Pamplemousse on the Bay — Restaurant in Miami Beach

Stunning Views, Excellent Service… But the Food Misses the Mark

Pamplemousse on the Bay offers one of the most beautiful outdoor atmospheres in Miami. The waterfront setting and sunset views are truly breathtaking, and the service was equally impressive! Very attentive, friendly, and welcoming from the moment we arrived. Unfortunately, the food told a very different story.

We started with the charcuterie board and hummus. I initially thought there had been a mistake with the charcuterie as it came with no cheese. After our server kindly checked with the chef, we were told that their board is intentionally served with only meats. While I appreciated the clarification, I personally find charcuterie much more enjoyable when there’s a balance of meats and cheeses, so I ended up not eating much of it.

Wanting to give the food another chance, I ordered the chicken skewers and fries. Oddly enough, both were covered in cheese, quite the contrast from the cheese-less charcuterie. The chicken was cold and overcooked at the same time, chewy, and topped with an overpowering blue cheese. The fries were equally disappointing, served cold with thick chunks of unmelted cheese. Unfortunately, I didn’t eat these either.

After a $150 bill for food I barely touched, I decided to share my experience with management. To their credit, the owner personally came to speak with me. When I mentioned the charcuterie, he explained that it traditionally includes only meat, which I hadn’t known, and I thanked him for the insight. I also shared my concerns about the rest of the meal. Later in the evening, he returned to tell me I had been overcharged by $15 due to not receiving happy hour pricing and offered to either refund the difference or buy me a drink. I appreciated the gesture but reiterated that my concern was not about the cost, it was the quality and preparation of the food.

As a Miami local, I truly wanted to enjoy this spot. Unfortunately, while the setting and service are outstanding, the food fell far below expectations. I wouldn’t recommend Pamplemousse on the Bay for dining, but it could be worth a visit for a drink to catch the sunset. Just don’t...

@pamplemoussemiami (IG) by the bay was a nice choice for an intimate date, birthday celebration, or relaxing dinner with a nice ocean breeze!

To start off the night, we requested the Burning Passion cocktail and the Chambord which is similar to the French Martini Mocktail but alcoholic version without sugar syrup. Both drinks were flavorful and paired well with our appetizers, Chorizo Black Mussels & the Wagyu Beef Carpaccio.

The party favorite were the mussels as the chorizo and sauce were tasty paired well with slices of bread, but we unfortunately did not enjoy the Wagyu beef carpaccio. We think it lacked flavor despite it containing fig and black truffle.

For entrees we decided to try the Seafood Pasta and the Mediterranean Salmon. The pasta was not as creamy as one expects but the grated cheese on top made it really flavorful. The salmon lacked seasoning, which lemon did help, but the real winner was the finish on the salmon. It was cooked to perfection - tender & juicy, we just wished it was more flavorful and paired with potatoes or asparagus; we felt the dish contained a lot of onion and tomato.

Lastly, we ended the night with Chocolate Sensation for dessert. This was a milk chocolate mousse with salty chocolate crumbs, warm cocoa sauce, and praline ice cream. This dessert was exactly as it was described, an explosion of chocolate flavor that kept enticing you to have some more!

The customer service was average, it was a birthday celebration to which our waiter forgot about or the host didn’t inform him. Additionally, while we were reading the menu, a separate waitress asked to borrow the menu to give to another table and this resulted in sharing of one menu. I think the right thing would’ve been to go to the front and grabbed another menu, instead of asking to borrow the ones we were reading.

Additionally, when our water glass was near empty, we did not receive a refill. At least placing a small water jar on the table so customers can refill their glass would’ve been nice.

Overall, the restaurant has a nice view of the Miami skyline and a nice...

It makes me sad to leave this review as I never leave negative reviews. I’m not sure if it was an off night as most reviews are positive, but nothing was worth it. We waited 25 minutes to be greeted. We gave the server our full order upfront when he first came by. Caviar came out with nothing besides the caviar… I had to ask for a mother of pearl spoon (which they stated they don’t have, only metal spoon) and I had to ask for the pairings. (They only offer the blinis and crème fraiche.) No worries, not use to that but I can go with the flow. After 10 minutes of eating the caviar, the server asked what our order…We had already given it after waiting 25 minutes. We had reordered our food. It was a steak and a salad, pretty stereotypical. Again, no biggie on forgetting the order. It happens and we weren’t in a rush so we didn’t mind the wait. We waited about 30 minutes for our food, and no one had checked on us to ask if we needed more water or another round of drinks. This is when I started to get a bit annoyed. Someone else brought our food out and the smell of the shrimp on the salad stunk up the place. Concerning, but not a cause to not try and eat it. Unfortunately, it was so fishy I couldn’t enjoy my dish. After halfway through the meal, the server came by when I had moved my dish away to ask if I wanted another drink, which I had responded yes. I had to remind him after 20 minutes that I didn’t receive my drink I had ordered. After he brought the drink order over, he let us know it was last call. Our reservation was at 7:45, we had no anticipation of being there longer than 2 hours but how slow service was it was difficult to even enjoy any aspect of it. It is genuinely a beautiful spot and I think it is totally worth the visit if you want to sit and have a few drinks casually at the bar. But, as someone that dines out for almost every meal, I wouldn’t recommend it for a dinner spot. It is unfortunately the first place I didn’t feel like is worth the price since my 4 years...