(When D told me he was going to Oceanaire for lunch today, I suggested he try their Miami Spice menu and let me know how it was. After all, this was one of the restaurants on my Miami Spice to-do list. But after he told me about his experience, I figured I’d just let him tell us about it.)
“As sleek as a 1930s ocean liner, yet as relaxed as a dinner on the shore.†At least that’s what they tell you. The Oceanaire Seafood Room in Mary Brickell Village has gotten rave reviews from Miami New Times to the Miami Herald.
Hmmm … It looks nice but is it worth leaving your wallet on the table?
I’ve now been there about six times and it always seems to be with one of my bosses who are definitely not short on the cash. I think their thought is I’ll take them somewhere nice, but for some reason I’ve never had the thought to go back there on my own. Despite my previous thoughts I figured they are supporting Miami Spice so let’s see what they’ve got in store for $22.
I chose the summer vegetable soup, flounder and sorbet. Soup was light with a little kick, very good. Hey, this might be my best Oceanaire lunch yet! Suddenly the plate for my entrée was delivered but I couldn’t find the flounder. Oh there it is. The width of my Blackberry sitting on the table and as thin as the paper the menu is printed on. My first Fisher Price Fishing Pole could have handled this one. Supposedly they fly their fish in fresh from all over the world everyday but I think this one was flown in from the land of the Smurfs.
I’m now thinking a late afternoon snack will definitely be needed. I try and look across the table to one of my co-workers but couldn’t find him since this enormous chef’s special is sitting in front of him. Maybe I should have gone with the Chef’s Special like my buddy. Are you ready for the big announcement of the Chef’s Special?
(drums please)
Fish & Chips!!! What? Fish & Chips? Who the hell has ever heard of Fish & Chips as the Chef’s Special? Two small pieces of fried fish and an enormous plate of French fries. Wow! Looks like the Chef was creative today!
My two favorite parts of the meal today were the mango sorbet, which was delicious (larger than flounder) and the fact that my boss was paying.
Do yourself the favor and don’t drop by The Oceanaire Room for Miami Spice. Leave your wallet elsewhere.
Here’s their menu:
Appetizer:
Summer Vegetable Soup
Crispy Calamari
Small House Salad
Entrée:
Broiled Gulf Flounder
Crab Cake Melt
Daily Chef’s Special (August 8 Special -Fish & Chips)
Dessert:
Scoop of Sorbet from “The Freize,” Miami Beach
Cookies and Milk
Jorge’s Tres Leches (not today) Dixie Cup replacement
The Oceanaire Seafood Room
900 South Miami Avenue
305.372.8862
tags: Miami Spice, Oceanaire, Brickell
Thanks for the insight on Oceanaire Miami Spice. It was on my to do list, but I will take it off. I went to Setai The Restaurant on Sat with 7 friends and we were all disappointed. The place is beautiful, but two of us could not stop laughing when we got the pork belly entree which was completely misrepresented on the miami spice menu. It’s a bowl of cream curry soup with pork fat (not pork) and a couple of shrimp with tails–awful. How do you eat a soup entree with shrimp tails in a bowl? This country boy was diggin’ in his bowl with his fingers. Everything was appetizer-size, no entrees. So bad that I emailed the setai to express my disappointment and recommendation that they no longer participate in the Miami Spice program—no response. Portions were so small we hit pizza rustica afterwards. Always a good meal there.
The Setai was on my to-do list too, so now I have to wonder. You would think some of these restaurants would try a little harder during this event. After all, they’re not forced to participate and what they might not realize is that they can earn people’s patronage if they have a good experience during the promotion — like my experience at the Food Gang. D and I really want to keep going back to try more of their regular menu. Thanks for the input, Alan.
I, too, dropped by the Oceanaire for lunch yesterday. For $30, including tip, tax, and parking, I had the calamari, flounder, and cookie (yes, a cookie — with milk!).
The portions were small, but I felt adequate for lunch (though maybe not at that price). My waiter was polite, but not endearing, though the room captain seemed to be on the ball.
The calamari was the best part. Crispy breading with a sweet, heavy sauce and lime.
They brought the flounder out almost immediately after the calamari arrived; it must have taken virtually no time to cook, as D mentioned, it was a tiny portion. I’m by no means a fish expert (or fish lover), so my non-technical critique would be: “it was alright.”
For dessert, I opted for the chocolate chip cookie and glass of milk. The cookie was served warm (and while not large, probably weighed more than the flounder). The glass of milk (I had my choice of whole or skim) was (unsurprising at this point) also small.
Will I go back for Miami Spice? No.
Would I be willing to try it another time? Probably. The atmosphere was nice and the place has potential. If I’m not wowed at that point, I doubt I’d be back for awhile.
Thanks for sharing your experiences at The Food Gang and Oceanaire. I personally find Oceannaire overpriced and mediocre.
I tried the Miami Spice Menu at Vix and it was fantastic. I had the Mediterranean Palate as appetizer which is a great romaine and artichoke salad. For entree I had the Indian palete in which you choose 3 of four curries. It was divine. Dessert was passion fruit mousse. Delicious! My friend had the Latin palete for appetizer, which is ceviche. The portion was very small but tasty. For dinner she had the Mediterranean palete, which was like a seafood stew. She loved it and the portion was generous. After the bill, they brought us truffles as a treat (on the house) You guys might want to try it.
Hello all…great site!
A group of friends and I went to *Baleen* last night and ordered from the Miami Spice menu we had everything on the menu except the short ribs.
The place was beautiful and the service wonderful - no second class citizen vibe at all for being “Miami Spice peopleâ€.
It started out great with plenty of delicious *pull-apart* bread, served with two cruets - one with balsamic vinegar and one with yummy olive oil, along with little bowls with rock salt, pepper and “monkey rub” which is a delicious combination of spices. The olive oil mixed with the monkey rub made for delicious dipping.
We had the three Miami Spice appetizer options represented - the Bibb Salad was literally half a head of lettuce with a yummy dressing, pumpkin seeds and pumpkin seed oil, the Baked Oysters were delicious topped with king crab and other yummy stuff; and finally the Lobster Bisque with coconut, jasmine and sake, and a beautiful juicy piece of lobster was phenomenal.
For entrees we all went with fish. The Cascabel Chili Cilantro salmon with chipotle crema looked beautiful and my friend liked it. I found the Char-Grilled Dorado with Artichoke Mashed Potatoes and Crispy Capers to be good, juicy, etc. but as the menu indicated it was simply grilled, so it wasn’t particularly exiting; the artichoke mashed potatoes however were delicious! And the “crispy capers” - well I have to figure out how to do that because I need to eat lots of those.
For dessert, I found the dulce de leche banana crepe to be delicious, but thought the tart was frankly bad - too much tart and not enough key lime, and the little key lime that there was tasted old, very dry and tough. Not good.
The Miami Spice price would have been perfect for the meal and service, but the wine killed us! we tried to go with the least expensive wines and wound up paying $100 for two bottles! Oh, well at least the wines - Prosecco and Rose were good!
I would recommend it, but stay away from the Key Lime tart and be ready for the wine prices.
Our next Miami Spice adventures will probably be *The Food Gang* next week and *The Restaurant at The Setai* in September, with another thrown in the mix somewhere. I’ll let you know how it goes.
Also - if you want to keep the good food/low prices vibe going into the fall Broward County is offering “Dine Out Lauderdale” which runs from October 1 - November 15th. Here’s the link: http://www.sunny.org/static/index.cfm?contentID=507