Coral Gables Spice

Invigorate Your Taste Buds!

Miami Spice is back! Running through the end of this month, every participating Spice restaurant – including 24 in the Gables – will have three-course meals available for lunch at $28 and dinner at either $45 or $60. This is your chance to try restaurants typically out of your price range or comfort zone. We tried some of our favorites for lunch and dinner to bring you a taste of both.

Lunch Spice

At $28 each, the luncheon menus are an affordable way to explore fine dining

Mamey

Mamey has one of the only rooftop bars in Coral Gables (and a great daily happy hour), but it’s the ground floor restaurant you’ll want to go to for your Spice lunch. The pork belly sandwich with smoked mozzarella, kimchi, and a chili glaze is a must, and if you’re really feeling adventurous, ask for their specialty hot sauce. (Fair warning: it’s not for the faint of heart.) For dessert, the chocolate mousse bar is essentially just a brownie with ice cream, but it’s al- most indecently good. The mojo chicken is also outstanding, but it’s hard to go wrong with chef Niven Patel at the helm.

1350 S. Dixie Highway. 305.266.2639. mameymiami.com

Ecléctico

The only thing we’ve ever complained about Ecléctico is not having enough room to try more dishes from their inventive Pan-Latin fusion menu. The Miami Spice lunch fixes that issue without taking away any of the deliciousness. We practically begged our waiter to get the Avian Ab-duck-tion (a duck leg confit enchilada) on the regular menu, and the aptly named Moo-rrito – filet mignon and cilantro rice topped with ranchero sauce and gouda cream – could make even the hungriest tap out. And talk about creative: try the pulled jackfruit al pastor with Bibb lettuce and watermelon radish on a corn tortilla. More, please!

320 Lorenzo Ave. 786.615.5735. electicomiami.com

Zucca

If there’s one good thing that came out of Covid, it’s the outdoor patio at Zucca, one of the most beautiful and romantic venues in all of Coral Gables. It’s a little warm to eat outside now, but we’re crossing our fingers for those seasonal September cold fronts. As for their lunch Spice menu, the presentations are just as lovely and delicious. For starters, the crab tartar with grapefruit, avocado, and cilantro is wonderfully refreshing. On the entrée side, we loved the orecchiette pasta with broccolini (photo pg. 39) rabe and lemon breadcrumbs. And offering cheese for dessert (pecorino with a honey to dip) is among the best ideas we’ve seen in our search for Spice delights.

162 Alcazar Ave. 786.580.3731. zuccamiami.com

Dinner Spice

We chose 3 top tier restaurants and their $60 menu. Still a bargain.

Tur Kitchen

Led by the brilliant Chef Christian, TUR gets better every time we eat there – and their Miami Spice dinner is no exception. For an appetizer, imbibe their “catch of tomorrow” with plant-based crudo in creamy heirloom gazpacho with okra and chives. For an entrée, the pork tenderloin is superb, garnished with purple potatoes, arugula, pomegranate, and pickled plums. For dessert, you could go across the street to La Glace for some after-dinner ice cream, but why bother when the TUR sorbet is light and delicately flavored with citrus and floral tones? Better yet is the phyllo Napoleon, but that comes with an added $7 fee.

259 Giralda Ave., 786.483.8014. turkitchen.com

Fiola

The highlight here is the grilled wood oven Delmonico steak. It’s an added $9 on top of the $60 dinner price – far from the low- est-priced meal on the Miami Spice list, but maybe the best steak we’ve ever had. A parmigiano kataifi, Fiola’s slightly cheesier take on the traditional Middle Eastern pastry, sits between two cuts of beef soaked in a decadent truffle Osso Buco sauce. Elsewhere on their extensive Spice menu (15 choices in all) is bison steak tartare with duck egg, yellowtail snapper with taggiasca olives, and a coconut almost crumble for dessert.

1500 San Ignacio Ave. 305.912.2639. fiolamiami.com.

Fontana

Fontana only does their Spice dinner Sunday through Thursday (no lunch), but if you’re trying to impress your date without breaking the bank, this is the place to be. The outdoor courtyard elevates any regu- lar meal into a scene from a romance movie, with the gentle tinkling from the fountain and the glow of ambient lighting to set the scene. An order of the pan roasted branzino arrosto will not only satisfy your hunger but also your date’s fine dining sensibilities. Also on the spice menu is an excellent veal ravioli with porcini mushrooms and white truffle sauce. And don’t miss the key lime pie dessert.

1200 Anastasia Ave. 800.411.3812. biltmorehotel.com/dining

Miami Spice Restaurants
In Coral Gables