Pao by Paul Qui

Art meets flavor at PAO the place everyone is talking about.
We were warmly greeted at the door and escorted to the bar for a cocktail. We tried the horn King and high on life both were unique and tasty — bar staff was knowledgable and engaging. Shortly after we were seated on a booth. Our server was on top of things he also had great recommendations. On the food A5 carpaccio– special, unique and flavorful, we had a kinilaw as they say the Filipino ceviche — amazing !!!
Mushroom rice and Short rib were tasty. Service food and ambiance — all were exceptional.

Where do I begin. There’s so much to say about this fantastic experience, I’m afraid it will be too long. You’ve been warned, plus I am very selective on what I want to post.
From the moment you walk into the Faena Hotel you feel like you’re entering a museum not a hotel. Then you walk through the glass doors and is like you’re inside an eclectic park with a bar on one side and a big gold elephant skeleton in front of you. Then you go upstairs to Pao and you are confronted with a red and gold unicorn, then we meet Manuela, our server, whom for purpose of this story, she will be known as the Experienced Ambassador.
She made our dinner an experience and a culinary journey. From the cocktails to the 9 different dishes we tried, all based on her recommendations, coupled with a thorough explanation of its origins. At times, I felt like we were listening to a National Geographic culinary episode.
The food is served tapas style, so no is not that we have limitless space in our digestive system. Although for this place, you really wish you did.
The place is definitely expensive and perhaps not for everyone, however, you’re paying for the quality of the food, service, the place and its location. Miami Beach, inflation is much higher than in most cities.
No, I’m not gonna say what you should try, it will be criminal and a disservice.
What I will tell you is that there wasn’t one dish we didn’t like, and you’ll know what I mean once you go.
To finish the evening with a bang, three feet away from me, Martha Stewart’s back of her head was staring at me. She only turned once to take a picture of the Unicorn, but it was good enough for me.
In sum, I gotta tell you. I’m proud of my city. We have raised the bar so high from the caliber of hotels and investors that we are able to attract, the chefs that are coming to feed us like Paul Qui, and the outstanding service we are now able to experience.
Do yourself a favor and go, you will only know what I’m talking about if you experience it yourself. We are definitely coming back.

Went to mainly see what the fuss about Faena was about. The hotel is stunning and impressive very art deco. The restaurants décor is quite beautiful and the gold horse is impressive. We had a reservation and we were put in such an awful table and we got a tiny bit of an attitude when we requested a change. Our waitress Claudia was wonderful and very attentive. The Faena spritz was quite delicious and the tiny little rose in the cup was a beautiful touch. Now on to the food. We started out with the Unicorn and what a disappointment it was, all style but no substance. Beautiful presentation but I didn’t taste any Uni all I could taste was corn. So I was disappointed. We also ordered the kinilaw, the Philippines version of Ceviche. There was so much coconut milk that I thought the fish was going to come back to life and start swimming. I was not a fan, the coconut milk overpowered the taste of the fresh fish. For the main course we ordered the special of the day the Kansas Strip, that did not disappoint it was cooked to perfection, what a beautiful piece of meat. That was amazing and delicious and by far the best part of the meal. We also ordered the pork rice and that was nice but not mind-​blowing. We wanted to finish off with a dessert and the ordered the cheddar ice cream with waffle. That was TERRIBLE, inedible in my opinion but our Waitress was kind enough to switch it to the chocolate dessert again wasn’t a fan I couldn’t taste the chocolate I only tasted coconut milk. I was charged for two pellegrinos when we only had one but they took it off immediately. Average food, exorbitant prices, in a beautiful setting in Miami, the hotel is beautiful. I honestly wouldn’t go back. There are too many OUTSTANDING restaurants in Miami to try and this one just isn’t one of them!

My brother and sister-​in laws couldn’t stop raving about this place. Really nicely laid out place, great acoustics so we didn’t have to yell during dinner. Food was nicely prepare but overall lacked flavor. We ordered a few apps and our main course was the pork. Very well prepared but had to pile on the mango salsa and hot sauce (and when I asked for some heat they brought some Siracha — I would expect a restaurant that nice to make their own heat) just to get some flavor. The green curry chicken app also was well prepared but after being warned it was on the spicy side this dish also lacked flavor or heat — just a nice fried chicken slider. The salad was good desserts were ok but overall nothing that would bring me back to a $ 400 plus dinner.

