Opening: The Smoking Rabbit
Miami Beach has a gastropub: The Smoking Rabbit, which occupies the former space of departed seafood restaurant 510 Ocean. It hasn't been open for long, but already it's got two reviews on Yelp. Here's one of them:
Daily Candy called this an English inspired "gastropub," but I saw no sign of pub-ish-ness in the place. First of all, no English brew whatsoever. We were told that it was just the soft opening and they planned to have some English beer soon, but there is no tap behind the bar, so I'm not sure that it will make much of a difference.The other review glows about the mac 'n' cheese, burger and pumpkin salad. For us, the mac 'n' cheese is key; a good one is so incredibly satisfying, but a bad one is such a letdown.We were just having drinks, but we took a look at the menu for future reference. A few things sounded interesting, but I'm not sure I'd spend the money.
The owner was there, strutting around the place, looking proud of himself. A handful of the beautiful people were eating; I got the impression they were friends of employees. The rest of the patrons consisted of some very confused looking middle aged tourists.
The music was basically what would happen if you put my entire iTunes playlist on random. It went straight from Billie Holiday to Billy Joel. I am not making this up.
We haven't received a menu yet, but we hear it changes daily. Also, you should know that the phone number we've seen listed everywhere appears to be a cell phone number, so unless you want to leave the owner a voicemail message, you might want to try the restaurant number instead (305-531-2100).
The Smoking Rabbit [Yelp]
Comments
I ate at the Rabbit last night and was super impressed. They had a great buzz in the dining room and the food was excellent. I had the burger! Music was very unique.
Im always a little confused by people who write bad reviews before they even taste the food. Scary!!
Posted by: Don Dean | February 2, 2008 06:25 PM
I did indeed had the opportunity to dine at this establishment Mr Dean and the experience was horrible. From the service to the prices it screamed disaster. I do hope they improve because Ocean Drive is an International Tourist destination and it represents South Beach. It deserves to have places like Prime 112 etc... Not a New Pub
Posted by: Alex Blakes | February 12, 2008 05:33 PM
I really enjoyed my meal (Scallops w/ a really cold sauce) and my friend enjoyed her Filet. She said it was possibly better then prime 112. The decor is very nyc and so is the vibe but in my opinion that's a good thing. Miami could use a little more nyc influence. Good Luck and keep up the good work!!
Posted by: John K | February 12, 2008 11:12 PM