A Restaurant Review on: Town Kitchen and Bar, South Miami, Florida

MRC Rating:

1. Location: Rating 5
2. Taste and Quality: Rating 3 1/2
3. Service: Rating of 4 (Waiter was good)
4. Price: Rating $$$
5. MRC MUST Visit: Rating 3 1/2

Arriving to the Restaurant and Suggestions on Parking

If you are looking for a nice place to dine and eat some good food in South Miami, visit Town Kitchen and Bar. Town is located at 7301 SW 57 Ave. It’s in the heart of South Miami, near Sunset Place. It’s a great little place to dine and get a few drinks right before a movie. .
On Friday night, my wife and I were invited to Town Kitchen and Bar to celebrate my friend Ivette's 34 birthday. So before I go on with my critique, I want to wish my very good friend Ivette a VERY HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

We arrived at around 8:00 PM after going in circles looking for parking. After a few frustrating moments, I decided to Valet. I paid $7.00 and avoided having to drive around on a busy night in South Miami and thank goodness we did. If you decide to visit Town Kitchen and Bar use the Valet option, it’s well worth it. If you don’t like to Valet you can take your chance at the meters or park at Sunset Place and pay $6.00 for covered parking.

The Restaurant Ambiance and Bar

As I walked into the restaurant I could see it was packed with people. I assumed that the Happy Hour crowd at 5pm and the dining crowd at 8pm converged creating a nice scene in one of South Miami’s hot spot. Town Kitchen and Bar attracts a lot of locals on a Friday nights, so it does get busy, but head out anyway, it’s well worth the experience. (Please note: If you plan on visiting Town on Friday night, make a reservation. If you don’t make a reservation, be prepared to wait a little while for a table.)

While we waited, my wife and I decided to order a few drinks. I decided to order the house Merlot (great choice) and my wife opted to order the most unique drink on the menu, a Coke. :) My friends Ivette, Ching, Javi and other people at the gathering decided to order Vodka, Lemon Drops and other drinks which were mixed perfectly (or so I was told), so if you decide to go to Town Kitchen and Bar, visit the bar, they have a nice selection of drinks and some of the nicest bartenders in South Miami.

The Menu: Appetizers and Dinner Selection

We were seated by 9:00 PM and quickly got to looking over the menu. Surprisingly enough Town offered a nice selection of appetizers, pastas, meats and seafood entrees. After a few suggestions from the waiter and small talk over what we should order, we made our decision and decided to go with the following:

Appetizers
-Cesar Salad
-Tuna TarTar
-Calamari

Entree
-Churrasco (Medium Rare), Garlic Mashed Potatoes and Gnocchi
-Churrasco (Medium Well), Garlic Mashed Potatoes and Gnocchi
-Sliders (Well Done) and Sweet Potatoes Fries
-Sliders (Well Done) and Sweet Potatoes Fries

Critique on Appetizers

The friends we were dining with decided to order the Calamari and Tuna Tar Tar, while I decided to order the good “ole” Cesar Salad. I have a seafood allergy, so I can’t accurately give you a critique on seafood, but my friends said the Calamari is the best in Miami. So if you dine out at Town Kitchen and Bar, order the Calamari! I asked them to give me the most accurate MRC rating on the Calamari and they gave it a rating of 4. From what I understand the Tuna Tar Tar was good, they gave it a rating of 3 1/2.

Now, I’d like for you to pay special attention to what I have to say concerning the Cesar Salad. My Cesar Salad was one of the best I’ve ever had. The Cesar Salad was fresh, cold and crisp, with just the right amount of creamy delicious Cesar dressing and fresh sliced Parmesan cheese. I am always surprised how the kitchen at most restaurants get the Cesar salad all wrong, but not the folks at Town Kitchen and Bar. In my opinion, the Cesar Salad at Town is one of the best, therefore they get a gracious and high coveted 5 star MRC rating on the Cesar Salad!

How Was Dinner?

Ok, let me start by saying that Dinner was nice. I am going to give my dining experience at Town Kitchen and Bar a MRC 3 stars.

My wife and her friend ordered the sliders. They both agreed that the sliders were tasty, just the right size and perfect for dinner. The fries were thinly sliced and cooked just about right. Overall it was a nice meal. Good job on the sliders!

My friend and I ordered the Churrasco and we both agreed it was ok, just the right portion for dinner but not one of the best. The steak was lightly seasoned and went well with our garlic mash and gnocchi but sadly enough the steak wasn’t as good as the garlic mash and the gnocchi. The mash potatoes were excellent and the gnocchi was off the hook, some of the best gnocchi in Miami. As far as the steak is concerned, I guess it didn’t help that my steak was served well- done instead of medium-well as I requested, but in any case it wasn’t the end of the world. We ate, we drank and had a nice time.

Quick suggestion to the folks at Town Kitchen and Bar: Look to get your Churrasco from local Argentinean butchers or suppliers. Miami has some of the finest Argentinean restaurants and suppliers in the US. If you’re going make Churrasco use the best. If you happen to buy your meat from a local Argentinean butcher and had a bad night, I am sorry. I don't want to come off as being mean or rude, but the person I was dining with warned me beforehand that he had the steak the last time he was there and that it wasn't the best, but because this is my first time at Town, I'll settle for my critique and leave it at that.

(Side Note: I’ve been asked before why it is that I won’t tell the waiter or manager of an error on an entrée I order or complain about a bad experience. If you are wondering the same thing, I'll explain here why: I believe in giving a good, honest and well intended critique, therefore when I am critiquing a restaurant on my Blog I feel its unfair to thwart the critique by giving the manager, waiter or kitchen a chance to fix a problem. I don’t want to cheat my reader out of the truth. Therefore if you own a restaurant or manage a restaurant in Miami and I happen to critique it, please note I won’t complain or even mention a transgression to a member of your staff, unless it’s completely unbearable. You either get it right the first time or you don’t)

After Dinner, Concluding Thoughts

After we ate, we decided to head back to the bar area where most of our friends were still enjoying their appetizers and drinks. A phenomenal DJ played great music, set the mood and made the rest of the night really fun. We danced, laughed and had a nice time. This after dinner perk is what helped make Town Kitchen and Bar a must visit for tourist and locals alike.

BTW, the price was just about right, so dont be overly concerned with pricing.

I want to end off this critique by saying that my overall experience at Town Kitchen and Bar was very nice. The waiter we had was very good and did whatever he could do to make it a nice dining experience. The drinks, appetizers and ambiance get two thumbs up, leaving room for the staff at Town to work on their choice meats. If Town Kitchen and Bar in South Miami, Florida can work on providing an outstanding Churrasco or steak for that matter, it will go a long way.

Live, love and laugh!

Emilio Yepez