava paste-candy, and a sweet super-tiny cherry muffin.

The total cost for the 3-course prix fixe lunch was $35 dollars (I think the other reviewer that paid $20 for lunch back then went during the famous Miami Spice restaurant week where there are discounts, but with inflation I'm sure we won't see that $20 prix fixe in a long time).

Coupled with the scenery, perfect service, delicious and interesting food cooked at the right consistency (supposedly a fusion of Mediterranean and Japanese - but I think it depends on which dish you order - some dishes in the menu looked too plain such as "Fish & Chips" and I immediately steered clear of that), and couple that with the power outage Miami was experiencing that day, and the way the restaurant pulled everything off, I have no choice but to give it 5 stars for my initial impression.

The price is also very reasonable for the type of food you're getting and with the view that comes with it - and without the infamous South Beach service and price mark-ups.

Beware of the parking though - if you are driving to Brickell Key (I noticed a lot of people walking the bridge), park at the hotel and pay the validated valet ticket $8 (which is half price) instead of the public parking garage that charges you $3 for every 20 minutes up until you owe $24 dollars (ridiculous)!

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6

89

Edward K.

Emeryville, CA

Genuinely impressed with this restaurant in the Mandarin Oriental.  Food wasn't bad and the atmosphere was nice too.  Not the gross Miami/SOBE flair, but a bit more classy.  After dinner and dessert, walk around the hotel grounds in Biscayne Bay.  Can be quite romantic.

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Elite '08

35

381

cindy w.

Miami, FL

I didn't feel like this place lived up to the hype that's talked about elsewhere.  I felt like the fusion-infused food was too much: too much work and effort for lil' in taste/enjoyment. I'm not a fan of fish so I tried a pork-sausage dish that sounded great on the menu but when it was presented, it was essentially a log of pork rolled around grounded pork. I wasn't that impressed.The location is prime and the restaurant is beautiful, a beautiful expanse of the waterway in Brickell Key but the food disappointed me. It's a good place to take someone on a date to impress.

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14

14

Kenny D.

Rockville, MD

I had dinner at Azul in the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in July 2007 and enjoyed the experience immensely.  It is a great place to take (or have) a date because it has a quiet and intimate ambiance.  The restaurant is very stylish with a contemporary Asian motif.  There is seating indoors and out on their patio, both come with a view of Biscayne Bay.  The restaurant staff were very professional, pleasant and attentive and not at all pretentious as they tend to be at many other higher-end eating establishments I've been to.  The dishes were very interesting and tasty, using many ingredients you don't normally find or see combined.  The portion sizes were just right too and presented in a very artistic fashion.  Dinner for two with desert and a glass or two of wine was about $200.00.  Reservations are suggested and they do have a dress code of "Smart, Elegant.".  Okay....    The one draw back I found to eating at Azul, and its lower level more casual cousin Cafe Sambal, is that you have to pay for valet parking at the Mandarin Oriental to park as there is nowhere you can park yourself.  And even with a restaurant validation the parking cost $8.00.  You would think parking would be free if you are spending so much on a dinner but I guess not.

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28

179

Belle M.

Berkeley, CA

Azul was a gastronomic experience! It is an amazing restaurant in the Mandarin Oriental with a breath-taking view of Key Biscayne.  We got a chance to enjoy the $20 pre-fix lunch menu before heading back to San Francisco. This is definitely a steal for everything you get. It was exquisite food- a fusion of carribean and french, excellent service and wonderful views of the harbor.  When we dined here a couple of years ago, Michelle Bernstein was the chef, she brought in  innovative and exquisite menu, although she is no longer the chef I would still recommend it because of the ambience and the great deal.

Update: I just found out that chef Michelle Bernstein has opened her own restaurant in Miami called Michy's.  I am looking forward to my next trip to Miami so I can try out her new restaurant.

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