Talula

***Talula has closed.
While I’ve never been to Talula for dinner, my friend has held both a baby shower and a baptism brunch there, and I think it’s a nice spot for large groups and events — especially the outdoor patio. I enjoy the many cold salads offered (asian chicken, black bean and pineapple, green been and sweet potato) but the eggs ordered off the menu could use some work. Also, there seemed to be something wrong with the sound system on my most recent visit. Most of the time there would be no music at all then all of a sudden, there would be a loud blast of hip hop. I’m not sure my friends’ in-​laws were really looking to break it down to LL Cool J’s «Doin It» while celebrating their granddaughter’s baptism. Definitely not a fit for this type of restaurant, especially during brunch.

I had dinner there long time ago and I don’t remember having a very good experience.
Not long ago I went there for brunch and it was ok. That’s why I’m giving it 3 stars.
There was not much food left since we arrived a bit late but we order some stuff from the menu (the one included in brunch) Tiny portions but we ordered the same items again.
Service was very friendly but I guess not that attentive since my man’s iced tea was never refilled until the end, when I asked for it. It’s a bit overpriced and there was a table next to us that was very noisy. Still, I kind of enjoyed it even though it had a lot to do with the company but food was ok. I might give it another chance.

This is my favorite restaurant. The king of all cuts is amazing, If you have not tried this dish you must! The service could improve. The restaurant has never disappointed me.

New Year’s Eve weekend.. . Dinner at Talula= AMAZING!!! We opted for the paired tasting menu, it was wonderful! A truly delightful meal, amazing parings and outstanding presentation. I will return the next time I’m in town! If you go, splurge and do the tasting for dinner you’ll be thankful!!!

Amazing Food — great Atmosphere!
Go ont he REAR PATIO/​TERRACE, It’s like HEavan in there– Very nice and quiet!

It’s worth the trip for their Sunday brunch. It’s not an indulgent over the top food fest like some brunches but it is good food at a reasonable price without the crowds. The smoked salmon is perfect — a mix of smoky & salty without that fishiness you get so often. We paid just a little extra to get the unlimited mimosas. Well worth it.
The only down point was having to listen to the extremely difficult table next to us as they complained and criticized the entire time. I was impressed that the staff kept smiles on their faces & didn’t throw them out on their asses like they deserved.

The food was good. I thought it wouldnt be satisfying at first glance but it was actually pretty good. I went for Miami Spice and had the ahi tuna, steak, and key lime pie. All great… the key lime pie was phenomenal. My girlfriend had the bread pudding and neither one of us liked it. Oh well. not a bad spot i’d like to say.

Our concierge sent us to Talula for dinner one night during our trip to South Beach and it was so worth it.
The ambiance inside was nice, quiet, perfectly lit. The music added a great touch. The service was so accommodating and efficient.
The food. They have entrée’s and tapas. We ordered one entrée and a few tapas. The mussels in broth was so fresh and tasty, along with the spinach empanada, and the scallops! The sauteed mushrooms was impeccable. The steak was just as delicious. They have ample choices of wine and a full bar to choose from.
This is definitely a place to check out if you are in the mood for a quite romantic dinner.

I wish Talula had more… umph.
It’s good and they have a great Miami Spice Menu running now, but for me at least, it’s missing that special something. I’ve been here on two occasions, with friends and then I brought my parents. The food never falls short of a tasty cuisine, but I just have a higher expectation of this place for the price.
I love the Latin music they always play. And, the food is always fresh because the tables are always full. Small or large parties, the service is friendly, but they might need more staff. It was a little stuffy, as in warm. And, dinner took a bit longer than expected.
It’s upscale food and tapas accompanied by an upscale price for a casual vibe.

Unfortunately our most recent trip has pushed me to drop a star and worry about the direction Talula is heading. The wine list is still a disappointment despite the value section (supermarket finds?) that they have added. More troubling though is just a general lack of finesse that I saw in the food, and a more broad approach towards appealing to a much larger base (heavier on comfort and established ideas of «luxury» than innovation) of potential customers (which is more than understandable given the economy), but also quite sad for a place that had so much going on in its dishes (especially apps, many of which are no longer available?).

The food is great, but I feel it’s a bit overpriced. I live a block away and only been there twice since it opened some years ago– and there’s not many restaurants within a block of me. I had a much better experience the second time I went– I am sure it had a lot to do with who I was there with, but the service was better the second time around as well. The décor is really nice, I just think the place tries too hard. I’ll have to go back a third time to see if they are consistent.

