Costa Marred

Our waiter, an amiable fellow, described the cazuela de mariscos as containing shrimp, squid, clams, and pieces of fish. Well, the white bowl (not clay pot) of seafood turned out to be a reunion of the paella's shrimp, squid, and the tiniest baby mussels I have ever seen -- though to be fair, they were sweet, and the shrimp were larger this time, if a little tough. The shellfish were soaking in a saffron-tinged, smoothly seasoned bouillabaisse broth, a bowl of white rice served on the side.

The kitchen bounced back with red snapper in clam sauce, by which I mean the fish was so rubbery that if dropped from a reasonable height I believe it would have literally rebounded. It didn't help that the thin red skin underneath the filet hadn't been slit before cooking, so the snapper curled under itself and resembled a white tube. No need to wonder if the clams were in the shell or not -- there were no clams, only the same white cream sauce as accompanied the pasta, with just a rumor of clam flavor. White rice came on the colorless plate; vegetables are a rarity here.

Jonathan Postal

Costa Mar caveat: Be sure to ask about tapas, and check to see if the gratuity is included

Location Info

Map

Costamar Restaurant

18250 Collins Ave.
Sunny Isles Beach, FL 33160-2727

Category: Restaurant >

Region: Aventura/North Miami Beach

0 user reviews	Write A Review

Wolfie Cohen's Rascal House

17190 Collins Ave.
Sunny Isles Beach, FL 33160

Category: Restaurant > Brunch

Region: Aventura/North Miami Beach

Photos

Details

305-933-5900. Open for lunch and dinner Monday through Thursday noon to 11:30 p.m., Friday and Saturday noon to 1:00 a.m., Sunday noon to 10:00 p.m.

18250 Collins Ave, Sunny Isles Beach

Related Content

• Danny Daze at Ultra Music Festival 2013
  March 14, 2013
• LIV Miami Makes $45-$60 Million in 2012, Fourth Highest Grossing Nightclub in U.S.
  March 7, 2013
• Miami Top Five in First-Date Offers for Valentine's Day
  February 11, 2013
• Green Day's Billie Joe Armstrong Checks Into Rehab, Totally OD-ing on Punk Rock
  September 24, 2012
• Funday Afternoon
  August 23, 2012

More About

• Costa Mar
• Barcelona
• Sunny Isles Beach
• Eating Out
• Spanish Food and Cooking

There are probably as many desserts in this world as there are fishes in the sea. Costa Mar offered three (I have friends with more choices in their home fridge): chocolate bombe with vanilla ice cream, "pancake" with dulce de leche, and crme brùlée with chewy sugar crust and grainy custard.

Costa Mar's staff is friendly but poorly trained and apparently unmanaged. Such basic gestures as knowing menu ingredients and what the specials are before coming to the table, being able to recommend an appropriate wine, sweeping crumbs from the table after dinner, or bringing the check within a reasonable amount of time should be part and parcel of the fine-dining experience.

Our bill the second time around, for one pasta (serving as two starters), two main courses, one bottle of water, two coffees, two desserts, tax, and the eighteen-percent tip came to more than $100. (Take note of the tip; it was included on our first dinner bill but not the second.) That's about what you pay for a duo dinner at Timo restaurant, with its far more ambitious cuisine and professional service. I thought of this as we passed Timo just a few blocks south on the drive home. Then we rolled by Rascal House and I wistfully visualized the cornucopia of corned-beef sandwiches that might have been.