MIAReview
Included In
Very expensive? Perhaps. But, in a city where so many restaurants promise a dose of old school glamour, The Surf Club is one of the few that truly delivers. The restaurant (which is from a chef whose last name rhymes with smeller) is located inside the Four Seasons Hotel, a historic property that will make you feel like Elizabeth Taylor stepping out for a night of whatever it was they did for fun in the ’50s.
The menu reads like a greatest hits of dishes your grandparents probably loved. But the Surf Club makes them feel (and taste) exciting, not stuffy and boring. The tableside caesar is perfectly salty, and the $138 beef wellington is—yes—so freaking expensive but also one of the most memorable pieces of beef you’ll ever try. Dessert is outstanding too, especially the sundae.
Still, if food was the only reason to come here, we’d be on the fence about whether or not to make a reservation, dress up, and spend all this money on a piece of meat that costs as much as a gently-used pair of AirPods. But what really boosts The Surf Club to the plane of “worth it” status is the fact that they nail fine dining hospitality. The staff provides the kind of service that might make you start using words like “marvelous” or fight the urge to address your server as “garçon.” Salads are tossed and meat is carved tableside with the precision of a neurosurgeon. If you whip out your phone to document your $85 lobster thermidor (only for tax purposes of course), a very non-judgemental hand might appear to tilt a lamp towards your plate. And this happens whether or not you’re here to drop $1,000, or drink water and do your damndest to keep things under $200.
This is no doubt a special occasion restaurant that should be used sparingly. Like a terrifying roller coaster or a cross-country road trip, this might be a restaurant you only need to experience once. But it is worth experiencing.
Food Rundown
Deviled Eggs
Classic Caesar Salad
Prime Beef Short Rib Wellington
Buttermilk Whipped Potatoes