Garzon Restaurant – 4/5
Located in Miami’s Brickell area, this Mediterranean crudo bar and grill offers rustic decor and savory tapas. While the dishes range from mediocre to spectacular, the quiet ambiance and attentive service are hard to come by in such a busy metropolitan area. Like an upscale Buns & Buns or a Spanish Swine, this restaurant has offered the atmosphere of an up-and-coming gastropub with traditional dishes since its November opening.
Chorizo Croquettes with Guava Sauce – 5/5
The presentation of this dish is artful but sparse: just six croquettes and a sauce bowl. On their own, the bite-sized croquettes are crisp and rich. Fatty and salty flavors dominate, but there are subtle spices in the chorizo. The dollop of aioli on top adds the right amount of moisture to eat them without additional condiments. When dipped in the guava sauce, however, they become the perfect bite: sweet and unctuous. This dish surpasses the rest, in both flavor and innovation.
Burrata – 3/5
This dish arrived neatly garnished and placed. The mozzarella in this burrata was thick and creamy, but the crostini crackers and tomatoes were leaning toward bland. The peas and asparagus added little but visual appeal to the dish. It was well-seasoned, however, with salt, pepper and olive oil. Overall, this was a decent but uninteresting pick.
Tuna Tartar – 4/5
At first glance, the tuna in this dish seems a bit dull, but the presentation is otherwise colorful and appetizing. The first bite is rich and salty, a mixture of the avocado, olive oil and caviar on top. A few more bites reveals hints of cilantro and aioli, as well as multicolored tomatoes. If the tuna were higher quality, this dish would be a five out of five for flavor and presentation.
Parilladito – 4/5
This dish is a collection of Garzón’s iconic offerings: two different empanadas, chorizo and blood sausage, truffle fries with bleu cheese, and skirt steak. It isn’t the most colorful dish, but what it lacks in chromatics, it makes up for in taste. The empanadas are savory and salty, especially the one filled with sharp cheese and onion. Both varieties of sausage are moist and well-spiced. The fries, like the croquettes, are perfectly crisp and topped with not-too-tangy bleu. The skirt steak is, unfortunately, the disappointment of the plate. While it has a rich, charred flavor, the texture is a bit gummy. Overall, this is an excellent way to sample the restaurant’s dishes and fill up on decadent food.
Garzon Restaurant is located at 901 Brickell Plaza.