Bagatelle Miami Beach – Parisian Delights with a Side of Salsa
Bagatelle Miami Beach is a renowned French-Mediterranean restaurant that has come to be known as a staple in the South Beach dining scene. With the 305’s colorful cuisine diversity, it’s easy to pass up what you may think is “just another French restaurant”. However, that belief will quickly fall away as you approach the elegant European style entryway with white walls and lush greenery leading into a chic and luxurious dining room. The founders of Bagatelle Miami Beach are Aymeric Clemente and Remi Laba. They have achieved immense success with their dedication to an exciting dining experience without sacrificing excellent food quality. Bored by the typical New York night life, these two French entrepreneurs combined their extensive hospitality experience to create what Bagatelle proudly is now, starting in New York and opening in Miami in 2008.
They have now expanded to 9 different locations worldwide. Bagatelle Miami Beach’s kitchen is presided by Executive Chef Matthieu Godard, a Frenchman who developed his love and talent for cooking in his grandmother’s kitchen in Normandy, France. Having worked with the prestigious chef Daniel Boulud and Michelin star establishments in New York, he moved to Miami and later came to helm Bagatelle. He personally came to us while dining to ensure everything was delicious and he was incredibly nice.
We have bore witness to their insane parties before!
We returned on a Wednesday night, to experience their “Havana Wednesdays” where they feature one hour of professional salsa dance lessons. If you have never dined here before, you will be completely blown away by this experience! The whole restaurant turned into a party with interchanging colorful lights and salsa music! The dancers had beautiful smiles and incredible energy, creating a festive and interactive environment while still allowing us to enjoy what we came for- THE FOOD!
To start with we had to take my Escarginity. The idea of eating snails if you haven’t before is a bit daunting, but I trusted that Bagatelle wouldn’t make a dish that was not delicious. The Escargot en Persillade is made up of a Burgundy snails casserole with button mushrooms, garlic, parsley, almonds, and pommes dauphine. It was incredible, the flavors so rich and appetizing with the textures of the mushrooms and the pommes which made the soft buttery snails so much more palatable for a newbie and seasoned diner alike.
Following that we ordered the Pizza à la Truffe Noire. This mouth-watering flatbread is adorned with crème fraîche, black truffle oil, smoked Scamorza, and we highly suggest you get the added sliced truffles. We were in absolute truffle heaven. I felt like a truffle pig who had just discovered a field full. The sweet and smoky cheeses balanced so well with the savory truffles, melting in our mouths like ice cream on a hot summer day. This was one of my favorite dishes of the night.
This night was full of new surprises, as I had also not tasted duck before. So we popped that hedonistic cherry too! The Magret de Canard made me question what else I have been missing out on in life. The exquisitely tender Moroccan spiced duck breast came with winter root vegetables, Enoki tempura, and a glorious togarashi spiced jus that really accentuated the taste of the duck. The explosion of flavor was prolific!
Everything had been so delightful the entire night, there was no question about whether to try the dessert! And wow, I can taste them again as I write about it. Definitly do try the Les Profiteroles. This amazing chocolate cake (Pâte à choux) with vanilla bean ice cream and warm chocolate sauce was beautiful and tasty! We adored the presentation. Also, we got to try the Pavlova which was crispy meringue, dulce de leche crémeux, Mandarin-rosemary sorbet, chantilly, and Sicilian pistachio. It was perfect, tangy, and tart. A fitting complement to the rich chocolate cake.
As I reflect on my experience at Bagatelle Miami Beach, it almost seems like a dream. The club-like atmosphere with the cosmopolitan European theme stole my heart initially, and the fantastic food and service will keep me coming back. The menu changes seasonally and is designed by chef Godard himself, so there will always be new and exciting dishes to try as well! Be sure to check them out their menu and site here and make a reservation!