This ambitious, pork-themed gastro pub does everything from an unctuous McBelly (pork belly and kimchee sandwich) to a caramel, brownie and bacon sundae with the twang and grace of a Tom Wait song. The young staff is eager to please, prices are reasonable and the wine, beer and sake list is one of the best in Miami Beach.
There are luscious raw plates to start: a fan of sliced Pacific coast amberjack dotted with marble-sized beets, the zesty zing of lemon rind and a huff of dried miso to bring it all back to earth. Also, tartare of shortrib with quail egg and green mustard; Nasquali Bay oysters; and of course, Florida’s most famous local critter, stone crab claws, here served with yuzu-spiked mustard sauce.
But really, it is all about the pork at Pubbelly, the instantly crowded gastropub near Purdy Avenue that flaunts its fetish for all things porcine.
If you are the type who loves to eat the fatty, white jiggly layer of the stuff, I suggest doing it in the form of the McBelly, on a square puff of a bun layered with spicy kimchi, sweet barbecue glaze, crispy onion shavings and fresh pickles. Hard-cores should take it sliced with a layer of butterscotch sauce, bits of pumpkin and corn powder.
The menu, kitchen and the dining room are small and the restaurant is always packed, so choices are well curated. Even a handful of vegetarian options exists. Local heirloom tomatoes laced with fluffy tofu and delicate shiso leaves is about as healthful as you can find here.
But be sure, this is not a place for dainty eaters. Even the chaste Brussels sprout gets trounced with sous vide duck egg that forms a rich carbonara-like sauce with pancetta and Parmigiano cheese. Kimchi with slivers of celery root gets a mayonnaisey brush.
Who knew that the Puerto Rican dishes would end up being the standouts here?
Foremost is the chillo frito, fried red snapper, gently scored, fried until the color of Caribbean sand and dressed ever-so-subtly with see-through lengths of cucumber, a subtly spiced lemongrass aioli and tender leaves of cilantro. But the mofongo, an Asian take on a traditional dish from the island made of mashed, fried green plantains, here gets extra umami from shoyu broth and fried bits of pork belly.
Turns out chefs and partners José Mendín and Sergio Navarro. who both did stints at La Broche, Nobu, Sushi Samba and Mercadito, both have ties to Puerto Rico and use the flavors from the East and West with great success. They are clearly influenced by the modern masters whose cookbooks line the bar shelves. The techniques and sensibilities of David Chang, Thomas Keller and Ferran Adria are well represented.
We gobbled down platters of crack-like dumplings. The salty, slightly pan-fried pork belly and scallion ones dotted with a sweetish soy-miso glaze and pea shoots are delicious but the duck with pumpkin and almonds and brown butter won’t sit long on the table, either.
A slightly less delicious dish might be the dates stuffed with spicy chorizo and goat cheese floating in a thin but fiery tomato sauce that begged for bread for sopping it up. Someone thought to ask for bread but the plate of sauce got grabbed up before our crusty baguette arrived.
The chatty staff, which in some cases has more enthusiasm than knowledge, is warm and welcoming. Their boss, managing partner Andreas Schreiner, offers genuine hospitality that makes up for any little gaffes.
Overall, desserts could be better but the one I have to confess craving is a bowl of frozen yogurt topped with bite-size cubes of fudgy brownies. Salty, creamy, sweet and chewy all in a hot and cold mash-up, even if the housemade yogurt is a bit icy.
Drinks include a cleverly edited if slim volume of wines from France, Italy and South America, as well as obscure sakes and nice brews on tap and bottled. A couple of N.A. choices would be a bonus.
Incidentally, someone should tell the bartender that it is not generally a good idea to charge a guest for a bottle of Pellegrino and then use some of it to make your husband a cocktail and charge for both.
Looking around at the well-worn brick walls and stubbly wooden furnishings you feel more as if you are in a hipster pub in a crooked Brooklyn brownstone than steps from the bay in tropical Miami.
Likewise, the dedication to detail in the kitchen is an anomaly on Miami Beach. The ingredients and the combinations are as righteously composed as a Tom Waits ballad.
The menu, with its mix of Asian, Mediterranean and Caribbean flavors, works on the plate and in the belly, though it can start to feel like a bit like a lengthy binge complete with foodie hangover in the morning.
