Tag: Del Sur Artisan

It’s rare to find restaurants like Del Sur Artisan Eats down south. While fine-dining restaurants stick to Brickell, Midtown, and the Gables, Del Sur chose Pinecrest as its home. This is a welcomed addition to the neighborhood, offering not only fine dining but a market selling top-notch products and wine as well. The menu is Argentinean and Italian-inspired, serving things like a full Parillada, Butternut Squash and Leeks Risotto topped with Pan Seared Scallops wrapped with Pancetta and, Burrata and Speck from their Mozzarella Bar.

I left highly impressed with the roasted lamb empanada, which is cooked with a sprig of rosemary literally embedded within the dough. It is up to the diner to remove the sprig prior to consumption, releasing the flavors of the herb in the process. I enjoyed this sort of interaction that Del Sur makes the diner have with their appetizer, as it adds a level of engagement that is rare to see at other restaurants. The dough of the empanada is perfectly crisp and flavorful, and the roasted lamb is well flavored with cumin, salt, and pepper. You can definitely taste the difference the rosemary gives, making the embedded sprig more than just a gimmick.

The Four-Hour Lamb Shank is cooked Osso Bucco style and served over a creamy bed of polenta. The mire poix (carrots, celery, onion) and red wine and shank jus is poured on top of the shank, making for a sauce that the polenta absorbs. Although this is comfort food at its finest, I wish it were executed a bit more carefully. The shank itself is tender and gamey, but somewhat one-note when it comes to the seasonings. Since the reduction is the liquid in which the lamb was cooked in, it suffers the same fate, but it somehow pairs well with the polenta. The polenta is the best element of the dish, with a heavy flavoring of cream that is impossible not to enjoy. As a whole, the dish is greater than the sum of its parts, and at the end of the day, this is all you should ask for in a meal. Priced at $24.95, this lamb shank is a great deal that is sure to satisfy. Based on my experience with the rest of the meal, this could have been an off night for this particular dish.

The service is engaging and friendly, making you feel like if you were at home. On my particular visit, the owner not only took my order, he also cooked for me (there is sort of an open kitchen), brought out my food, and checked up on my table regularly. It’s rare to find service like this anywhere in Miami, and this alone would make me return. Although the Lamb Shank was not my favorite, I would be willing to come back and give other items a chance. The rest of the menu was extremely satisfying and left me curious as to what else Del Sur Artisan Eats has to offer.