AVIV — Restaurant in Miami Beach

An amazing meal! With Zahav being our favorite restaurant, we had high hopes for Aviv. It did not disappoint!! Past the beautiful bar, into the even more beautiful spacious interior (with 2 levels), we were welcomed by the kind staff & seated. The cocktails were unique yet balanced perfectly and all were delicious!! We met Nicole, the manager who created these combinations, and she took the time to explain how she came up with some of them. She was a pleasure to speak with. Our waitress Daniella was very helpful with the menu, and suggested we try the Tayim (table sharing) menu so we could experience all of the food. So happy we took her advice! The food was all delicious! With an open kitchen, we watched fresh baked bread continuously pulled from the brick oven . Starting with the best hummus tehina, we made our way through all of the yummy salatim. Even if you think you don’t like beets, trust us, you will love these! Next came the mezze where our favorites were the Moroccan cigars & stuffed dates, onto the al ha’esh: eggplant & grouper were our favorites in that section. Last but, definitely a highlight of the meal was the coconut malabi. Chef later told us we could find the recipe on line. It was so incredible, we just might try to make it ourselves! What impressed us beyond just the delicious food, was the incredibly attentive service! Our water glasses were filled repeatedly, empty plates were cleared immediately & crumbs cleaned as soon as the last plate was removed so we could prepare for dessert. The staff was all so warm and friendly; we sat for 3 hours and enjoyed every minute!! Chef Michael Solomonov was there all night, moving from table to table to greet customers and take time to speak with everyone! We saw him giving a tour to a couple who wished to see the kitchen. When he arrived at our table, I mentioned that I own his cookbooks, but that I couldn’t cook anything from them because the recipes were too advanced. He said he had a new cookbook “Zahav Home” that was filled with simpler recipes and he disappeared to see if they had any in the back. He returned with a cookbook and signed it for me! We wish him much success in his new (& very large) restaurant. We made a reservation to return before...

Food does not cut it, especially when 3 out of my 4 guests are Israeli and we expecting Michelin level food. Order the Excellent salads and hummus - maybe quit there!!

I looked at other reviews here and I own the dude’s cookbook but I think this place doesn’t even beat MOTEK chain in terms of taste. But makes MOTEK look like a relative bargain which is hard to do. They are going to need to up their game or even this great location will not save them.

Moroccan cigars are too sweet and not even as good as the ones at MOTEK. We had 4 people at the table and they gave us 3.

Bulgarian kebabs or whatever they call it - the sirloin or whatever steak is in there tastes like what it is - very meaty flavor the chefs have no value add with it except they did not overcook it - none of the Israelis liked it and nothing Israeli about it - not that we required that - it just had to be excellent- but it was just cooked meat. The meatballs were good but tiny portion and half of the people didn’t even like them though I do not know why. I had to finish nearly all the meat entree that the 3 other folks ordered. What the meat sat on the toubouli was nice. My eggplant entree was nothing to write home about; I’ve had much much better.

Atmosphere fine, music bordering on too loud but not quite; chairs comfortable.

Other friends went there and were similarly unimpressed plus they drank wine and thought their $300 bill was a complete ripoff.

Note they are charging 19% service plus 2% additional service and if you pay cash they take forever to get you change as the bartender must handle or some such ridiculous inexcusable bureaucracy delays you leaving. We skipped desert because the food was a joke. I didn’t expect the food to be as good as the food I eat at home or at my fellow diners’ home, but I reasonably expected it to beat MOTEK and it does not. It is a fail and a waste of money.

Btw, I want this place to succeed. But until they respond to this review and tell me what changes they are doing, I am not raising...

Vastly overrated, vastly overpriced, takes vastly way too long for service. It's Middle Eastern food. Having spent a great deal of time in the Middle East itself, having spent even more time with Middle Eastern friends/families and consuming a lifetime of Middle Eastern food, I know Middle Eastern food. Very well. This?...this is sort of good Middle Eastern food. Not the worst I've had, definitely not the best. The worst part of this place, beyond the hipster-doofus-too-cool-for-school vibe that is so typical of Miami (and particularly the beach), is that this place doesn't understand the concept of service, doesn't understand the basic human desire to have a meal that doesn't take 4+ hours just to get the appetizers out of the way (this was experienced on its soft opening, its opening, and months after it had opened....I gave them three chances and they struck every single time). You'll get your main course (if you get it at all...plenty of people have left without it ever coming)...eventually. It's pathetic how bad the service is here, and how bad the kitchen is in getting out what are monumentally simple dishes. It does not take 2+ hours to plate and deliver hummus. It's just spectacularly awful. Put it this way, you can fly from Miami to Los Angeles in less time than it takes these inept people to bring your enitre meal to the table. No matter how good the food might be (and again, it's not that good), it cannot overcome such abysmal service. Ever. This place?...best skipped. At its current level, it is not long for this world, and likely wouldn't have even made it this long without the 1 Hotel carrying it. There are simply way too many far superior options available, all close by. If you're craving Middle Easten, do yourself a massive favor and head just a few blocks north and go to Motek. You'll have a better meal, get better service, spend about the same amount, and get out and on your way before the...