the bazaar by josé andrés

if you're heading to miami and you want tapas done right, this is the place to check out! jose andres is the person responsible for bringing spanish tapas to the us, so you better believe that he'll do it well. the food here is creative, inventive, and exciting. portions are small, but that's what tapas are. we had about 3-4 each and were fine. but, that being said, the cost does add up quite a bit, but it didn't cost too much more than any other high quality restaurant in miami.

the cocktail menu at the bazaar is fun, innovative, and features lots of references to molecular gastronomy techniques (foams, liquid nitrogen etc). if we didn't have a long drive back to palm beach, we would have stayed all night and sampled ourselves silly, but alas, choices had to be made. we tried the passion fruit up (rum, passion fruit and ginger-laurel syrup, topped with passion fruit foam), and the pisco sour (pisco, fresh lemon and lime juices, egg whites and bitters). on the former, the foam was reminiscent of a whipped up passion fruit curd that retained its silky smooth texture yet with a light as air finish. much less sweet than the passion fruit, the pisco sour was incredibly smooth and well balanced.

the evening began with the most ignorant hostess ever and progressed to a more inept gm than i’ve ever seen. the $15 oysters had more shells than if i picked them off the beach. timing on food delivery was terrible. when i spoke with gm he was so indignant it made me sick and i asked for the check and left. the gm and hostess should never be allowed in the service business. they are clueless. the food was subpar at best. don’t spend your money here as it’s wasted. better off going to chick-fil-a or bk. i never leave reviews like this but these people and their service deserve it. absolutely terrible!

food was absolutely lovely, every dish had this great element of creativity. everything on the menu is worth trying, it's hard to make any recommendations. would recommend to anyone visiting the area.

we’ve dined at the bazaar in beverly hills twice before so it was a no brainer we wanted to try chef andres’ miami location as well. the decor is more homey and less fancy, we found customer service to be somewhat lacking.

what we ordered:

1) chicken croquetas (8.5/10) - always pleases, can’t go wrong with these. creamy, flavourful filling and perfectly fried coating.

2) caprese salad (5/10) - boring. nothing that delighted.

3) oyster caviar (5/10) - at $12 a pop i expected something that tasted better than my $2 bc oysters from back home. keep the caviar. it didn’t elevate the oyster at all.

4) conch fritters (5/10) - “liquid inside”...you mean half-cooked batter? average taste, not very innovative or interesting, pass.

5) mushroom soup (1/10) - not pictured we returned it to the kitchen, tasted like a bowl of salt!!!! woaaah. even the chef tasted it and agreed with us.

6) tortilla de patatas 63 (8/10) - same as with the chicken croquettes, this never fails to impress. love the entire construction of the dish, but one thing to note, it was more liquid-y than its beverly hills counterpart.

7) bone marrow (4/10) - the components didn’t really work for us. overall, strange textures and flavours combined. pass.

8) foie gras pb & j (2/10) - not sure why the foie gras was so salty. it overwhelmed the entire sandwich. could not enjoy anything with the taste of only salt in my mouth. i was afraid of taking another bite honestly. yikes.

at least we didn’t break the bank. prices are actually reasonable for miami’s standards. but i was very disappointed with my meal at the bazaar miami. i guess i’ll stick with the one in beverly hills. hope you have better luck with it than i did.

happy eating 🌷

a melhor refeição que comi em miami e das melhores na minha vida.
o atendimento e o espaço são simplesmente fantásticos. recomendo vivamente.

came with a large group of friends (7) for a birthday to experience the miami spice menu that i had always heard great things about! he had made his birthday reservations weeks in advance and dealt with some issues with management whom called him back day of claiming that anybody missing from the party would then be charged to him at $50. this was upsetting because we had one person unable to attend but once we arrived were assured by the front staff that it would not be an issue and that the miami spice menu was attainable for parties of 8 or less. we were ushered to the back patio to enjoy a cocktail while the rest of our party arrived so that we then could be seated for our meal. our back patio server was nice and once hearing that we were there for a birthday offered three complimentary shots. we ordered their croquetas to nibble on as we waited (which were phenomenal and true to spanish style). she later returned and notified us that she couldn't deliver the shots because her manager didn't approve of them when asked......thought this was very strange considering that she told us she was going to bring them. a good server would have kept her word and bit the bullet by buying the shots herself-----this is my only complaint about the service since within the restaurant it was completely different and stellar.

after everyone within our party arrived we were seated in the front section of the restaurant at a lovely large table with a server that was extremely knowledgeable of the menu, taking the time to explain that for miami spice you choose one item per five sections offered and that the restaurant was tapas styled with various items coming out as they were being completed in the kitchen. the five items i chose were as follows:

