Located inside of the Ritz Carlton on Coconut Grove is a new culinary gem called Isabelle's Grill Room and Garden. The beautiful restaurant features high ceilings and earthy tones like dark woods, brass, and leather with white and green accents. So what's the story behind the name?
"Isabelle's came from the first settlers here in Coconut Grove, the Peacock family, and their daughter is Isabella Peacock, so they took the name Isabella and turned it into Isabelle's Grill Room and Garden," said Nicole Frankel, Marketing Manager of Isabelle's.
When it comes to the food, Isabelle's offers a variety of land and sea options.
"Our executive chef Paulo, he tried to combine the 'New American' style with the Italian style that a lot of our other restaurants have associated with them and with that tied in a little bit of a raw bar to incorporate South Florida's amazing seafood, and of course we added a grill section because you can't go wrong with a nice steak," said Frankel.
First up, the striped bass with shrimp.
"First we are going to lay the fish flat on the hot pan and then we are going to let it finish cooking in the oven. Then we cook our shrimp on the stove, and now its on to plating. We first put down our shrimp sauce, then we lay down some braised leeks, some asparagus, and then we add the bass and the shrimp," said Andrea Rainis, Executive Chef at Isabella's.
Up next, the crab cake.
"We take our preprepared crab cake and we let it cook on the pan for a little bit on both sides and then we finish it in the oven. To plate it we are going to use our special sauce, then add some celery root and apple slaw, and finish it off with our crab cake and some garnish," said Rainis.
Isabelle's Grill Room and Garden has indoor and outdoor seating and is open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. For more information head to isabellescoconutgrove.com