Jass Kitchen Turkish Cuisine — Restaurant in Miami

Jass Kitchen, a great idea of a concept, but deliberate discrimination results in extremely disappointing execution.

This was a place that my partner and I previously attended, and thought was a decent experience. Albeit, that previous experience also consisted of our server not attending to our table, ignoring us when we tried to make eye contact, and seeing all the tables around us get their food on time and be attended to. Because they forgot our dish, they then comped it and dessert. I now realize this is their tactic. This most recent experience confirmed for me why.

Because of what we thought was a nice time (perhaps serenaded by the music, and seeing that my previous landlord was now leasing his building to the restaurant) we suggested to have dinner here with two friends. (Unfortunately) it should be mentioned, myself as well as my two friends are all women of color, my boyfriend is the only one that was not. It’s shocking to even have to explain this for context, but here we are.

That being said, we arrive and are seated at a large table, despite other more suitable tables being available, but up until this point everything seemed normal. Shortly after, we realized the experience was not. A server greets us, we’re asked still or sparkling (we say still), someone returns and leaves glasses on the table, not even at each of our place settings. They were literally left at the end of the table, and much time passed before we received the water. When the server came by, she condescendingly repeated how a dish was pronounced more than one time (we didn’t ask).

It got worse, a busboy came by removed our place settings (that were on every other table) and gave us silverware with cheap napkins instead. I can’t even begin to rationalize this, but after that we were ignored for almost 30 mins before we finally decided to leave.

A server then runs after us going to the car pleading to us. Proceeding to ask we “not leave a bad review” when that was the last thing on our minds. When my friend asked “so you understand what was going on then?” She said YES. That was extremely uncomfortable. Also harassing customers after ignoring us, and offering “free dessert” is completely unacceptable. It was too late.

All this to say, that experience was a disgusting display of discrimination and disrespect. I am appalled. It was extremely disheartening and not to mention, dehumanizing. That will be the last time we ever step foot in Jass Kitchen.

I hope they...

We visited Jass Kitchen with our dinner club of about 25 people. We paid $70 per person. The menu consisted of a cold appetizer, a hot appetizer, a main entre, and a desert. The meal started great with pita bread and three spreads followed by garlic shrimp. The pita was fresh, and the spreads were tasty. Shrimp is one of those things that have a fine line between raw and over cooked. The chef hit it perfectly. Additionally, the garlic butter didn't overpower the sweet flavor of the shrimp. But then the kitchen forked to the right, and things went downhill.

The main course was a choice of three entries.

Skewered chicken, not to difficult, came out seared, and I didn't hear any complaints.

Baked branzino came out moist and flaky over eggplant. It was well received except that the portion sizes were very inconsistent. Some pieces were small while others were more than twice the size. They tended to give the women smaller pieces, but not always.

Tandoori lamb was the biggest bait and switch ever. What they promised was nothing like what was served. The lamb was pulled, boiled, fat-laddened meat served over a pile of luke warm risotto. It was tasteless and greasy. There was no clay pot, vegetables, or brioche crust. The portion of meat was paltry. I give my dog better meat scraps. When our host asked the kitchen about the swapped lamb dish, they said next time we come, we can have the real thing.

We had a choice of cheesecake or baklava for desert. Neither was impressive. The cheesecake was more of a whipped pudding than a cheesecake. The baklava was tiny, but I didn't taste it.

Drinks: they do not have a liquor license, so your limited to beer and wine. The wine list is shameful. Prices start at $50 a bottle for Alamos, which you can buy for $11 at the grocery store. Better wines run around $150 a bottle.

SUMMARY: The food quality may or may not meet expectations and the prices are excessive for such an inconsistent performance. Service was average, not warranting more than a 15% tip. Given the lack of parking and mediocre swapped out lamb dish, I can not recommend the...

Great experience, food, ambiance, and friendly service! The first thing we noticed was the colorful decor with the beautiful exposed brick, arches, art, mood lighting, cozy vibes, and live music. The restaurant was completely full, so I was glad we made reservations. The hostess sat us right away, and we perused the one-page menu and the one-page drink menu, which I appreciate, because it feels like the chef was very intentional about carefully curating their offerings. We ordered the Mix Trio Mezze (muhammara, charred eggplant salad, and stuffed grape leaves with vishne "visneli yaprak sarma"), Clay Lamb, Chicken Shish with Jasmine Rice, wine, and the San Sebastian Cheesecake. The ingredients were fresh, and each bite had the perfect amount of flavor. Burcu took our order, and engaged in a brief conversation with us, just enough to make it personable and friendly. She was attentive without rushing us despite it being a busy night, and she had the most pleasant smile, which made us feel at ease and welcomed. Of the Mixed Trio Mezze, we particularly enjoyed the charred eggplant salad, despite not being eggplant lovers, the stuffed grape leaves with vishne was also incredible, and the muhammara was good and fresh. From the main entree, the Clay Lamb is an absolute must! The presentation is fun and eye catching, and the flavor is amazing! The wine selection was great, with enough choices to compliment the meals, and at very decent price points. Lastly, the San Sebastian cheesecake was delish! It is also known as the Donostia Cheesecake for its origins in the Basque Country (Donostia is the Basque name for San Sebastian), the capital city of Spain's norther coastal province of Gipuzoka. This delicious dessert is now a major hit in Turkey, hence why it's a perfect complement to Jass Kitchen's curated menu. One point to note is that parking, like in most of Miami, is difficult to find, so if you live in the area, I suggest taking an Uber/Alto. All things considered, we look forward...