Bouchon Bistro — Restaurant in Coral Gables

We arrived at Bouchon Bistro 10 minutes before our 1:15 pm reservation and were greeted by a courteous hostess. Although the restaurant had plenty of empty tables, she asked us to wait either in the small, cozy lobby or at the bar until our table was ready. We opted for the beautiful bar, where as we were sitting witnessed a bottle of champagne explode exuberantly in the hands of a confused bartender. This prompted a smile trying to give the perplexed barkeep some reassurance. We started with two Negronis, they were nicely presented and had a good flavor profile, but nothing special aside from that.

The interior of Bouchon is pleasantly decorated, and it has a lovely outdoor area. Once we were escorted to our table, our waiter introduced himself and proceeded to explain the menu and the specials for the day. After a wine recommendation, the complimentary bread arrived, nicely wrapped in a pristine white napkin. Sadly, we soon found out it was at room temperature and had a hard crust that made it somewhat difficult to break apart. All the plates we requested were to be shared between two people. Our order consisted of three entrees that arrived all at the same time overtaking our small table. First, we tried the Escargots de Bourgogne, a clean presentation with puff pastry topping each of the well-cooked snails, on a bland parsley-garlic butter sauce. The fresh, recently chopped parsley flavor one comes to expect was nowhere to be found, and the puff pastry, aside from its aesthetically pleasing appearance, added nothing in terms of taste to the plate; it only made it more of a hindrance to taking them from the plate. Next, we tried the Tartare de Boeuf, nicely presented with three pieces of, again, room-temperature bread that tasted too much of the olive oil they used for toasting it. The beef quality was superb, perfectly chopped, and delicious, a welcome departure from the previous dish. Then we followed with the Pâté de Campagne, a hearty portion, with good texture and flavor but the same bread issues as all the previous entrees.

For the main course, we selected the Truite Grenobloise, nicely presented but completely flavorless. All you could find taste-wise was a barely perceptible hint of butter. By this time, I had noticed an overall lack of basic seasoning (salt) on almost all plates. The small vegetables that accompanied the trout were delicately cut and beautifully cooked. But the star of the dish was not great at all. At this point, my friend was ready to call the waiter to take the dish back. Thankfully, a side of Champignons de Paris with a glaze of veal jus had arrived just moments before. This was a superb addition that finally made the fish somewhat edible. Yes, you are reading correctly, we had to infuse the fish with the buttery veal jus to have at least a small nibble of this dish. Halfway through our entrees, we remembered one of the day’s specials; we wanted to try it and it was swiftly and happily accommodated. This was a butternut squash cream soup that finally provided us with much relief. This was the type of food we had been hoping for all along, a splendid and exquisitely layered sip of warm deliciousness.

However, informed by the experience we’ve had so far, we decided to not ask for dessert to finish our lunch and enjoy a coffee somewhere else.

To sum up, for weeks, we had been looking forward to our time at Bouchon, but we were underwhelmed at the end. For the most part, the food was unremarkable, except for one or two highlights. Service was friendly and professional, but inconsistent at times, with empty plates left on our small table with ample time in between rounds, which made it quite difficult to eat in general. The place was noisy, and the music loud, which only added to a not particularly positive...

I recently had the opportunity to dine at Thomas Keller's new restaurant in Miami, Bouchon Bistro, and I must admit that it was a rather disappointing experience. Despite Chef Keller's impressive reputation and multiple Michelin stars, this establishment left much to be desired. Here's a breakdown of our overall experience, highlighting both the positive and negative aspects.

Let's start with the positive aspects:

Foie Gras Flavor: The foie gras dish had a pleasing taste. The flavors were well-balanced and enjoyable. However, there were several disappointments in our dining experience:

Bread Quality: The braided bread served at the beginning of the meal was a letdown. It was hard and lacked a distinct flavor. The excessive crust-to-crumb ratio made it unsuitable for mopping up sauces, which is typically an enjoyable part of the dining experience.

Escargot Presentation: The escargot, while flavorful, suffered from an excessively greasy brioche topping saturated with butter. This made the dish unnecessarily messy and challenging to eat. A softer baguette would have been a better choice for soaking up the garlic oil.