Well well well Paul Qui comes to Miami! His other restaurants are a far departure from his new hot spot in South Beach Faena Hotel.
First off the hotel Faena is very beautiful and a great location. PAO is a stunning restaurant and the service is superb. The positive list ends there.
The menu is much too small and needs more tapa style plates. The least expensive price for an entrée is 75 $. It seemed like a funny joke to try to get away with those prices. This is hands down the most expensive restaurant in South Beach. I don’t love the elitism the prices are trying to convey.
On to the food!
–Hearts of Palm crudo: Quite good!
–Peanut Gazpacho: First taste was excellent then I realized it tasted exactly like Ranch dressing
–Short rib Rice: It was ok, nothing memorable
–Sliders «Katsu» I believe: Delicious!
Overall I would love to see the menu changed to less expensive items. Not many people can afford a 75 $ entrée. I felt the restaurant was too stuffy. A guest close by was saying how his «palate» was off today. I mean really these are the kind of obnoxious guests the restaurant brings.
I will not come back unless the menu changes as I do love his vision and food
Side note: I walked out of the bathroom and Naomi Campbell was staring right at me :)

I went to Pao with some friends while we were in Miami, and overall, we had a lots of good food, but the price was very high, even for South Beach.
The hotel this is located in, the Faena, is gorgeous. Technically, the hotel is the entrance to the restaurant, unless you enter from the beach side. The aesthetic of the hotel and the restaurant is gorgeous and luxurious. Of course, since it South Beach, the restaurant has to be topped off with a $ 6 million golden horse that we read about online. In effect, everything in the restaurant look at that horse — even if your back is faced towards it, the mirrors on the wall reflect it.
We went around the New Year, so they were still in their soft opening menu. The menu, I’m sure right now, has expanded somewhat. I would say that is sorely needed, since there were only three options for entrées and maybe seven options for appetizer.
We ordered their binchotan, the grilled appetizer. You can determine what meat or vegetable you want, and we opted for fatty tuna and mushroom. I apparently misunderstood the menu, because it said that it’s cooked tableside, but it came out fully cooked. Nonetheless, the grilled mushrooms were the absolute highlight of my meal. Absolutely.
Because we were a large group, and prices could be spread out, we opted for their big dish, a 3-​pound bone-​in Kobe steak for $ 195. That is pricey no matter where you go. Don’t get me wrong, it was very delicious — but a $ 200 steak as one of the only three options available is not the best selection of choices. But again, they were upfront about the menu being smaller then when it fully opens and gets underway, so I won’t hold it against them too much.
The service was very nice, and there were more than enough backwaiters so that we never needed anything. And Paul Qui himself was there overseeing the restaurant and was more than happy to take pictures with my friends. That’s a nice touch, since at least he’s overseeing this restaurant. He said that the concept was his and that the Faena gave him full authority to make it what he wanted.
Overall, Pao is an expensive place, no doubt. But the food was very nice, and it is South Beach, after all. This was our splurge meal of the trip, and it was very memorable.

Everything about this restaurant is sensational. From the minute we walked in, the staff was incredibly attentive — far beyond anything I’ve experienced in this city thus far. The food was top notch too — the pork and fried chicken sliders, the fatty tuna, wagyu ribeye, pork rice with fried egg and cheddar cheese ice cream topped with peanut butter coated wafers. To top it off, Chris was our waiter and very soon our friend. His vested interest in our experience from start to finish was incredibly genuine and thoughtful, we didn’t want to leave. What an experience!

Great food, wonderful atmosphere and amazing service. Would definitely come back for more.

Sad to say that Pao missed the mark. The food wasn’t bad but there was nothing memorable about it besides the off the wall prices. The entrees are all large format and four of us shared the pork shoulder and the whole fish. Both were tasty but the pork was $ 140, which would have been fine if it was mind blowing, but the it was underwhelming even if it had been half that price. And it was served with rice and a sauce. Not even a vegetable! The fish was good but very boney and also just came with rice.
Appetizers were good but not good enough to save the meal. It ended up costing $ 350 a couple and I would have been happier at tropical Chinese.
I will say the ambiance is pretty special. The hotel is very interesting. Definitely work going for a drink but I would stop there.

Paul Qui has really nailed it with his new Miami restaurant. Having been a big fan of his Austin establishments, I was excited to try Pao. Overall the food was fantastic. Highlights included the grilled greens, peanut gazpacho, short ribs and pork butt — the two meat large plates were some of the best meat dishes I’ve eaten in 2015. One area for improvement is the cocktails. For a restaurant of this nature, they could be improved. Overall, however I highly recommend a visit to Pao before the secret gets out!

Well the best I can say is that they’re trying hard but that’s about it in this utterly confusing restaurant. It’s tough to figure out what their target audience is going to be with $ 195 entrees and a limited menu of four main courses set in a middle class setting in the Faena Hotel. I think they’re attempting to recreate a Zuma/​Nobu type experience but utterly fail. If you’re going to pay for top notch food save your money and do it in a better setting with a more coherent menu. But if you do go try a Cosmopolitan which was very tasty. Ultimately I would be surprised if this restaurant is here in a year from now.

Best restaurant in Miami. Located in the beautiful and decadent Faena hotel (the former Saxony) Pao did everything they were supposed to and so much more. Impeccable service, cool ambiance and environment, amazing food by chef Paul Qui. Faena and Pao are killing it. This is the place to be. Did I mention they have a 4.5 million dollar Damian Hirst golden unicorn in the middle of the dining room?