1111 Collins Avenue
Miami Beach, FL 33139
305 534 8455
www.thetudorhousemiami.com
Food: 
Service: 
Reviewed and Photographed by: Grace Cheung
Pretzel Bread Balls
Earlier this month, after our Eastern Caribbean cruise aboard the Carnival Liberty, we spent a few days on South Beach, Miami. We stayed at the Dream Hotel, which is also home to the Tudor House, a restaurant presided over by Celebrity Chef Geoffrey Zakarian, whose rise to fame began in 1982 at New York’ City’s Le Cirque, where he took his first job in a kitchen. Over a period of 5 years, he worked his way up from Pastry Sous Chef to Chef de Cuisine under Chef Alain Sailhac. The rest is culinary history!
We started off with a few cocktails and their Pretzel Bread balls. I loved the salt on these salty balls, yum! And since we were craving oysters, we decided to go with a dozen. And what do you know, they were from the West coast of the USA, guess they followed us to Miami! The sauces weren’t too memorable but the oysters were quite fresh. I prefer these small oysters much better than the giant ones.
We also tried their homemade French Onion Dip. This was the only negative for me, I found the dip way to sweet for an appetizer. However, I did enjoy the fresh potato chips. Maybe just get the chips and skip the dip?
Fresh Raw Oysters
This Chicken Liver Pate was super rich. I found it almost too much so for my personal taste, but the grilled bread was great as an accompaniment. Also helping cut the richness were the pickled purple and white cauliflower clusters. Definitely too much for one person, and probably too much for two, even as an appetizer! Oh, and the salt is a great touch, just sprinkle onto the bread, load it up with the pate, and off you go!
Tudor House's "Too Sweet" French Onion Dip
For our main course we got the torchio pasta, which is a classic torch shaped pasta, and excellent for a robust sauce. The pasta is made in house, and the sauce was house-made pork sausage with fresh English peas! I”d never seen this type of pasta before,and it was super fun, sort of like a twisty penne. Whenever there is a pasta as a daily special, I feel it’s best to go with that. Always fresh, and I’ve rarely been disappointed.
Housemade Torchio Pasta with Pork Sausage and Fresh English Peas
Since we were sharing an entree, we decided to try one of their sides dishes to go with it. Since we didn’t have much in the way of real veggies, we ordered The Tudor House’s Cheesy Fried Brussel Sprouts, topped with Crispy Prosciutto. After our main arrived, we realized that we had totally over-ordered and tried to stop this side dish from coming out, but alas, it was ready and on its way. Our waiter was amazing though, and offered to take it off the bill. Seeing as this was our fault, we appreciated the gesture. We are so glad that we tried this though, as it is similar to the Brussels Sprouts served at Glowbal Group’s Italian Kitchen (a restaurant in DowntownVancouver), but much better. The addition of the prosciutto and thin slivers of fresh apple made this version exceptional. Although we were quite full, we managed to sneak some of the cheesiest morsels in anyway!
A Dessert Teaser
We certainly didn’t have room for dessert, but again, our stellar server decided to bring us a little something anyway- just a taste or two of their interesting dessert choices. On the left is a pear gelee, in the middle was a nice, tart raspberry mousse, and rounding out the dessert plate was a chocolate covered almond cluster. This was the perfect ending for this amazing meal, and again. Note: Don’t forget to check out the excellent wine list too while you are here.
I highly recommend the Tudor House if you are visiting Miami’s South Beach, or if you are lucky enough to live in South Florida year round.
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Grace Cheung has always had a fork in one hand, and a pen in the other as she eats her way through Vancouver’s restaurant scene with a discerning bite. She spends her day scouring the best eateries and racking up frequent dining points. In between meals, she works as a marketer for a financial firm and also has her own company, providing social media services to local restaurants and entertainment venues. Must haves: Blackberry, iPad, and a nice Barolo. Monitor the feasting at GraceCheung604.com or in realtime on Twitter @gracecheung604.
