The Oceanaire Seafood Room is trying to stay afloat in dangerous waters. Despite its parent company filing Chapter 11, the sole Miami location of the Minneapolis-based upscale seafood chain will remain open, says senior vice president of operations Tim Whitlock. The announcement came last Monday, forcing the closings of four of its 16 locations in an attempt to restructure.
"It's actually performing very well, considering how rough it is out there," Whitlock explains of the Miami location. "Mary Brickell is the fourth best-performing company-wide, and was the fastest-growing in the network when it opened two years ago. Miami's a really good market for us. Chef Sean [Bernal] is from Miami... He's one of our best chefs."
It sure isn't an easy time to be in the biz, with the off-season
adding insult to injury, but the Brickell branch isn't taking the
troubled times flapping around. Bernal was most recently out and about at the Fairchild Mango Festival displaying his flair with fish and fruit.
In house, the dining room's wishful-thinking $20.10 promotion, a prayer
for economic recovery next year, offers select bottles of wine at this
reduced price, and an ongoing - including for Miami Spice - three
course lunch ($23) and dinner ($36) special packs value. Patrons can
also find a new Happy Hour menu, introduced a couple a weeks ago, featuring $8 cocktails (a steal!) and day-and-night, bar-only "delicacies" such as a crab meat and bay shrimp chopped salad ($8.99,) crab cake sliders ($4.99 ea.) and a grilled fish taco ($6.99.) For the full bar menu and happy hour specials, see below. Follow the latest news and events at the restaurant on Facebook and Twitter.
