Located in Coral Gables (a short drive from Miami Beach) on Miracle Mile, Seasons 52 stands out as one of the best restaurants in the area offering some of the best food this writer has ever tasted (note this review was written during Coral Gables Restaurant week- as such a special pre fixe 5 course meal was sampled) Also of special note, the menu rotates every season so some of the dishes mentioned may not be on the menu in when you visit.

The first dish was a flatbread which Seasons 52 is renowned for as its one the biggest ticket items on the menu and very well can serve as a meal itself. One thing about Seasons 52 is that every meal only comes in one size, large. Even the so called appetizers are huge in comparison to other restaurants so one should not come to Seasons 52 with anything but an empty stomach. The tomato and chicken flatbread the writer had was so good that any sense of restraint was thrown out the window and remained so throughout the entire meal. The tomatoes were just ripe enough to have a crisp flavor but not have a sharp taste to them and the chicken complemented the tomatoes perfectly. Flatbreads are judged not just on the toppings but the crust itself, and Seasons 52’s flatbread was the perfect amount of crispiness and soft so it was not tooth breaking but also not chewy.

The second dish was “taco soup” which was a corn meal based broth with what typically fills a taco in the solid portion of the soup. It was rather flat and could not compare to the flatbread before it. It tasted like a taco but the texture was off and was nothing special. The third dish was chicken skewers which while again not as interesting as the first dish was leagues better than the taco soup. The rotisserie chicken was flaky and the skin was absolute amazing let alone the superbly cooked meat

The main dish was by far the best dish of the night, slowly aged steak in a red wine sauce. While the steak was not huge compared to the dishes before it the taste easily blew the competition away. The steak literally made the meal as the delicate melt in your mouth pieces combined with the red wine sauce took one’s taste buds on a pleasure trip. The only negative portion is that the experience has to end but luckily the desserts ended the trip on a high note.

The desserts were a selection of assortment of ice cream/mousse cups each themed like chocolate, Carmel and other like sweets. The author went with the s’more marshmallow cup which while not anything special worked in tandem with all the meal to make an overall pleasant experience. In addition, the author tried an additional $10 surcharge wine tasting which entailed tasting three half cups of wine and getting a full glass of the wine of one’s choosing. While wine normally is quite high per glass on the menu it truly helped bring out the taste of some the dishes especially the steak.

The atmosphere is very upscale but the restaurant will not break one’s bank as the typical dishes range from $11-$30 dollars. Seasons 52’s décor and general ambiance is akin to a high end steak house. The service is excellent as the waiter was quite nice and knowledgeable of all the dishes. He had no problem replacing some of the dishes that were mixed up or slightly overcooked (such errors can be attributed to the huge influx of people there for the restaurant week and it is not indicative of a normal day).

In summation, Seasons 52 was an enjoyable experience as the food was outstanding, the service nice and the atmosphere refined.

· Location: 321 Miracle Mile Coral Gables, FL
· Phone: (305) 442-8552
· Menu: https://www.seasons52.com/menu_pdf/4509/4509_summer_2014_dinner.pdf
· Hours:

Mon 11:30 am – 11:00 pm
Tue 11:30 am – 11:00 pm
Wed 11:30 am – 11:00 pm
Thu 11:30 am – 11:00 pm
Fri 11:30 am – 12:00 am
Sat 11:30 am – 12:00 am
Sun 11:30 am – 10:00 pm