Maybe It’s Time to Admit Hyped-Up 'Clubstaurants' Are Actually Pretty Good
Just because Grutman's name is on it, doesn't mean it sucks
A few years ago, one of my students at the University of Miami wrote a story about the best restaurants in Miami.
“We’re foodies,” she said, with the charming affluent naivety UM students do so well, “So obviously we hit Komodo, Swan, and Papi Steak.”
“FACT ERROR,” I scrawled in big, red ink all over her paper. “If you were a foodie, you’d have never gone to Papi Steak.”
This was me a few years ago, when it was universally cool for us food people to hate on Lil’ Davey Grutman’s family of restaurants. Like hipsters at a record store sneering when you come in and ask for Nickelback.
“Of COURSE you’re going to Komodo,” we scoff at the girls’ group in town for a 30th birthday/bachelorette/divorce party. “Please tell me somebody else is paying.”
But hating on Groot spots has become almost as passe as hating on Drake. And while nobody spent an entire halftime show complaining about the mediocre food at Swan, maybe it’s time to admit Groot’s restaurants – and other restaurants with a ton of hype – can actually be pretty good.
I realized this one balmy weeknight a few months ago when I bit the bullet and had dinner at Komodo because a friend in town from Seattle insisted on it. Aside from the table next to us watching TikToks at full volume, the experience was surprisingly fantastic. The server was personable and knowledgeable. The food was flavorful and creative, but still approachable. And the warm breeze blowing through the patio didn’t hurt either. All around, it was an A+ dining experience.
And it got me thinking: Maybe if we gave hyped-up restaurants a chance, we’d like them.
As jaded Miami locals, we’re conditioned to immediately dislike any restaurant that comes with a side of D-list celebrity buzz. Probably because we resent anyone charging $50 for spaghetti because we might spot a Vanderpump. But more because the hype keeps us from ever actually going there. And sure, waiting two hours for a table at Carbone is a sucker move up there with ordering 3x1 margaritas on Ocean Drive. But put their veal parm in front of me and I’ll devour it like a girl eating leftovers in her kitchen after a first date.
Take away the obnoxious Miami-ness of it all, and you’ll find these restaurants are popular for a reason. Their food is good, the design is well-curated and immersive, and the service is….well….the design is fan-tas-tic.
We’re blessed with a ton of great restaurants here in Miami, so it’s easy to write these places off as “just for tourists” or “the kind of place Rob Kardashian would eat.” But imagine if you found them while visiting another city.
Come across Gekko in, say, Tampa, with its sleek modern Asian decor, prime steaks, and top-tier sushi, and you’d rave about it for years. Wander into Carbone on a rainy Saturday night in Sioux Falls, you’d go back telling all your friends, “South Dakota is killing the Italian food game.”
Are these restaurants expensive? Yes, but this is Miami where we happily wait in line to pay $8 for a chocolate chip cookie at Pura Vida. Are they overpriced? Possibly, but as I’ve never run a restaurant (and neither have you) maybe we shouldn’t play armchair restaurant economist. We’re all trying to make a living out here.
Exclusivity is bullshit, as anyone who’s been around Miami for more than Art Basel knows. And the allure of going where Alix Earle eats is lost on anyone over the age of 23. But good food is good food, and calling spots like Gekko and Komodo and Giselle “overrated” simply because they have a great hype machine is selling them short. So while Papi Steak might be the fourth-best steakhouse in a five block radius, it would still be the best steakhouse in Pittsburgh. Though the briefcase might be overkill.