Executive Lunch

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Bulla Gastrobar

FAST & BOISTEROUS

Bulla’s Spanish-style executive lunch is easily one of the best values in Coral Gables. The prix fixe menu is just $21.50 for two courses, and $26.50 if you’d like to add a third-course dessert. The service is prompt and the inside seating (there are six tables outside) is at high tops, four tops and long tables, in a bright and airy space with wooden floors and a large marble-topped bar that dominates the entrance. It’s an extensive space, as the entire ornate building on the corner of Ponce and Valencia is theirs.

CHICKEN MEDITERRANEAN BOWL WITH HUMMUS, TOMATILLO SALSA, CRISPY CHICKPEAS, RICE, AND GREEK YOGHURT SAUCE

The first-course choices are true to the Spanish palette, with chickpea stew, serrano ham croquettes (with fig jelly!) and Spanish lentil soup with chorizo. We tried the Ensalada de Espinacas, a large baby spinach salad with beets, walnuts, arugula and goat cheese. Healthy, bright, crunchy, and generous enough to be lunch by itself. We thought the Patatas Bravas in spicy brava sauce and aioli could have been a bit crispier, but we couldn’t help eating them anyway.

For mains, the Chicken Mediterranean Bowl is the best example of Bulla’s range. With hummus, tomatillo salsa, crispy chickpeas, rice, tomatoes, cucumber, pickled onions, Greek yogurt sauce, and olive oil, it’s both healthy and satisfying. The Pollo al Chilindrón Platter is heartier, pairing pan-seared chicken with serrano ham, red pepper stew, rice, and a house salad. As an executive lunch, Bulla is hard to beat, especially if you like the feel of a busy, bustling informal neighborhood cafe.

2500 PONCE DE LEON BLVD.
786.810.6215
BULLAGASTROBAR.COM

Francesco

AN ELEGANT PAUSE

Francesco brings a touch of Peru to the Coral Gables executive lunch scene, with a $32 prix fixe menu that includes fresh bread, one appetizer, one main course, and dessert. The food focuses on Peruvian cuisine with Italian influences, reflecting the coastal Peruvian town where the grandparents of owner Franco Danovaro moved to from Genoa, Italy, 50 years ago. The restaurant itself has a retro-modern nautical-Deco feeling, with long rounded mirrors, a curved central bar, and a blue and white color palette. It shares a unique curved glass wall with the Miracle Theater entrance patio next door.

GRILLED SKIRT STEAK TOPPED WITH PESTO, SERVED WITH SPAGHETTI IN WHITE CREAM SAUCE

The appetizer options includes a Chef’s Soup of the Day, Salmon Tiradito, House Salad, and Causa Limeña de Pollo. We went with the Causa, which arrived as three small, colorful bites made with potato, chicken, avocado, and aji amarillo. Cool and creamy. For mains, the menu ranges from Chicken Chaufa with Sweet Plantains to Risotto de Ají Amarillo with Grilled Vegetables and Anticuchera Sauce. We tried the Grilled Skirt Steak with Spaghetti in White Sauce. The plate came with sliced steak topped with pesto and a generous portion of spaghetti in cream sauce. Hearty and filling. Dessert was Tocinillo del Cielo, a glossy custard served with caramel sauce and fruit.

Francesco’s executive lunch is best for when the workday meal calls for something a little more polished. The white-tablecloth setting and full three-course plating in a bright, elegant space elevates the lunch experience.

278 MIRACLE MILE
305.797.4039
FRANCESCO-RESTAURANT.COM