Love Dinner @ Mandolin in Design District in Miami

I spent a few days in Miami for work and one of the nights we went to the Design District for dinner. The Design District is mostly upscale furniture boutiques but also some very nice luxury boutiques such as Marni, Christian Louboutin and Tomas Maier.

The Mandolin was highly recommended and on a Wednesday night the place was packed with large groups wining and dining away. We were seated outdoors and really enjoyed our night out together.

Mandolin Menu

Mandolin Menu

The server was beyond helpful and we ordered everything he recommended. We started with the Turkish Sampler that was accompanied with homemade pita bread. The bread was well-made and three spreads were delightful complements - tomato and walnut, fava bean and carrot, traditional chick pea hummus.

 Turkish Sampler

The Cheese Saganaki was to die for! It is a crispy fried cheese and I couldn't resist asking for this one to the passed to me a couple of times to indulge in more.

Cheese Saganaki

The Kefte, beef and lamb meatballs with a dipping sauce was also delicious. The meatball is full of flavor and left me thinking if I should have ordered the lamb chops (one of the two recommended main entrees)

Kefte

Lastly, we also ordered the Marinated Grilled Octopus. It was made to perfection and thoroughly enjoyed.

Marinated Grilled Octopus 

For my entree, I decided on the Branzino (Mediterranean Sea Bass) and had it filleted. The Branzino was cooked whole (which kept is very flavorful) and simple grilled with olive oil, lemon and oregano. I feel like it has been a while since I had a well-made Branzino and loved my main course.

Branzino

Dinner was delicious and left us all so full that we passed on dessert.

The following day, we went to the Tomas Maier boutique in the Design District. Tomas Maier is the creative director for Bottega Veneta and he has his own boutique that incorporates some of the Bottega Veneta pieces that he designed. The Tomas Maier store sells a lifestyle from clothing, shoes, handbags to porcelain, perfume, coffee books. He's known for this fabulous swim wear, so if you visit be sure to pick up a piece or two. I couldn't take pictures inside the store, but here are a couple of shots of the store front.