This spring, Lobster Bar Sea Grille officially arrived on South Beach taking over the famed South of Fifth location that once housed China Grill – but thanks to a mega revamp of the space, you’d never know it. The dining room features white herringbone subway tiled walls and arched – and significantly lower — ceilings, comfortable banquettes and booths, with crystal custom lighting creates an inviting yet nautical feel.
Keep with the old school ambiance of the space, the menu offers plenty of traditional and not-so-traditional seafood dishes created by Executive Chef Arturo Paz, who most recently served as executive chef for Cleo, but has worked all over the country in his 20+ year career.
An array of sharable appetizers kicked-off our dinner including a buttery French Tart with house-cured salmon, wild burgundy Escargot in puff pastry, hand-cut filet Tartare, and deep fried Lobster morsels served with a Greek honey-mustard aioli. Fresh salads are also a must-try including its trademark Chopped Salad and its Beet Salad topped with a beet sorbet.
Onto larger dishes, which of course, include plenty of lobster options. We opted for the Chili Lobster, topped with mild chili butter sauce and green shistito pepper, but options include broiled, steamed and cracked, lobsters tossed in tomato sauce and fried varieties. There are also roasted fish of the day, crab, salmon and crab legs. For land lovers there are plenty of steak options, and we tried the large Tomahawk Steak that’s enough to feed a crowd.
Dessert can never be missed and we opted for Greek Yogurt topped with plenty of honey and the Baba au Rhum. To wash it all back we sipped on craft cocktails like the Gold Digger made with Double Cross Vodka, solerno, blood orange liquor, prosecco, and ginger tonic along with the New Old Fashioned made with Redemption Rye, orange bitters, caramelized brown sugar and marinated black cherries.
