Krüs Kitchen — Restaurant in Miami

Krüs Kitchen in Coconut Grove. When I previewed the menu online, I was concerned with the awkward menu. Lots of stuff I usually don’t like, like pickled anything, except for Kosher Pickles. So I wasn’t ready.

I arrived early and was greeted by a charming lady named Ashley, turns out she’s the GM (didn’t find out until we were leaving). She seated me upstairs and allowed me to pick the table of my choice (there was only one other couple at the time). She said “J” will be with you shortly. And she was! Being that I was alone, J and I started to chat. Turns out she’s a newbie in the area, transplant from LA. I told her that I like bold wines and she directed me to Barry. Actually not a Cabernet, but a bold Petit Syrah. I enjoyed it enough to have 2 glasses. My dear, and decades old friend, and host for the evening, arrived just a few minutes later. Humorously, J admonished him and he loved it. My host, unfortunately, has many proclivities when eating, no gluten, no meat, no dairy, NO BUTTER. Practically every dish has butter at Krüs, but J professionally detailed EVERY dish to the point where the menu was reduced to a couple of spectacular dishes (for those of you with eating issues they were Crudo & the Catch Of The Day), which were enough for my host to choose from and enjoy. He ordered the Catch which happened to be a beautiful piece of Black Grouper, artfully displayed on a bed of some delicious mushroom sauce (I didn’t try it but my host loved it). I went all out for the Pork Chop. I had read online someone mention that they went home hungry after eating at Krüs, dare I say, we ate at two different restaurants, I like to eat and I was plenty full. As I mentioned earlier, I don’t usually like pickled anything other than pickles, this had a diced pickled turnip served on top of 16 ounces of succulent moist pork, sliced, served with the bone separated, which I happily gnawed on. I should’ve been embarrassed, but like I said, this is a decades long friendship. I went into Neanderthal mode and enjoyed every morsel of that Pork Chop bone. I needed bread to sop up the delicious, what looked like pesto floating in butter, whatever it was, it needed bread. Here comes the Porcini bread. OMG! The genius that created this needs accolades… crusty on the outside, fluffy soft on the inside, it comes separately with soft Butter and, a tiny sprinkling of sea salt. DIY Salted Butter. Did I die and go to heaven? Not for the faint of heart!! To say that J was a brilliant addition to the evening, which she was, it would also undercut the food, the atmosphere and the overall experience. I, who is a food snob, happily recommend...

Do you like slow to non-existent service, small over priced portions and undercooked chicken? Then this is the place for you! Otherwise, would NOT recommend. Maybe this spot is good for an expensive aperitivo, ie wine and snacks, but that’s it.

I had the eggplant dip and the coconut bowl. The half chicken I ordered and told the waiter I wanted to eat with the rice bowl? I ended up taking to-go. I waited 35 minutes for undercooked chicken and another 25 for it to be properly cooked. The place only has 5 tables on the second floor and maybe a few more outside. A restaurant can’t handle THAT?

Also, when I asked for a few more chips to finish my dip I was told sure no problem, 20 minutes pass by and I ask again, this time another server tells me the order for the bread has been put in because they didn’t have any more chips. I was never informed of this and does it really take 20 plus minutes to get bread? No serrated knife was provided (was told they don’t have) to separate the bone-in leg and wing from the chicken thigh which in the end I couldn’t eat because it was undercooked.

Servers are nice but service is super slow, there’s lack of communication and follow through. The tall guy who I assume is the owner/manager didn’t apologize when he came over to tell me chicken was almost done, he didn’t acknowledge they had made a mistake, nada. This place has been opened for over a year, this kind of service is unacceptable and I blame management.

When I asked the status of the undercooked chicken 20 minutes after I sent it back the server seemed surprised and realized he had forgotten about it. Really? The almost burned bread for the dip showed up minutes before I paid and I was charged for it. Really? I will say that the soda I wanted to try with the meal that never happened was gifted by the server (I did have to remind him I wanted the soda though) I guess he knew it was the least he could do. The bare minimum IMO. The dip and rice bowl were tasty but to echo what other reviews have mentioned, portions are SMALL.

Overall Krus Kitchen left a sour taste in my mouth. This place is all style and NO substance....

My recent visit to Krus Kitchen was a pleasant experience. The ambience of the restaurant was nice and the service was good. We tried six different dishes, and while some were amazing, others were not as memorable.

The coconut rice with king crab was a standout dish, with the flavors working together in perfect harmony. However, the best dish of the night was undoubtedly the Oyster mushrooms. They were so delicious that even a carnivore would be impressed. The Emilian Ragu was good, but not extraordinary, and the burrata was average, with a good balance of acidity.

Unfortunately, not all of the dishes were as successful. The scallops had a strong fish taste due to the oyster foam, which made them less enjoyable to eat. The Krus bread was average, and we actually preferred the toasts that came with the burrata. The Agnolotti was an interesting dish, but the flavor combinations were not pleasant.

We were disappointed to hear that the bone marrow dessert was not available due to the ice cream not being the right consistency. However, we were impressed by the chef's willingness to push the limits and try new things.

Overall, I would recommend Krus Kitchen for the Oyster mushrooms and Coconut Rice King Crab, as these dishes are definitely worth trying. While not all of the dishes were perfect, the chef has obvious skill and is willing to take risks in the kitchen. I would suggest giving Krus Kitchen a try and exploring some of the other dishes...