NOMA Beach at Redfish

Last night, Dec. 27th, we visited Noma Beach by Redfish Restaurant at Mathieson Park in Coral Gables. My husband suggested going to a fish restaurant. We dine out very frequently and there are many choices. He suggested we go to Joe’s Stone Crab in MB which we like but I suggested coming to Noma Beach by Redfish because we are familiar with this park and the neighborhood since we live in Coral Gables. We owned a Catering & Event Production company for 33 years in Coral Gables. We already retired. We catered a few weddings here in Mathieson Park. In 2015 our son was married in the park and dinner followed at the Redfish Grill Restaurant on premises. We also dined in a couple of times after that because I loved their Sea Bass which is not even on the Menu anymore. After 2017 when Hurricane Irma stroke, they closed. The other day looking to new experiences in dining, I came upon Noma Beach as being open in the same place. However, yesterday was a bad choice to go for dinner 👎🤦‍♀️. The place itself is very nice as decor goes. Their clientele was very nice. But everything else is a disappointment. Their menu is very short, not much variety, $$$, I didn’t order appetizers thinking to be to much food but to my surprise when my entree came, Risotto Fruta di Mare, it looked more like an appetizer than a main course. (Pic attached). Fancy plate but the amount of risotto was skimp with 3 small shrimps and 3 mussels. The quality and taste was super. We even commented with our waiter Joel who just listened but had no comment of his own about such a small portion. My husband joked saying ‘…maybe they ran out…’. We even asked if the restaurant had a different owner, his answer was ‘…same owner but different Chef…’ he just shrugged his shoulders. I don’t think he said anything to the Manager who I believe was there, a total indifference to a patron’s concerns, this is why I decided to write this review because to us, your satisfied clientele is what makes your business prosper. We don’t mind paying the price if the food is worth it, but this was extreme. I ordered a glass of Sangria because my husband wasn’t going to drink, it came in a small wine glass, it was tasty but 2 sips and you are done. The best dish out of the whole dinning experience was that my husband ordered the whole Snapper, MP, and although we think a bit overpriced at $65 it was the best thing we were having after everything else been mediocre. His fish was tasty, nicely presented, with just some small portion salad on the plate. At this point, we were regretting choosing to come here today. But, we ordered dessert, Chocolate Mousse with Chocolate Cake, again, served in a small martini glass, tiny piece of cake and some trimmings ($18) ridiculous! 🤦‍♀️ Having been in the food industry for so many years, we learned that food & service go hand in hand. So, as for service… we were not impressed…. Although polite, we didn’t feel well taking care of. Another waiter came by and offered my husband a water refill, my glass was empty, but he only asked my husband, not me, he poured his glass and left. When my husband’s fish came in I asked our waiter for another plate to put the bones, he came back with a dessert plate.🤦‍♀️ We needed to ask for wet towels for our hands, he said ‘sure… some hot water & lime…’ which sounded perfect. He came back with 2 rolled napkins wet and smelling like clorox. Again…. We don’t mind paying $$$ if we are satisfied, but the bill felt astronomical for what we ate!! To finish off the bad choice in restaurant we made, we visited the Bathroom, the napkin dispenser was empty, the garbage container was over flowing with dirty papers that you couldn’t close the lid. The only thing that stood out to my husband was the nice liquid hand soap. We had just recommended this place to a friend & business associate who asked us for her son’s wedding. We thought of our prior experience in years past. But we will retract our recommendation to her or anybody else after yesterday’s visit. Total mistake coming to Noma Beach by Redfish, except the fish dish!!