Critic of Barton G’s, Miami Beach, Florida

MRC Rating:

1. Location:
Rating of 3 (it can be quite a drive if your not staying on Miami Beach)

2. Taste and Quality:
Rating of 3 (comparable with most fine dining)

3. Service:
Rating of 2 (Waiter interested in inflating the bill, over charged me and gave me the wrong bill twice, highly suspicious)

4. Price:
Rating $$$$ (quite expensive but just about there with other dining establishments)

5. MRC MUST Visit:
Rating 4 (tourist location, fun and novel)

I decided to take my wife to Barton G’s for our anniversary to experience this very popular restaurant on Miami Beach. From the moment we arrived, we were greeted by the host who quickly looked up our name in the book of reservation and immediately seated us in the general dining area. I must say that I was impressed with the ambiance of the restaurant and looked forward to a nice meal and pleasant time.

As we sat down and talked about the ambiance in the restaurant we were greeted by our waiter who seem to be happy to serve us and eager to take our order. After a few moments of dialogue and recommendations from our waiter we decided to order a few salads and a main course. We ordered two American Classic salads and two main entrees. My wife ordered the Garden Sea Bass and I ordered the 10oz. Filet Mignon. I also decided to add to my order a fruity drink they serve; that later I found wasn’t all that great. They have these signature drinks for $29.95 which are fun and novel, but not worth the price. Please NOTE: Your waiter will hard sell these drinks and unless your with a big group of people and want to all sip out of the same glass and laugh it up, avoid ordering it.

After a casual drink and few jokes about how our 10 year anniversary seemed liked yesterday, we received our salads and we immediately noticed that the portions served for the salad were rather large and could each serve two people, therefore for those reading this article you may want to only order one salad and share it between the two of you. I am glad we went with the American Classic Salads as a starter; it was fresh, crisp and ideal for a hot summer night in Miami Beach. I give this salad a rating of (3) three and recommend you order it if you like Blue Cheese and iceberg lettuce.

After eating our salad and feeling 50% full, we received our entrée and again were surprised by the portions they served. The entrées were huge and enough to feed two people. At this point I was a little annoyed and thought to myself why the waiter hadn’t warned us about the portions when we ordered. I then quickly realized that maybe the waiter was more interested in inflating my bill so his 18-20% tip would grow at the same rate; however I decided to discredit the thought and continued to eat about 50% of what they served me. The Sea Bass was tremendous and the Filet was ok, the filet was definitely NOT at the level of a steak house like Ruth Chris, Capital Grill or Christies but it was pretty good.

Now, I’ve explained in brief my experience with the service and portions served at Barton G’s, but what I’ve failed to mention is that while we were eating, there’s much more going on around us then what I’ve described thus far in my blog. People dinning in the restaurant were either starting to order their food or receiving their desserts and I will be the first to admit that the deserts being served were straight out of a movie. Now if you know a little history about Barton G, you know that he’s received accolades, high ratings and reviews for putting together lavish and unique events in and around South Florida, however what I must warn you is that the restaurant falls short in style and showmanship and was a bit dated. The food presentation reflected his style and prices but you could tell it looked passé. Let me end off by saying that Barton G’s restaurant needs a slight “face lift”. Many of the plates served on and deserts ordered on a Palm One were dated with a capital D! With the money they are charging tourists and locals they should really consider a makeover.

When our waiter picked up our plates and was ready to offer desert, he was extremely adamant about us ordering something and not leaving the restaurant without trying a desert, therefore I decided to order for the heck of it and later regretted the decision. We were given the option of ordering deserts like: Big Top Cotton Candy, Carnival Fun Cakes, The Sabrina Sundae and Ultimate BG’s sundae. We decided to order a chocolate cake and once again realized when they delivered our order to the table that it was way too huge and overpriced. Deserts ranged from $25.00 to a whopping $75.00 each! What’s even worse is that if you dine by yourself (which I don’t suggest in this restaurant) or with another person, the desert is way too big to finish therefore take caution. My suggestion is to order coffee and eat desert elsewhere, you’ll be happy you did!

All in all our experience was pleasant and enjoyable, with the exception of my waiter overcharging me twice and giving me someone else’s bill, I've seen this practice before and it was highly suspicious. I will say that the waiters at Barton G’s really know how to encourage tourists and first timers into ordering more than they can eat and it’s a real shame, because at the end of the night I concluded that although the food was good and the service alright, my waiter could have done a better job looking out for me then looking out for his TIP.

Thanks

Emilio Y.
The Miami Restaurant Critic

Miami Restaurant Critic Updates & Comments

Fellow readers and eaters,

I thought I would share a very brief perview on some of the restaurants we will be featuring in the Miami Restaurant Critic Blog. I will be writing and sharing my thoughts and experience concerning the following restaurants:

Barton G's in Miami Beach
Capital Grill on Brickell Avenue
Amici's Trattoria Italiana Restaurant at the Hammocks
Long Horn's Steak House in West Kendall
Cafe Di Note in South Miami/East Kendall
New York New York Deli on Kendall and 107th Avenue

I think you'll find my review to be interesting to say the least and you'll also be surpised by some of the things I have to share concerning some of the more upscale Restaurants. Please keep an eye out for the full reviews in this week's Miami Restaurant Critic!

Talk to ya soon!

Emilio Y.

Introduction to Miami Restaurant Critic Blog

Fellow readers and "eaters",

I've decided to develop an un-bias and objective Blog concerning my experiences at local restaurants in Miami, Florida. I consider myself a lover of "food" and a good judge of all types of cuisines. Unfortunately I cannot and will not Blog about shellfish or restaurants that serve shellfish because I am allergic, therefore I will probably have to bring in another editor that can speak clearly and candidly about shellfish.

In my assessments, I will rate the restaurant on a 5 point scale that will regard:

1. Location
2. Taste and Quality
3. Service
4. Price
5. MRC MUST Visit

I will be rating a restaurant on location and the feasibility in getting to the restaurant. There will be tourist and foreigners reading this Blog and will candidly explain whether or not the restaurant is an a neighborhood that is safe or not safe.

I will include in my rating taste and quality of food. Whether the chef threw something together or whether they took their time to develop the dish. Whether or not it has a unique taste or a microwaved, out of the box taste.

I will be honest in my assessment and especially focus on service. There is nothing I hate more than a nasty waiter or attendant and you can bet and count on the fact that if I am mistreated or receive horrible service, that I will be writing about this experience in details, using first names, dates and times. I strongly believe that price, location and quality of food is important, but the waiter/waitress is who helps set the mood and ambiance.

Price will also be an important part and I will be frank in my critic when I gage whether or not the restaurant is over priced. For those reading this Blog and wondering whether or not I am qualified to rate this area, let me reassure you that I am not a cheapskate nor do I only look for deals on meals. Over the last 18 years that I have frequent restaurants all of the world, I've spent on dinner for both me and my wife anywhere between $20.00-$550.00 and never thought twice about what I was spending so as long we experienced a great meal and a nice dinning experience.

Last but not least, the highest rating a restaurant can get from me is the "MCR Must Visit" stamp of approval. This rating will be almost impossible to get and will only be given to a certain groups of restaurants. I want to reassure you that the only way a restaurant will get this honor is ensure that they are on their game!

I want to end this post by saying, that the goal of this post is help the food enthusiast and people who not only love food, but want to dine at an enjoyable place and experience a restaurant somewhere nice in the hottest city in world!

Emilio Y.