The Dutch Earns 3 Stars for American Eats at the W Hotel South Beach

Victoria Pesce Elliott1/4/2012

Despite the name, there are no herring sandwiches at The Dutch, the sexy new addition to the W Hotel on South Beach. Instead, the food is described as “roots-inspired American” with influences “from the Caribbean to Morocco, the Gulf Coast to the West Coast and Cuba to Italy.” In other words, it’s a melting pot, much like New York City — which might have remained New Amsterdam if the Dutch hadn’t ceded it to the Brits — and, of course, like our very own Miami.

The concise menu showcases pricey seafood towers, ribs, pasta, curries, ceviches, pork chops, dry-aged steaks and, for lunch, fried chicken. Steakhouse-style sides include aggressively seasoned patatas bravas, sautéed spinach, mushrooms and exceptional roasted brussels sprouts.

Ambience: The setting for culinary darling Andrew Carmellini’s first foray outside of NYC is light, sexy and casual, with soaring ceilings, white brick walls, industrial lights and shelves stocked with upscale bric-a-brac. Seating, at cushy booths and banquettes, is cozy. Servers are hip, smart, attentive, well-schooled and easy on the eyes.

What Worked

• An irresistible loaf of warm, crusty jalapeño-dotted cornbread served with a dollop of whipped butter
• A slider of juicy fried oysters on a mini sesame-seed brioche dressed with perfectly pickled okra, crisp iceberg lettuce and a remoulade-like sauce (pictured)
• Sweet and tangy (albeit pricey) “white boy ribs”
• Creamy avocado salad tossed with sheets of fennel and sweet orange segments
• Excellent beets salad with tangy grapefruit nuggets
• Tender octopus a la barca, served in bite-size bits and seasoned with smoky paprika and silky ribbons of roasted pepper
• Hearty, warming and fresh steamed snapper in a yellow, lime-infused curry sauce lashed with chiles and toasty peanuts
• Signature trofie - delicate twists of pasta with a bright green pesto, slivers of sweet red peppers and toasted pine nuts, satisfies carb craving
• Irresistibly salty, golden, shoestring fries
• Exceptional roasted chicken a juicy half chicken, brown-skinned, loaded with rosemary and served with waxy green and yellow beans from Swank Farms and gorgeous coins of fingerling potatoes
• A delightfully quirky wine list featurting a couple of Greek varietals, some boutique bottles and trophies
• The wine list's “unusual reds and whites” with values like a 2008 Huet Vouvray
• An impressive array of cocktails, tequilas, single malts, American whiskey, rums and craft beer
• A subtly salted lime pie
• Homey & excotic tropical sorbets

What Didn't Work

• Wahoo seared on one side and unappetizingly pink on the other