72nd Bar and Grill – South Miami – October 2010 (CLOSED)

(generous) 2 out of 5

Well what can you say about a place where the best two features were the charcuterie plate, featuring succulent meats and bright cheeses that we can fortunately purchase at meat, cheese, or even wine shop – not to mention a variety of basic supermarkets – and the bartender, who we soon learned was on his last weekend shift at this “bar and grill.” Well… a lot. Instead of going off on this place I will keep it relatively simple. So with the above two pros noted, I should also mention that my Trini Burger, made of ground lamb perfectly cooked to medium rare as per my order and topped with cole slaw and habanero mayo, was excellent and worth eating again – though I’m not a big fan of these giant meatball shaped patties on tiny buns that any normal human mouth does not fit around. At risk of sounding like I think this is the worst place ever, which it might not be on another night, I have to list the various cons:

1. Ten to fifteen minute wait despite reservations.
2. Mussels that had to be returned as the entire table noticed the rank stench and the couple of tastes taken confirmed something was foul.
3. The server disappearing as if sitting by the bar waiting for the cocktails to be made every time a drink was ordered. We were told two servers had walked out that night, which had us patient while the restaurant was relatively full for the first 20 minutes, but not anymore when the service remained very below par despite the restaurant later being at less than half capacity.
4. Slow food service.
5. A skirt steak that appeared as if it had been run over by steamroller but had never been an appropriately sized or shaped piece of meat prior to its untimely flattening.
6. A $17 dollar “kobe” burger that was cooked far beyond medium, let alone medium rare.
7. And of course the automatic 18 % gratuity included despite all of the above and the following tale of birthday surprise woes to conclude this review.

Set up:  We were there for a friend’s birthday.

Objective:  We wanted to have one of those birthday sing along presentations of whichever dessert.

Action:  Someone stated this clearly to the server, and in front of me so this is no he said she said.

Foreshadowing:  The server still managed to come to the table asking what we wanted for dessert even though this had been clearly indicated should be a surprise, thus requiring “chocolate cake” to be silently lipped to the server whilst our dear friend luckily sat still unaware.

The fall:  All of a sudden a server plops out with the chocolate cake for the table, in fact the birthday boy actually had to grab the plate so it and place it himself… no candle, no song, no birthday anything.

The recovery: As no one had overtly ordered dessert, remember (unlike the servers) that it was supposed to be a surprise, we got the dessert back to them as if a complete mistake to which the servers bashfully laughed in embarrassment and then, in an epiphany, they managed to go set it up and come back with the chocolate cake (which was pretty good) adorned with a small candle and the singing of “happy birthday.”

Recommendation:  get the charcuterie plate and a drink at the bar… or perhaps find wherever the bartender was going as he was leaving this place and get some manchego and prosciutto di parma from a shop or market in the comfort of your neighborhood, but skip the rest of the inconsistencies. So sad since the trini burger really was good but I almost feel they would benefit from just closing out for the night and putting up a sign that says “Our bartender is leaving and two servers walked out – Please Understand” in addition to waving the automatic but undeserved 18 % tip. If that had occurred I would maybe return but as is I am not likely to, nor do I think anyone at our table will. I’m glad we got various drinks at the bar, though; at least ensuring we put some tips in the one place they really belonged. If only I could have determined who sliced the charcuterie so we could have thrown them a bone too.

The location is fine, street and garage parking is available, decor and ambiance is slightly modern and hip but nothing to write further about. Yeah, smoke and mirrors as I am always going to say when snacks and a drink, if even that, rather than complete dining is recommended at a restaurant.

72nd Bar and Grill
(786) 369-1671
5861 Sunset Dr
Miami, FL 33143
www.72grill.com