Brasserie Brickell Key — Restaurant in Miami

If you’re thrown off a bit by a place trying to be upscale yet having bargain bin IKEA furniture, remember to trust your first impressions.

This place caters to an agoraphobic Brickell Key clientele that doesn’t want to leave the landfill island. This will only get worse as the construction on the Mandarin picks up.

The poor quality of service starts with the management. There is a lot of staff turnover because the management really mistreats their staff, if they’re not openly harassing them, trying to get them to lie for them, or trying to date them.

Two things that everyone should really know about the place though. They actually use Goya Sazon in the kitchen. Seriously. Of a supposedly nice restaurant…. Imagine putting that in a veal Osso Bucco. This should tell you of the quality and corners they’re willing to cut.

They also don’t do month end inventory like every other proper restaurant. Why? Because they fill the top shelf liquor bottles with cheap well stuff. They keep the real stuff for regular customers who can tell the difference but will scam first time or one off customers. This is very dishonest, but that’s kind of the theme here.

Excellent clams though! Probably the one dish they don’t dump sazón into!

Don’t get the Francesca salad, not after what they did to the old bartender there that it was named after. That’s bad...

We recently dined at Brasserie Brickel Key and while the overall experience had its highlights, the food unfortunately didn’t live up to the rest.

Service & Environment: From the moment I walked in, the staff set the tone for a welcoming and well-managed evening. Every interaction felt attentive and genuine without being intrusive. The ambiance was equally impressive—warm lighting, tasteful décor, and a comfortable yet upscale atmosphere that made lingering over conversation a pleasure. It’s clear the management invests care into making guests feel valued.

Food: This is where my enthusiasm waned. While the presentation was polished, the flavors and quality simply did not match the price point. The dishes were competently prepared, but nothing stood out as exceptional—or even particularly memorable. For the premium charged, I expected more creativity, depth, or freshness. Instead, the meal felt average, perhaps even irrelevant compared to the standout service and setting.

Overall: If you value impeccable service and a refined, inviting atmosphere, this place delivers in spades. But if your main priority is culinary excellence at a fair price, you may find the experience underwhelming...

I eat here on a regular basis. It is a decent place, but a but expensive. I often go here for lunch and I have had takeaway on a few occasions. The service is ok, but if I spoke Spanish it would have been easier for me to be a customer. Do not trust this place if you have food allergies- and expect an impolite response if you point out that they are serving food that contains something you have specifically pointed out that you are allergic to. And if you say that you have a food allergy and ask if a dish contains the allergen, they may politely say that they will put the dressing on the side. When asking a follow up question if the dressing they are planning on having on side side contains the allergen they say “yes”, not understand that serving that dressing you can’t eat is ridiculous. Food allergies aside, it is nice to have a dinner outside here during the evening and enjoy the relatively quiet Brickell Key life.

update may 1st: horrible attitude, don’t speak English, don’t understand food allergies. I’ve been eating here on a weekly basis (one of two restaurants on the island), but I give up. Stay away from this...