Magie — Restaurant in Miami

I was excited about this place, especially with it being so close to where I live. However, I was disappointed. The ambience was very nice as was the crowd. The charcuterie board was good but I wish they offered more bread considering the amount of meat and cheese we got. My issue was the wine, which is a pretty big issue seeing as it's a wine bar.

We'd had 2 bottles of wine, however, none of us really liked them. I am a wine person and I have a pretty wide palate and it's very unlikely that I dislike a wine (although I don't waste wine, so I'll still drink it. LOL). They (one white, one rose) were light, lacked complexity, dry.

From what I saw, this place only has European wines (I saw Italian and French). My wine knowledge is better than average, but I'm not so comfortable in this area. This is where I'd turn to the expertise of the staff.

We decided to go for a third bottle, which I went to pick. I explained to the woman at the register the dislikes about the first two and what I was looking for in hopes that she could guide me to the perfect wine. When she said, "Well, they tell me I should suggest this one..." that should have been my sign to forego the last bottle. But I went ahead and got what she recommended. Sadly, it was on par with the rest.

As we were leaving we chatted with the people taking our table about the wine saying we couldn't find one we liked. They agreed and offered me a taste of theirs. Before I could say anything, they'd poured me a full glass. I can see why they wanted to get rid of it... it was not good either!! Same profile as the others.

So at that point I was convinced that this place offered only a narrow variety of wine styles and that's it. I imagined the owner stocking this place with his/her specific and narrow preference rather than for different palates.

I'm discerning when it comes to what I eat and drink. It will always come first over ambience or anything else about an establishment. That being said, I don't see myself coming back here unless I find out something has changed with their wine offerings and/or staff expertise. IF by chance there's a wine I like, I'm not interested in taking $55+/bottle guesses until I find it.

When I want my wine fix, I'll stick with the other wine bar we all know with the extremely knowledgeable staff and...

Dear Management,

I hope this message finds you well. I am writing to share feedback from my recent visit to Magie in Coral Gables, which took place last night. My friends and I were optimistic about our experience, having previously enjoyed a visit to your other location, which we rated highly.

Unfortunately, our experience this time was disappointing on several fronts. Despite being well-versed in the hospitality industry, as my friends are professionals in that field and I work in tech, we encountered issues that detracted from our enjoyment.

Firstly, after purchasing two bottles and some snacks totaling approximately $250, we were surprised by a request to vacate our table. After we expressed our intention to continue enjoying our time, two staff members approached us, one after the other, in what felt like a passive-aggressive manner regarding our seating. If there are time limits or minimum spending requirements for tables, it would be beneficial to communicate these up front to avoid confusion.

The second and more concerning incident involved a serious breach of customer experience. After my friends returned with additional drinks and snacks, one of your neighbors caused a significant disturbance by urinating from their condo onto our table and personal belongings. My friend promptly reported this situation to the staff, who only offered a refund for one of the bottles and moved our table to a corner. While we understand that resident behavior is beyond your control, the response from your team fell short of expectations in mitigating our embarrassment and discomfort.

It is crucial for any establishment, particularly in the hospitality sector, to train staff in empathy and effective customer service. Providing prompt and considerate responses in challenging situations can significantly impact customer retention and overall experience. Given our past patronage, including visits to your other location where we typically spend around $350, we are now reconsidering our future visits to both locations.

We hope that this feedback is taken constructively and that improvements are made to enhance customer experience at Magie. Thank you for your attention to...

I admit it, it took me a few months for me to adore Magie. She reminds me of my sister: she’s gorgeous, reserved, moody, occasionally clicky, but sooo cool. I feel grand in her presence. My neighborhood work “lite” spot used to be the Citadel, but a few months ago, they instituted a lame “Screen Free” policy after 6pm which bans computers and tablets. Meanwhile, you can use your phone, which also has a screen. In fact, you can walk in at 7pm, grab a table, and stalk celebrities on your IG without making one single purchase. Mediocrity at its finest! So, hello Magie. Thank you for having a screen-friendly policy during your earlier hours, free wi-fi, and substantial hours of operation (4pm-1am). I love that Magie opens early. It’s an opportune time to unwind (when you don’t want to go home), write some emails, and feel fancy with a bottle of wine as you stare at its pretty label.

Once, I realized that Magie is more of a gathering place, rather than a dreamy Francophile wine bar, sparks flew. I’ve recently tried a few out-of-the box Portuguese and Spanish whites, but what really made me giggly was a bottle of Domaine Gavoty Rosé, classic and as Frenchie as it gets, with its big spirals of raspberry fruits, Provence flowers, and sea salt tang. Also, a mineral-bomb Chablis pops up from time-to-time, as well as an underrated Jean-Marc Pillot Bourgogne. For a place with a French name, I hope Magie continues to embrace French terroir, because there’s not too many places above 79th Street to enjoy a solid Pomerol, Crozes-Hermitage, Saumur, or Champagne without scary eyeball prices. As the tagline says, “Wine, Snacks, Community," Magie is exactly those very simple and undervalued things, which our modern-day Miami, elite panorama metropolis, surely needs more of… and that’s the...