- japanese taco: grilled eel, shiso, cucumber, wasabi, pork chicharrones
- pisto: tomato sofrito, eggplant, cippolini onion, zuchini, bell pepper and fried egg
- not your everyday caprese: cherry tomatoes, liquid mozzarella
- cuban coffe rubbed churrasco: with passion fruit
- s'mores chocolate cake: toasted marshmallow, caramelized banana and milk icecream

i enjoyed every single item i ordered with each delivering a true gastronomic experience unlike anywhere else. some highlights from my meal and others with me were:
- pisto: the egg yolk is broken and mixed into the sofrito infront of you
- not your everyday caprese: i've never experienced anything like this liquid mozzarella
- papas canarias: unlike anything i've ever tasted and absolutely delicious with the sauces served
- fish papillote: alaskan salmon prepared steamed within in a bag with various herbs
- s'mores chocolate cake: set afire to melt the chocolate!

everything was delicious and presented in so many unique ways that i would highly recommend bazaar as a must try miami spice menu for an original fine dining experience not quite like anywhere else!

ig: @kfitzeats

the place is all about the ambience and the perfection with which the chefs try to serve you food. don’t expect much from the quantity. the serving size is small. the food is good but not as great as the hype.

great ambience, decor, crowd. but mediocre food that hides its mediocrity behind a wannabe modern style. not recommended for a good dinner, perhaps for having some drinks with 3 or 2 tapas (go with the more traditionals; deconstructed ones are expensive bad stuff) but no more than that. ordered 9 different dishes, just 2 of them were good

at the sls south beach hotel, you find the bazaar, whose fame rests on the accoladed spanish chef josé andrés, who being a young man established himself in washington and from there dedicated for 20 years to reinvent the most popular dishes of the latin, caribbean, asian, and of course, spanish cuisine.



each and every gastronomic creation embodies the flavor recollection of its country of origin, which prods you into a journey of flavors and aromas. the presentations of the dishes, often spinoffs from original renowned dishes, end up as beautiful masterworks. of course, there are some creations made in honor of the master of modern gastronomy, ferran adrià.

the bazaar boasts a wide-ranging selection of wines featuring wines from the ribera del duero and la rioja. the staff stands out for its amicable and dedicated treatment. the ambience is pleasant and it is not uncommon to exchange points of view with other diners about the quality of each dish.

the restaurant is decked out with a simple yet eye-catching decor; some of its walls are painted as bookshelves resembling a library, and in the middle of the restaurant there is a noteworthy and huge lamp that looks like it was made of sea shells.

lovely dinner spot at the sls hotel. the restaurant has so many cuisines to choose from. we ordered chicken croquetas, steak tartare as well as cones with shrimp inside. desserts are creative and full of flavors

the bazaar by jose andrés

sls hotel south beach, miami

chef & owner jose andrés
chef de cuisine tito vargas
sous chef justin dephillips 

*11 course tasting with 10 gifts from the chef

review:

dinner at the bazaar kicked off with a warm greeting from sous chef justin dephillips. i will write my review with as little bias as possible since we did receive nearly a dozen complimentary courses throughout the evening. regardless of this, my dinner at celebrity chef jose andrés's the bazaar, located in the sls hotel excelled on all levels. i really liked the restaurants decor but only the blanca dining room. the other dining room, the roja room was very bland. be sure to request the blanca room when visiting this restaurant. 
once seated at a perfect table with a view of the entire restaurant i chose to begin the evening with a cold glass of krug grande cuvée champagne. after being given some time to enjoy the atmosphere and my champagne, the menu was explained to us by our wonderful server, joshua, who made it very clear to us throughout the evening that he was experienced and very much liked his job. i can always appreciate enthusiasm from a server. joshua explained that 3-5 tapas per person would generally serve well. after looking over the menu for a bit, i called over the sommelier and ordered a nice bottle of corton grand cru from burgundy. it opened up beautifully as the meal progressed. 
when joshua returned, i told him about 11 tapas we'd like to try. then chef justin came out to tell
us he'll fill in the gaps with dishes he'd like to show us. each and every one of the 21 courses i tasted i enjoyed very much. in my opinion, the standouts were the caviar cones, the cubano, paella, bao buns, the caprese and both desserts. the sous chef justin and the bazaar's extremely professional and seemingly experienced staff did a wonderful job ensuring my first experience dining here was one to remember. i very much look forward to the opening of the bazaar in new york city next fall.

