In the middle of flashy Lincoln Road the owners of the long-running restaurant Touch have founded a restaurant you may think serves only meat. The former Pacific Time dining room has been turned into a stylish venue that is perfect for a dinner if you are about to continue the evening on any of the nightclubs nearby.

Co-owner David Tornek and co-owner/Head Chef Sean Brasel have found themselves a restaurant to count on at the buzzing South Miami Beach’s fierce competition of evening entertainment. Sean Brasel is locally well-known with many media appearances and also a commitment in charity and fundraising, with three years work for the United Way and the Miami Wine & Food Festival.

Meat Market is like a trendy upscale version of the traditional steak house and with a twist in having several delicious seafood dishes as well. Start with a drink at the busy bar because the waiter will probably not seat you right away anyway due to the crowded and overloaded restaurant, and the fact that the restaurant earns money out of not seating you at the time for your reservation. So take it for what it is or complain and get some free drinks while you are at it. And forget about everything that is privacy – you will sit very close to the other guests and their tables in the restaurant. Everything is packed and so will you be as well. It is a psychical experience, indeed.

There are several both fish and meat dishes of top class, like the 18 ounce center-cut New York steak full or the 16 ounce prime rib eye steak that will not disappoint and add a six ounce lobster tail and you will have a course that probably makes you come back. There are of course several more meat courses to choose from, like the 20 ounce American Kobe beef rib eye from the Snake River Farms in Idaho and if it gets too much with all the meat you can go for a wood grilled blackened local Mahi-Mahi instead.

The service has been inconsistent on the occasions we have been to the Meat Market Miami Beach and it clearly depends on the waiter you will get and not on the fact that the restaurant is too busy. Sometimes service that is spot on and works flawlessly, some other times we have been waiting for several minutes before anyone tells us or directs us anywhere and after an annoying wait in a busy packed crowd you are told that your table is not ready yet and after an additional 30 minutes wait or so you will have your tiny table very close to the guests around you. Considering the price tag and the alternatives on South Miami Beach it should work better and not just sometimes – however the food is mostly delicious.

Images courtesy of Meat Market Miami Beach

Written by Andy