GK Bistronomie, 218 NW 25th Street, Miami, Florida 33127
When I write my food blog, I always hashtag my social media with #FoodIsLove, but at GK Bistronomie, #FoodIsArt and then some. The Peruvian-style eatery is creative, innovative and frankly, one of the most interesting places I’ve been to in a long time. The food is what Angelina Jolie is to the human race: breathtakingly beautiful, intriguing and sexy.
The restaurant itself has a modern feel mixed with an artsy vibe. Along with an open-air kitchen, there’s also a cool indoor/outdoor bar with an impressive selection of Peruvian Pisco’s (made in house.) Executive Chef Rafael Perez is a true artist, sculpting, mixing and plating food into colorful, decorative, delicious masterpieces. The best part? The restaurant and those who work there aren’t pretentious (no food snobs here.) Instead, they’re friendly, knowledgeable and care about your dining experience.
My “Spotlight” started with my usual drink fest (don’t hate, this is what you guys request when I’m out and about.) “Queen Mayra” (with absolut pear, passion fruit, celery and ylang, ylang,) “Linda Paloma” (pisco infuse with ginger, pear, green tea, orange, fresh squeezed lime, fresh pineapple, indian spices) and “Wynwood Sahumerio” (absolut elyx, star fruit, orange darjeeling and chamomile.)
The Queen was all kinds of fresh yumminess with a very pear-y taste with hints of essential oils. Oh, Linda! was exotic, spicy and smooth; but it was the Sahumerio that I wanted to have a Sunday brunch affair with: along with a cool dry ice presentation and a large square cut ice cube, it had this great fresh, tangy orange taste to it. If I wasn’t working, my play would have been to double down.
I tried three appetizers: “Parmesan” (grouper, parmesano reggiano, lime, chives, aji limo) “Peruvian Seafood” (corvina, octopus, calamari, shrimp, mussels, lime, cilantro, red onion, aji limo, sweet potato and choclo) and “Crab And Avocado” (jumbo lump crab, aji amarillo, papa amarilla, rocoto, caviar.) Each plate was so gorgeous, it was hard to eat; but once I dug in, my guilt wholeheartedly subsided.
The grouper was my favorite. It was smooth, creamy and cheesy (with a nice kick to it.) The Peruvian plate, which was actually a bowl, came with a top: uncapping it gave way to a rich, smokey flavor and who doesn’t love crab mixed with avocado? It was a charming balance of two of my favorite foods.
For my main course, I tried the “Black Grouper” (which is pan seared black grouper, shrimp, octopus, clams, mussels, quinoa and seafood broth.) This plate had amazing texture because of the quinoa, which I think of as more of a health food, but still, it was incredibly yummy with delicate touches of the aforementioned seafood. The broth was magical and not too “soupy.”
Last but not least, the “Nutella Mousse” is what I had for dessert, with the most amazing latte and sugar stick (a spur of-the-moment addition by our wonderful server.) The mousse (made with almonds, dark chocolate, cardamom and coffee meringue,) was decadent and rich. Oh, and that latte!? It was something else! Our waitress told us she had worked at a coffee place (awhile ago) and had mastered her coffee-making skills. Actually, she said: “I was a slave to making lattes.” Whatever she did, she has some mad coffee making skilllz. Hats off to her!
The presentation alone is enough to impress anyone who dines at GK Bistronomie, but mix that with the fact that the food actually tastes amazing and the people who run the place are really cool and you can’t go wrong. At this restaurant, food isn’t just love, #FoodIsArt and that’s why it’s one of my favorite things. Cheers!
GK Bistronomie is located in the heart of the Wynwood Art District (about a block away from the Wynwood Walls.) The artsy area is slowly becoming a force to be reckoned with in the Magic City. From speciality stores to cutting edge restaurants and bars, it’s definitely one of the most impressive and provocative parts of Miami. Street parking is tricky in this area because of the high volume of traffic (more so on the weekends,) but they have a valet right out in front of the restaurant that’s pretty quick and efficient (at least from my experience.)
Monday-Saturday 11:30am-11:30pm, Sunday 11:30am-10:30pm
www.gkbistronomie.com
786-477-5151
FB: GK Bistronomie Twitter: @GkbWynwood IG: @gkbwynwood
Stylist: Jackie Kay
Producer/Blogger: Shireen Sandoval