This may be my favorite restaurant in South Florida, and I do not say that at all lightly. I would go a lot more often if I were more frequently in the area (I used to eat there at least weekly and now go whenever in the area at eating time). The food is always superbly executed and very well considered. The service is excellent and the wines are also very well selected (if a bit expensive, my only criticism of the restaurant). The atmosphere is lovely warm.
The managing owners are the delightful husband and wife team of Frank Randazzo and Andrea Curto-​Randazzo. They mostly switch back and forth so that one may take care of their small children. I think that they also have a catering company (i.e. they’re busy with food).
They describe the food as «American Bistro» and that seems apt but the flavors of their signature dishes, such as the amazingly delicious octopus salad mentioned by another reviewer, are often very Mediterranean influenced. They always have a spectacular daily soup and, as Andrea noted yesterday, I always go for it. Today it was roasted tomato and seafood (and pancetta?) and it was spectacular though I don’t even like tomato soup. The onion tart, a French standard, is also excellent, as is everything else on the menu I have ever tried — and I ate there a lot when I lived and worked on the Beach.
My guests here are always impressed with and quite frequently openly overwhelmed by the excellence of the flavors. I am perpetually dismayed by how few people lunch there but that makes it a great business meeting place, especially since a great lunch makes resolution of any disputed issues mcuh more likely.
The brunch is also lovely and even on Mother’s Day the staff managed to well satisfy a rather persnickety group (my family) without losing their cool in the face of overwhelming odds. The food also did the trick.
Ingredients are much of what it is about and Talula does not skimp — I can assure you that you will be delighted by Talula.

I don’t know about the food, but I felt compelled to warn all the diners that we saw a porn film being shot on the patio. We were walking down Collins Ave and noticed bright lights through a fence in addition to a girl moaning and wondered what the hell was going on. I was like «those lights are a little too bright for ambiance…»
After further inspection (I’m nosey!), we saw the whole thing going down from the CHILDREN’S SECTION of the public library right next door. Good to see Talula as being community-​oriented. Ever wonder why they aren’t open on Mondays? Now you know what they’re doing… Just make sure you put a napkin down on your chair before you sit, because it might be the chair we saw being mounted by the girl. Ugh, I would never eat here after seeing that happening WHERE THEIR CUSTOMERS EAT!!!
Enjoy if you still decide to though! lol

I found Talula completely randomly by seaching for some place to eat our second night at Art Basel. I read some reviews and since it was literally across the street from our hotel at least we didn’t have to cab it anywhere. Well I must have a sixth sense for good restaurants because I can’t recommend Talula more. It’s off the beaten path (off Collins) so you can throw pretension totally out the door. It’s a nice, laid-​back, neighborhood restaurant. Yeah, the décor isn’t anything to write home about, but the feeling was very comfortable. (They also have a garden patio, but apparently — according to my friend — it wasn’t that exciting).
We got there early and started off with drinks at the bar (nice specialty drinks menu). Our waitress couldn’t be nicer and was very enthusiastic about the restaurant — considering she’s been there for 2 years that says something. I started with the watercress salad and my friend had the scallops — nice, simple presentation. For the entrée I had the grilled local black grouper that was absolutely superb. I could eat that for dinner every night — in fact it was so good I can’t even remember what my friend had for his entrée. The waitress also highly recommended the steaks, but I wasn’t in the mood for red meat. We had a really nice bottle of red wine (I wish I could remember the name since it was an Italian grape I wasn’t familiar with) based on our waitress’ suggestion. And since she had been great so far I took her suggestion and had the panne cotta for dessert.
If you’re looking to see and be seen and really care more about the atmosphere/​décor than the food, then this place isn’t for you. If you love food cooked simply and well, then book your reservation. If I’m ever back in SoBe I will definitely make a beeline back here.

Underwhelming.
I understand that the décor is a nice departure from the rest of South Beach’s sexed-​up, minimalistic, look, but I’m there to EAT! I will go back there, but only to share a bottle of wine or have cocktails.
Went there for dinner and ordered off the Spice menu. The pork belly appetizer was extremely interesting – tender, juicy and flavorful. However, the main dish, a chicken with some kind of cranberry flavored bean reduction, was disappointing. There were parts of it that were terribly salty.
It’s forgettable, but if you are looking for a quiet bar to drink booze, or al fresco dining, they have lots of outdoor seating.

