Hollywood and Wine

Govind goes South Beach, and it’s a match made in marketing heaven

Comments (0) By Lee Klein Thursday, Feb 1 2007

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Prices are predictable: starters $14 to $22, entrées $28 to $37. Desserts range from $9 to $14, which on first visit seemed a bargain for delights such as a dazzling plate of deep chocolate variations, or ice creams and fruit sorbets bursting with diamondlike clarity of flavor. Our return saw a precipitous drop in the quality of sweets, most evident in the ice creams, which clearly contained fewer carats.

Fortunately the wine list remains fairly constant, a smart, sinewy selection from boutique, estate-grown, mostly California vineyards. A Cab fan at our table waxed ecstatically over a plummy, not overbearing 2004 Hess Estate Allomi Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon ($65).

JOE ROCCO

Location Info

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Table 8

1458 Ocean Drive
Miami Beach, FL 33139-4162

Category: Restaurant > American

Region: South Beach

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Details

Open daily for breakfast 8:00 to 11:30 a.m.; lunch noon to 2:30 p.m.; dinner Sunday through Thursday 6:00 to 10:00 p.m., Friday and Saturday 6:00 p.m. to midnight. Small-plate lounge menu nightly 10:00 p.m. to 2:00 a.m.

Regent Hotel South Beach, 1458 Ocean Dr, Miami Beach; 305-695-4114

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The most waxed-about feature of Table 8's open-air, 40-seat lounge, called "The Lounge," are portholes in the ceiling that peek into the Regent's glass-bottom pool above. It is the tranquil and tropical ambiance, though, aflow with breezy curtains and aglow in amber lighting, that makes this area so alluring. The bar out here pours trendy cocktails, such as watermelon-jalapeño martinis. And a small-plate menu, distinct from that of the restaurant, includes innovative lip-smackers like fried olives stuffed with chorizo, tuna confit with Meyer lemon aioli, and tomato shots with stone crab salad.

Among Chef Armstrong's signature dishes is a salt-roasted porterhouse steak, which garnered the Robb Report's much sought-after Best of the Best citation. The tricky part about getting to enjoy this apparently pleasurable porterhouse is that it isn't listed on the menu, nor mentioned by any waiter. I learned, after dining here, about it being available "only to those who know to ask." I can't help but wonder if diners in the first-class seats aren't told about it, though — like, maybe, instead of the short-rib hash?