Medianoche Français
Ariete (Coconut Grove)
RESTAURANTS • FOUND Table
The Backstory: For the last near-decade, chef-owner Michael Beltran has continually refined the Cuban heritage cuisine prepared with French technique at Ariete, a restaurant nothing if not emblematic of modern Miami’s fine dining today. It’s been on the vanguard of Coconut Grove’s culinary renaissance, and Beltran keeps expanding his footprint in the neighborhood, which includes casual daytime concept Chug’s Diner, historic bar The Taurus (Ariete’s next-door neighbor), and his latest, playful burger joint Chuggie’s, which opened last month.
The Experience: On a recent Thursday night, I booked a last-minute table for two, and we arrived at Ariete on a quiet, leafy stretch of Main Highway. It’s an elegant, grown-up space; minimalist, warm, awash in polished wood and white subway tile, with a wild boar’s head mounted on one wall. That evening, there were smartly dressed Groveites on dates and a multi-generational family celebrating a birthday.
The choice is yours between a $180 per seven-course “versos sencillos” tasting menu (with a $160 per wine pairing option) or an equally worthy a la carte menu. The pièce de résistance has long been the canard à la presse for two ($160), a meticulously constructed dish prepared tableside with 14-day dry-aged duck breast, served with roasted calabaza tamal, wild mushrooms, foie gravy, and duck fricassée pastelitos. Available in limited quantities, it often sells out early in the evening.
We went à la carte, pairing calabaza brioche bread service with cultured butter and grilled oysters two ways: one with uni butter and parmesan lime breadcrumbs; the other with bone marrow, herb oil, and chive powder, all of it delectable and sumptuous. The pithivier caught our eye, described on the menu as a $65 Cuban sandwich with “sauce charcutier”; our waiter explained it as a medianoche-meets–beef-Wellington-style puff pastry. It’s new to Ariete’s menu, but the dish dates back to the 17th century in France’s Loire region. Intrigued, we went for it.
What arrived was a decadent laminated pastry shaped like sunshine, glazed in sauce and stuffed with ground pork, Swiss cheese, and a hint of pickle — a wholly original, unapologetically decadent, delightful, and delicious take. We paired it with a juicy grilled kampachi whose skin was charred to the perfect crisp, served with mofongo, pepper velouté, and criolla sauce.
The one miss was dessert. A creative-sounding take on flan made with candy cap mushrooms and sambuca crema was so dense and sweet, I could barely eat two bites, as was the off-menu special occasion mini chocolate cake. A shame, but not a tragedy.
Why It’s FOUND: An original through and through, Ariete is the kind of homegrown Miami restaurant that continues to define the city’s contribution to the global culinary world. –Shayne Benowitz
→ Ariete (Coconut Grove) • 3340 Main Hwy • Sun-Thu 530-10p, Fri-Sat, 530-11p • Reserve.