I adore brunch buffets, which is why I adore Talula. Cute name and a cute restaurant. If it was nice out I wouldve preferred to sit outside because the main area is sort of small. Terrible view too. But great assortment of lunch, breakfast, pastries, fruits, desserts… and you can do unlimited mimosas, screwdrivers, and bloody marys. The way they have it set up is a buffet but you get to order your main course from a menu. Lots to choose from as well. Price is definitely high for brunch but we were eating for a good few hours =)

While I was in florida for vacation, they were having the MiamiSpice! We went to this restaurant and I got the gazpacho, the steak, and the sorbet as my 3-​course meal. My friend has the risotto and scallops, and my other friend had the organic chicken. Everything was super tastey and our plates were well-​portioned. The only thing I didn’t really like was that the sauce for my meat wasn’t very flavorful. I would have rather had A1 sauce than the sauce they provided. Also, when they bring out the bread and butter, it wasn’t butter… it was hummus. YUCK! flavored hummus is OK, but this hummus had NO flavor to it at all, so we asked for butter: P Our waitress was very nice and she had an accent (not sure where it’s from), but she was cool!

great foodie restaurant! (wasn’t very crowded late night)
located in the up and coming area of the more northern section of south beach (Gansevoort and the W), upscale prices i.e. entrees $ 30s, nice «new american» choices
this area has grown up now
they have a young sous chef ~24 y/​o who makes amazing specials
we had the smoked quail over orange and arugula with quail egg on bread pudding. expertly prepared and tasted excellent.
cork braised mediterranean octopus with hearts of palm in black pepper lemon vinaigrette — nice
foie gras with blue corn cakes, jam, and candied walnuts — problem with this dish is that they had too many flavors going on, still tasted good, particularly sweet
finally, the seafood bouillabaisse was quite good, with a strong, rich soup base plus lots of clams, mussels, shrimp, fish, scallop, and sausage
this restaurant should be on every foodie’s list for sobe
btw, 7 course is $ 140
went for miami spice, very nice menu with pork belly salad (like better at Michael’s) good corn chowder
bread with a mild white bean chipotle spread
local catch fish (yellowtail snapper) prepared with a great cous cous
interesting peanut butter whipped potato — sounded interesting and executed well
cherry bread pudding dessert that tasted part brownie
mixed cocktails are expensive

Talula is one of the best restaurants I’ve eaten at in Miami. I was there on a recent Saturday night, and sat in the garden area. It was a cool night, so it was very pleasant. My parents were in town, so I took them along, and they were equally impressed.
I had a guava margarita to drink — and it was quite good. Not too guava-​y and not too tequila-​y — it was just right. A friend and I split an entrée and an appetizer. We had the scallops as an appetizer and they were amazing. The scallops themselves were huge! They were served on a pancake of sorts (each on an individual cake the size of the scallop), and all atop a bed of what we figured out were lentils. The whole flavor combination worked to form an amazing dish. I will definitely order this on my next visit, if it’s available.
As an entrée, we had the black grouper — which was not blackened, but rather a type of grouper that I’d never heard of. It was equally delicious. I can’t remember the specifics of its accoutrement, but I just know it was yummy.
We were all stuffed from our meals and the yummy bread and white bean dip served prior to our entrees, so no dessert this time around. I must mention that my mom was quite impressed that they served Johnny Walker Blue — for you scotch fans out there.
I will definitely be coming back to Talula in the near future. And most likely taking anyone who comes to visit along with me!

For their Sunday Brunch Grand Buffet, I am giving this place 1 star. If I could, I would give it NO stars, but the waiter was so nice that it made up for the crappy food.
For $ 29 dollars (per person!!!), you get to eat whatever you want from their large selection of pastries, bagels, and COLD leftovers. I couldn’t believe I paid so much for leftovers. And did I mention that they were COLD leftovers??? With this amount of money, I could have feasted at many of the Las Vegas buffets TWICE! And forget about their custom egg menu. That’s a rip off too! I ordered some type of spinach and cheese omelet. That thing was nasty! It didn’t even seem like it was made from real eggs!
My party of 8 people sat there looking at each other in bewilderment. How could we have spent so much money on such awful food?