la mar by gaston acurio

   i've been cruising around town with my windows down and made some nice pit stops along the way. the following four spots are new and my initial experiences were good enough to warrant return visits and were also worth sharing with you.                                                                              la mar is located in the former cafe sambal space at the mandarin oriental hotel located on brickell key in miami. it features theperuviancuisine of chef gaston acurio who has owns additional spots in bogota, lima, san francisco and sao paulo. the miami kitchen is run by diego oka and the menu consists of numerous cebiches, tiraditos, causas, anticuchos along with other takes on traditionalperuviandishes. they are open daily for lunch and dinner. the ceviche was easily the highlight of my initial visit. it featured really nice pieces of fresh tuna along with very flavorful leche de tigre. the strong and enjoyable flavors of the ceviche rendered the other dishes bland in c

la mar, located inside the mandarin oriental hotel, specializes inperuvianfare. the restaurant affords a busy bar that now features a happy hour. it offers good brunch on sundays and it boasts one seating area with air conditioning and other outdoor with a view that overlooks biscayne bay



what we liked the most: empanadas de gallina

quite enjoyed dining at la mar during my stay at the mandarin. although i've had much betterperuvianfood around miami, but definitely recommend la mar for the romantic setting, beautiful cutlery, and presentation.

the beso de moza dessert with the crispy quinoa was particularly amazing!

most of the dishes we tried were absolutely fabulous. although advertised as "for sharing", the portions for most menu items are not that big, especially if you're used to dining at otherperuvianrestaurants. we've tried manyperuvianrestaurants and this one has to be one of the best in miami for taste and presentation of food. the restaurant's location on biscayne bay right across from brickell avenue ( aka miami's financial district) makes it one of the best waterside dining establishments in miami. as expected, it's an expensive restaurant, but you get what you pay for and it's ideal for romantic dinners and special occasions. if you want to guarantee outside sitting, advanced reservations are recommended.

while there are countlessperuvianrestaurants in a city like miami, none can offer the culinary ties that a gaston acurio restaurant can (he truly is peru’s top chef and his name is known on a global scale). asperuviancuisine is extremely diverse, the menu at la mar reflects this, featuring everything from the quintessential cebiche toperuvianstyle nigiri (thousands of japanese immigrants came to peru) to classicperuvianfavorites. while nearly all the items on the menu sounded amazing, i opted to do my own sampling so i could try as many things as possible, since i doubt gaston acurio will be bringing his name to the spanish lacking city of pittsburgh anytime soon.

... ceviche barrio – yellow tail snapper, mussels, clams, crispy calamari andperuvianpepper rocoto – deliciously crunchy, soft and spicy and el bote chalaco – scallops, oysters and mussels with chalaca, a sauce with tomatoes, onions and cilantro. the fish was squeakingly fresh and each dish delicious.