Mignonette Uptown

Danny Serfer never intended to start a mini-empire. But the 36-year-old chef opened Blue Collar, a small MiMo District restaurant in 2012; debuted Mignonette, a larger seafood and oyster bar with business partner/buddy Ryan Roman, in 2014; and just a few months ago began operating Mignonette Uptown in North Miami Beach. Like the flagship in Edgewater, this location prominently displays the day’s East and West Coast oyster selections on a large marquee over the bar. Serfer says the raw section hasn’t changed; however; the “fancy” seafood section is completely different and based on the chef de cuisine’s ideas. One option is the striped bass. It’s served with a burnt black-carrot purée, peas, and a sweet onion cream sauce laced with garlic and shallots. For dessert, pastry chef Devin Braddock delivers with her Valrhona chocolate cake. It includes caramel, a nut crumble, coffee-flavored ice cream, and thick slices of banana. There’s a lot going on, yet every component enhances the taste.  Just like Edgewater before the opening of the original Mignonette, North Miami Beach was in serious need of a place exactly like this one. And once again, Serfer, Roman, and their team have delivered.