Image Commercially Licensed from: Unsplash
By: Daniel Finch
Looking for a place to impress a friend or a date? Well look no further than the Queen Miami Beach, a swanky Japanese Steakhouse in the heart of South Beach repeat with a VIP Red Rope entrance. This former movie theater turned Steakhouse turns the eye before you ever even reach the table. You arrive and are let in like a proper nightclub by a man in a suit with an ear piece. After assuring the security that you do indeed have a reservation the next step is in an entrance way adorned with old movie posters, most likely the last feature films to have played there. The gold entrance hall leads to the “concessions” area which is now a full purpose bar with lovely sofas around, presumably for waiting periods on the busier evenings. This is one bar you don’t mind having a drink at before your table is ready. The restaurant interior itself is like something out of the most recent Great Gatsby. The bar which you walk past is glass backed and filled with all your favorites, plus many more expensive bottles known or unknown to most of the public. The tables look like those out of an old Italian dinner club in Manhattan, big comfortable round booths which you can really sink into, along with beautiful hardwood tables. Take a few moments to really look around and enjoy the decor, including the dining areas located on the old mezzanine levels.
Once you have finished the visual appetizers it is time to really indulge. Sure it’s not cheap, but is it worth it? Their signature, and most popular cocktail, the Mademoiselle, is light and sweet, without being too cloying, the perfect pairing of Lychee, Pineapple, Ginger and Vodka, shaken until creamy and adorned with a single Raspberry. If you’re looking for something with a little more kick, try the Hitchcock’s Suspicion, a boozy mixture of Japanese Whiskey, and Bourbon with oolong tea, that drinks so easily.
Now onto the food itself once you have settled into your comfortable booth, with your tasty cocktail. We were lucky enough to get the chef’s tasting menu which started with the Tuna Pizzetta, and what a treat it was. A thin slice of tuna adorned a deliciously thin cracker topped with watermelon radish, and Serrano pepper, give it a little squeeze of lime juice and you’re on your way. For our second appetizer we enjoyed the shrimp tempura roll topped with a miso ginger sauce. The roll itself was nothing to write home about but the sauce on top was a real treat. There was a nice balance of crunch and spice to the roll, but it didn’t knock your socks off quite like the pizzeria.
For the main course we were greeted with Miso Glazed Chilean Sea Bass, Wagyu Short Rib Ssam, Creamed Corn and Eringi Cacio Pepe. The Sea Bass was perfectly cooked, and the balance of sweet from the miso glaze, and just a touch of spice from the Coconut Cilantro sauce was perfect. The Wagyu Short Rib Ssam for me was the highlight of the whole meal. These were make your own lettuce wraps with house-made pickled vegetables, and five pieces of fork tender sweet, but not cloying so, braised Wagyu Short Ribs. I could have eaten every piece of short rib prepared at the Queen Miami Beach that evening. This was such a nice balance where the short ribs weren’t inundated with Soy Sauce or overly sweet like they tend to get at Japanese restaurants, and the pairing with the pickled vegetables made for the perfect bite, to add to the crunch of the fresh lettuce. If you are stopping in these are a must try.
As for the sides, the Eringi Cacio Pepe was something that took me off guard. The Mushrooms had been stripped down to appear as if they were spaghetti, and tossed with a traditional Cacio Pepe sauce (pecorino and pepper only) to create a dish that had the full reach creamy taste expected, but with a crunch that is befitting of only the most perfectly cooked al dente Spaghetti. Despite not being a huge truffle fan, the Creamed Corn was a nice treat. Once again balanced nicely between the sweetness of the corn and the spice of the shichimi (Japanese spice mix) the dish really packs a nice punch. As a whole the entrees were a real hit and each one was perfectly balanced as well as uniquely different giving a really nice outlay of what the Queen has to offer.
Finally it was on to dessert, where we were greeted by a veritable mountain of goodies. Sat upon a bed of ice was their signature Passion fruit cheesecake, selection of seasonal “Frozen Fruit,” and Caramel and Coconut bite, we were also treated to a chocolate truffle dessert special for the evening. Let’s start with the positives, the Passion Fruit Cheesecake is a must. The tartness of the fruit itself works perfectly with the airy nature of the cheesecake before you get to the crunch of the crust that is just the perfect bite of this not too sweet dessert. The “Frozen Fruit” is a fun concept where they make a fresh sorbet and then scoop out the insides of the fruit, fill it with sorbet and freeze the outside of the fruits. Whilst each sorbet is tasty, it becomes unnecessarily difficult to fit the rather large soup spoon into the bottom of the small fruits such as the kiwi or the lime and thus makes the whole operation a little fruitless. The sorbets themselves were delicious but the presentation was a little over the top. The Caramel and Coconut bite was a nice treat that was not over the top sweet but really packed a nice punch. Finally the chocolate truffle special was the only real negative to the meal. Despite perfectly combining different textures in the dish, it really fell short on flavor. You crack open a “truffle” shaped chocolate filled with a light, airy truffle-like filling with a caramel core, around the bowl is lined with chocolate and coconut ganache. Each bite has layers to it, but in texture only. Not one element of the dish popped as none of the flavors really stood out, and as such despite the elegant nature and beauty of the dish it ultimately fell flat.
To sum it up, if you have the ability to spend some money, and you would like to have a meal at a “scene” restaurant, or would like to impress a date, The Queen Miami Beach is your spot. You truly feel like the royalty the name personifies, and the meal as a whole will stand up. Unlike many of these other beautiful and trendy spots, the Queen Miami Beach does not let you down on the food side of things. From balanced cocktails to balanced plates it is a feast for both the eyes and the stomach.
Published by: Martin De Juan
