Novikov Restaurant Miami Grand Opening
When given the opportunity to eat at one of the newest, most upcoming restaurants in Miami what would you say? Of course! Novikov is a Chinese-Japanese fusion based restaurant that will officially open its doors to the public on Monday, May 28. Upon walking into the restaurant its hard to ignore its chic, elegant vibe. The scenery is breathtaking in itself, but the food is to die for. After finishing the many dishes given by Novikov, it was clear that this restaurant has the highest quality ingredients and service. It was a delightful experience being wine and dined at Novikov.
But enough about the outstanding service, lets get down to what everyone wants to know about… the food! The first dish was the saffron corn dumplings. These little pockets of sunshine were sweet and delicious. It was even fun to eat! The sticky dumplings clung onto the chopsticks. The insides were filled with corn kernels and a gooey, cheesy sauce that clung onto the corn. It came with a side of soy sauce and a spicy kimchee-based sauce. I personally liked the dumplings without any sauce. Cute presentation and big on taste. Loved the beginning of the night.
Next was the black cod, which was the classic of the day. The black cod came with a sweet dipping sauce. This had to be one of my favorite dishes at Novikov. It is an ABSOLUTE must have! The black cod literally fell apart in your mouth. It was so soft, flaky, and buttery. I have never had black cod like this. The sauce was not even needed, but added a great addition to the plate.
The yuzu salmon came next. It is honestly hard to pick my favorite dish at Novikov because they were all amazing. So I have several and this one was another favorite. The yuzu salmon was so delicious. The sesame seeds sprinkled on top of the salmon gave the dish a nutty, smoked flavor that contrasted beautifully with the salty soy sauce. The salmon itself was thinly sliced, perfect for yuzu. The plating didn’t go unnoticed, it was so simple yet delicate and elegant.
After the many mouthwatering plates thus far, I was starting to get even more excited for what was to come. The next dish was the ultimate spicy tuna maki. I mean…. the name itself just sets the plate up for success! This was another of my favorites at Novikov. The tuna maki was so finely ground. It was topped with more tuna and jalapeno. It had the right amount of spice, no wasabi needed. It seemed like such a delicate roll, but it was pretty filling... or it might have been that we already ate three plates beforehand and were sipping on some flavorful, strong cocktails.
Despite feeling the beginning of satiety, we kept the night rolling. The beef fillet was next, and another of my favorites. This beef fillet was probably one of the best I have ever had… EVER. It was so tender, literally like butter. I didn’t know it was possible for meat to melt in your mouth until now. So soft, and FULL of flavor. The beef was perfectly cooked, with enough pink to please my palate. It was accompanied by a tangy sauce, which honestly didn’t need to be there because the fillet was perfect on its own. And the presentation of the plate… it was actually pretty cool. The beef was served in two tiers, with each tier cubed and placed back together as a whole. It was fun to eat, and that made the dish even better.
While we were munching on the beef, the waiter brought out a plate of corn on the cob. You would think basic right? Wrong… This corn on the cob had truffle on it and that made everything better. The buttery, truffle sauce was addictive. I would’ve loved to have had that sauce for the beef fillet!
The last savory dish we had was the teriyaki salmon. The salmon came with charred skin on top and charred lemons. The salmon fell apart and was just as flavorful as all the other dishes. Another great plate.
To end the night, dessert! We had three different dishes to try: margarita sorbet, whiskey guava baba, and chocolate lava cake with ginger ice cream. My favorite was the whiskey baba cake so lets start with that one. The cake was moist and flavorful, but not too strongly reminiscent of whiskey. It was topped with a vanilla whipped topping and edible flower petals. My next favorite was the margarita sorbet. At first I didn’t think the sorbet would be good, but I was very wrong. It was light and full of flavor. Actually tasted like a margarita. The last dessert was the lava cake. The warm chocolate cake had a very strong cocoa taste, not too sweet. Its gooey center fell apart as you ate at it. It went perfectly with the cold ginger ice cream and sweet crumble on the bottom. By the end of all this we were most certainly full. But every bite was worth it. I would definitely go back to Novikov, but it would probably have to wait for a big occasion because it is not a cheap restaurant. You certainly get amazing dishes with very expensive and top notch ingredients.
