MIA Kitchen & Bar — Restaurant in Florida

A friend recommended this place to me as she had been there about 3 weeks ago. I wasn't excited about going to another restaurant named Mamma Mia's (apparently the name is being changed to this). That name evokes thoughts of the generic dishes served at a plethora of Italian restaurants. Needless to say, I wasn't expecting to be blown away by the food, but I was. One of the best meals of my life! Our server, Mo, was friendly, attentive, patient with us when we had questions, and made great recommendations for cocktails based on our preferences. Chef Jason asked which items on the menu I was considering and made suggestions based on my responses. Mother of all things delicious! He did not lead me astray! The grilled octopus starter was truly amazing. I felt as if I had been transported across the Atlantic to the Mediterranean! Every element of the dish just worked together in all the right ways. Flavour, texture and presentation were spot on. From plate to palate it was perfection. For the entrée I had the paella. Fresh Maine lobster and large shrimp crowned a golden circle of saffron rice on a reduction whose recipe must have been whispered in the ear of Chef Jason by the voice of angels. When I placed the first bite of the fish in my mouth, I didn't just taste it. I felt it. Absolutely divine! Both dishes were the type which make it difficult to identify individual ingredients, but make you grateful to have your sense. For dessert I wanted my chocolate fix, so opted for the brownie. Again perfection was presented to me. The ideal texture balance of fudgy and cakey brownie craddled the intense chocolate flavour and roasted pecans. This was complemented by a creamy and refreshing berry buttermilk ice cream. It was rich, so I couldn't finish it which felt like a sin. My friend had the pork belly starter, the truffle shrimp mac entrée and the rice krispies treat dessert (which is nothing like it sounds but totally amazing). She was equally as impressed with every one of her plates. I'm not sure which dishes were made by Executive Chef Jessie and which were made by Sous Chef Jason, but all were deliciously memorable. We have chef Stephanie to thank for the heavenly desserts. We simply couldn't depart without expressing our gratitude to the manager, Hirum. He asked which dishes we had ordered, took the time to listen to our reviews, chatted with us, thanked us for choosing Mia's Kitchen and made us feel like he was one more reason to return to this surprising gem of a restaurant away from the bustle of East Delray. This wasn't just a meal, it was an experience....

My last dine was in April, 2024, and I held on to my receipt as I knew I HAD to write a review. Dining with my husband and two dear friends, a late celebration of our two birthdays in March, we ate outside. It was mild, and the bugs were not attacking us. We prefer the outdoor seating, as the inside tables are too close to each other, and the vibe is very very loud talking. I don't know why people in restaurants have to talk so much and so loud! Here's the bottom line: MIA has excellent food, a highly creative culinary staff, and on point on-the-ball wait staff. And in South Florida, to have all of those, and deliver them consistently day after day, for years, is no easy accomplishment.

An appetizer of coconut shrimp was devoured by myself and hubby, and one of our friends loved the grilled octopus. The BROILED VEAL had been ordered in advance, and prepared to the specifications of our friend, who has food allergies. She is a petite woman, and I was amazed how she finished the HUGE cut of veal. Kudos to her...and the chef. Salads included a Caesar - called little gem - and it was, and mixed greens. All were large portions and very good. The remaining three of us each had the BRONZINO, which was delicious.

Ending the meals with cappuccino and espresso, and sharing two desserts - cereal killer and bread pudding, which were sensual delights on our tongues and palates. MITCHEL C was our server, and he was a pro, all the way. If I recall, lots of ink on his hands, but that is the norm these days for servers....

Note, I have no financial interest in MIA, do not know nor have I ever met the chef, and none of the waitsfaf are my friends. I am just a #simpleguyfrom bklynny, and know outstanding food and service when I experience it. Go and enjoy yourself. Of course, reservations are a must and if you are a local, eat here out of season and you;ll enjoy it even more, for reasons yopu...

I have NEVER been treated so horribly at a restaurant before! My husband and I finally get a chance to go on a date and he wanted it to be special for Valentine’s Day, so he secretly made the reservation with this restaurant for 8:30pm. We drive from West Palm Beach all the way to Delray Beach. We get there ten minutes before our reservation and they had us sit down and wait. Now we didn’t mind waiting because they looked busy but we literally sat there for thirty minutes and watched them sit two couples before us and we had a reservation! Then I finally get up to say something and apparently our table had been ready and no one came to tell us. Not only that they chose to seat us outside without asking if we wanted to sit inside or out, mind you it’s really cold outside. So I tell them that we would like to sit inside and they decide to throw us at a table that wasn’t even ready. While we’re walking to our table one of the hostess tells the other hostess that she needs to work on her confidence as if she should’ve been firm with us even though we were already being treated so rudely. Everyone’s table was nicely decorated with rose petals and we were sat at a table that was unclean and undecorated even though we had a reservation and other people that came in after us got seated at nicely decorated tables. Then someone comes and just throw a few petals on our table and expected us to be happy with that. We had a reservation at 8:30 but finally got to eat at 9:30. The restaurant was pretty, the food was ok, and our waitress was good, but the service we received when we walked in was absolutely horrible! I don’t want to believe this was a race thing but what other reason would we be treated so badly and we were the only ones of color that were dining in this restaurant at the time. We received bad looks the minute we walked in. They ruined our Valentine’s Day and our night....