I made it to the Peacock Garden Café for the first time this week. The indoor/outdoor Coconut Grove restaurant debuted this past April 7, so guess you could say it took me long enough. Behind the project are Lalo Durazo and Oscar del Rivero, the team responsible for Jaguar Ceviche and Talavera Cocina. The interior is light and lovely, but we chose to sit on the patio for our lunch. Quite pleasant, really.
Peacock's menu comprises what Durazo calls "garden-inspired cuisine." One of the cool aspects is that diners can choose any grilled item (chicken, skirt steak, tuna, shrimp, salmon) and pair it with any salad (niçoise, Chinese, caesar, Greek, or pear and blue cheese).
We matched a juicy chicken breast with a bountiful and zesty Greek salad that contained classic horiatiki ingredients -- with multicolored peppers and teardrop tomatoes, plus greens, watercress, and a trio of freshly fried falafel balls -- a light yet thoroughly satisfying plate (and pretty as a peacock!). These pairings generally run $16 to $20, but many, like this one, are featured on the daily $13 lunch special.
We also had a grilled vegetable sandwich on multigrain bread: zucchini, roasted red peppers, portobello mushrooms, goat cheese, and pesto spread between slices of griddled toast. Sandwiches come with a choice of tomato salad, celeriac slaw, or French fries skinny and crisp enough to qualify as "potato sticks."
The rest of the menu includes a soup of the day ($6), a couple of pastas ($14), burgers and other sandwiches ($14 to $18), and entrées such as pan-roasted chicken, seared salmon teriyaki, baby-back ribs, and grilled filet mignon or Black Angus NY steak. Excepting steaks ($30), entrées are $18 to $20.
Peacock Garden Café has fresh, tasty food; attentive service; and a great outdoor ambiance for the cooler weather ahead. There aren't as many of these places around as one might think.
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