Mistaken Identity

Was the restaurant being reinvented, or was it a printing error?

Comments (0) By Pamela Robin Brandt Thursday, Mar 4 2004

...continued from page 1

Pizzas were a mixed success. On one visit a traditional Margherita (tomato sauce, mozzarella, and fresh basil) was somewhat sparse on cheese and uncalled-for dried oregano added a jarring note, but the crust was fabulous: thin, crisp, blistered just enough by the Med's wood oven. But on a second visit a "create your own" pizza I ordered with buffalo mozzarella, pepperoni, and arugula added after baking came with a crust that was merely rigid -- no charcoal flavor, no burn bubbles. The buffalo was an improvement, but there were only four small splotches of it. And charging $2 for the sparest sprinkling of arugula was highway robbery.

Sapori di Mare, described as "our signature dish," was more like a limp handshake. The linguine was overcooked, as were the tough squid, rubbery clams, and dried-out shrimp. The marinara sauce was watery and bland.

Jonathan Postal

High hopes brought low at CocoWalk's Café Med

Location Info

Map

Café Med

940 Ocean Drive
Miami Beach, FL 33139

Category: Restaurant > Italian

Region: South Beach

0 user reviews	Write A Review

Details

Open daily 11:00 a.m. to midnight Friday and Saturday to 1:00 a.m. Call 305-443-1770.

3015 Grand Ave, Coconut Grove

More About

At least a warm cioccolatissimo soufflé -- rich, runny, and not cloyingly sweet -- ended the meal on a high note. Well, higher. Whipped cream would have been a more satisfying accompaniment than the crystal-filled vanilla ice cream that came on the side.

The view from Café Med was still good. The carpaccio was still reliably edible. But the truly good news is that I found a trove of free street parking, only four blocks from CocoWalk -- which I naturally have no intention of sharing.