3/4 stars

⭐️ good

⭐️⭐️ very good

⭐️⭐️⭐️ excellent 

⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️⭐️ world class

out of curiosity –and also by mistake- i ended up on josé andrés’s (a spanish chef) instagram, i was fascinated. this guy grew up in barcelona very close to gastronomy, and finally he ended up working with el bulli’s,ferran adrià. then, when he was only 21, he decided to cross the atlantic ocean to conquer new york city, later moved to washington dc, and ended up building a very impressive career that has seduced americans with his 15 restaurants.

in my last holidays i visited miami and had the pleasure to visit the bazaar, the glamorous restaurant of the luxurious sls hotel. this is not one of those places where you eat and leave, it’s a whole experience, a story that has conquered the entire first floor of this building, which is beautifully and eclectically decorated by industrial designer philippe starck.

well now to the interesting part, the menu…

i arrived very confident and asked them to please show me the tasting menu, but i almost fell from my chair when i saw the price. i decided to create my own menu and order almost everything on it without noticing how much i was spending, but honestly, who cares?

so it all started like this…

first a glass of a delicious riesling, 2014 harvest piesporter goldtröpfchen, i don’t drink a lot, but this one was clearly and excellent choice.

the first dish was a “tortilla de papas”. in this restaurant deconstruction of traditional recipes is a rule, that’s why this tremendous dish looked far from a tortilla but it’s taste was perfection, just like a traditional one.

next came in the bao (a steam bun) filled with deliciously marinated pork belly. it melted in my mouth and i didn’t want if to be over, but then came the next one.

third round was the reinvention of the famous cuban sandwich. it was like a fine empanada, crunchy and fragile. the cheese inside of it filled our mouths quickly, and the ham on top was the perfect combination to spice it up a little bit.

i this point of the evening i just had to see what the three kitchens of this place looked like. i walked through them, introduced myself and drooled all over the place with the delicious things they were preparing. so much specialty, precision, perfection, order and discipline!

when i arrived to the table i was stunned with some amazingly traditional looking patatas bravas (the picture looked awful, way too dark), but the taste was far from ordinary, these golden sticks accompanied with a tasty alioli were simply perfect.

i’m not a meat person, but oh my god this dish… a very generous piece of churrasco with a crunchy crust of a cuban coffee rub, damn, i was speechless. on top of it there was a passion fruit sauce, which was acid, fresh and charming like the devil.

then came the pollo al ajillo, a slow cooked chicken thigh accompanied with a black garlic sauce. tasty but way too simple compared to the rest of the preparations.

i couldn’t resist ordering something crazy… so it was baby japanese peaches. i confess that when the dish got to the table i instantly knew that it wasn’t the right choice. peanut butter in the bottom, on top of them four pieces of burrata, the peaches, croutons, hazelnuts and a little bit of arugula. the contrast of the sweet and savory was not the pleasant one; it was more of a wreckage. i would have eaten the burrata alone with a crunchy french bread. and the peaches with hazelnut would have made the perfect dessert.

the last dish before dessert was the yucca churros and what a surprise! a marvelous taste with the perfect crunchy crust, and they were so big, peeeeeerrrrrrfectttt. as a side they had a peanut butter and honey mixture in a paint tube, i would have preferred manjar (dulce de leche), but still they were delicious.

sweets are my favorite… it was hard to make a choice but we picked the perfectly structured s’more-chocolate cake. it’s an absolute reinvention of this traditional boy scout snack transformed in a sensational spectacle. a piece of chocolate cake covered with a toasted marshmallow, on top of it a little bit of peanut butter, a small gold leaf and a chocolate cup that later turned on fire. on the bottom graham crackers crumbles, caramelized banana and peanut butter ice cream. a childish closure to my first fancy as hell dinner.

overall it was a hallucinating experience in a place where the waiter knew the same or even more than me about chefs, rankings, restaurants and menus. this guy javier not only served tables, he walked us all the way to the hotel door, told us the entire story of the place, since the beginning to who painted the walls. stunning, bravo!

it's expensive, many of the tapas are small doses, even for tapas, but you should expect this by the type of restaurant. 
that said, it's worth it to go, all the food was amazing, inventive dishes and versions of known dishes with great mix of flavours, the service was probably the best, everyone was amazingly nice and explained everything we needed, what the plates had, how best to try them, etc.
the sangria was good too.

party atmosphere!. very crowded bar and not very intimate, but the service was exceptional and the food delicious. there are so many offerings, we deferred to the waiter for a range of selections (about 3 per person) and it turned out splendidly. expensive, but worth it if you want delicious food in a boisterous setting. great place for a party.