We got a sneak peek of Chef Adrianne’s new Red Fish restaurant. Here’s what we know
Their phone won’t stop ringing.
Since chef Adrianne Calvo announced she’d be reopening Coral Gables’ only bayfront restaurant, Red Fish at Matheson Hammock Park, diners have been calling to find out when they can make reservations. One man said he was considering delaying his engagement until he could do it at the scenic restaurant with sweeping views of Biscayne Bay.
Don’t hold out for a Valentine’s Day engagement, they told him.
The restaurant, which Calvo guessed would reopen in October, is at least a month away from opening, she said during a private tour Jan. 16 of the building, still under renovation, which ended in a preview of the “New American fish house” menu she hopes to serve.
“This experience is going to be very special — unlike anything else in Miami,” she said.
For now, Red Fish is still a hard-hat zone.
It has been closed since Hurricane Irma flooded the low-lying park in 2017 with more than five feet of storm surge. The city and Miami-Dade County have just started sea-rise mitigation plans, investing $19 million in the next five years as much of the park still floods with high tides.
However, the city and county started with making Red Fish livable. They have replaced a massive, caved-in stormwater drain pipe that crisscrossed the parking lot and made it flood at least two weeks out of the year. (Diners remember valets having to roll up their pants to wade to their cars.)
“The issue has been addressed here, at least,” said Brad Barreto, whose father’s Barreto Group took over the property’s lease in February of 2019 and signed Calvo to be the new chef.
The company has invested “well north of $1 million” to renovate the restaurant, Barreto’s general counsel Richard Barbara said. Within that is a new air-conditioning system meant to address the stagnant heat, a longtime complaint at the coral rock building.
Diners will also be able to come by boat, dock in the marina, and be shuttled the short distance to the restaurant.
The restaurant itself will only seat about 40, Calvo said. But the project trades on its outdoor views. It will seat at least another 110 outside, including in new cabanas along Matheson Hammock’s wading beach.
As for the menu, Calvo said seafood will be the focus. Since the restaurant is still unlivable, the company chartered a yacht just off short to preview some of her dishes.
Among them is whole fried Florida snapper. And there will be a selection of oysters flown in daily from the west coast, she said. Expect dishes like her tuna tartare on cripsy wontons, a chunky New England clam chowder and a shaved romaine, kale and Brussels sprouts Cesar salad with mild white anchovies.
Calvo admits a late February opening date is ambitious. But she assures future diners that the restaurant will capture the spirit of the iconic, romantic waterfront restaurant which was the venue for weddings and parties.
“Everything had to be done from scratch,” Calvo said, “while preserving what it was.”
This story was originally published January 17, 2020 at 12:02 PM.