Foie Gras Presentation: The presentation of the foie gras was subpar, arriving in a jar with dry and crispy toast points. A more elegant plating with complementary accompaniments like chutney or pickled onions would have enhanced the overall dining experience.

Salad Lyonnaise: The salad, which promised escarole, frisée and a poached egg with crispy bacon lardons, didn't live up to expectations. 80% of the salads seem to be made with Romain lettuce. The bacon lardons were not sufficiently crispy, and the dish as a whole lacked the finesse one would expect from a restaurant of this caliber.

Muscles with Saffron Sauce: The mussels served in a saffron sauce suffered from an overly spiced and excessively salty broth. Freshness is crucial for mussels, and a single bad mussel can negatively impact the entire dish. Additionally, the accompanying fries were overcooked, hard, and excessively salty.

Roasted Chicken: The roasted chicken also fell short of expectations. The mustard sauce was overly saturated with spices and flavors, overpowering the dish. Moreover, the chicken was undercooked, which is a fundamental mistake for a restaurant of this caliber.

Service Issues: There were issues with the service, such as repeatedly receiving still water instead of the sparkling water requested. Attention to detail is essential, especially in a fine dining establishment.

Dessert Concerns: The crème brûlée, while ordered with anticipation, disappointed with a sugar topping that was excessively thick. This made it overly sweet and challenging to consume, as the caramelized layer was difficult to break through.

Palate Considerations: It's worth noting that the Miami clientele may have different expectations compared to other cities, and this can affect their preferences for dining establishments. In conclusion, Bouchon Bistro's debut in Miami left much to be desired, particularly considering Thomas Keller's renowned culinary skills. While there were a few positives in terms of flavor, several shortcomings in presentation, preparation, and service were evident. For a restaurant charging premium prices, there is room for improvement, especially given the high expectations associated with Chef Keller's name. As it's still a new restaurant, I hope they address these issues and elevate their dining experience to match...

The host started with a warm welcome and after mentioning our name for the reservation her attention went all to the computer. Blaming it after a minute we were welcomed to sit. For an anniversary table reservation of almost 2 months in advance, I was expecting a better table. But between 2 other tables it is. The service from Geraldo was perfect from beginning to end. Mostly aware of our anniversary and my allergies. A++! We appreciated getting service from 3 or 4 more staff members when it came to refilling water, bringing the plates, checking up on us retreating dishes. I was disappointed on the gnocchi entree as it was extremely salty. My wife who loves salty foods agreed it was way to salty. Unfortunately send it back and decided to change plates. The rest of the dinning experience altered a little due to the amount of salt already on my pallet. I could not eat the whole plate and I just had to continue drinking water. That aside it went well. We were given a lemon tart for dessert on the house. Unknown if it was because of our anniversary or the inconvenience of the salty gnocchi, we are thankful.

A few other observations during our experience; I overheard the waiter mention to one couple seated next to us that they were also celebrating an anniversary. And the other couple sat on the other side had the same allergies I had. Now, I don’t know if this is a technique of organization to place anniversaries or allergies in the same area but it was questionable, did this alter my area of reservation? I would recommend the waiter or host to keep their volumes a little lower when mentioning personal information too. Earlier sitting down on our table and listening to today’s special, my wife wanted the tuna tartar. The waiter sold it well, but the couple who got the check next to us out loud mentioned, “the tuna tartar was 65 dollars?!” And my wife’s eyes opened and asked, the reply was “it was good, but not worth 65.” Moments later I noticed the blackboard next to the bar with the specials and prices. It would have been nicer to mention prices with the specials. The couple shocked on the price may have altered their overall experience.

The ambience of the place is astonishing beautiful, well decorated, clean, organized, professionalism, and all effortlessly managed with a friendly staff. It was a little loud my wife would add and she loved the drink she had, but mentioned too expensive, like the tuna we didn’t have.

I would admit that the place and the experience went well, it was a good experience. We will not be returning as the attention to detail requires minor improvement, but I’ll recommend Bouchon Bistro for those who crave a getaway fine dinning in a Classy environment without the 9 hour...