Eden South Beach - CLOSED

• Cuisine(s): American, Contemporary
  Hours: Sun, Tue-Fri 11:30am-4pm, Sun-Mon 7pm-10pm, Tue-Thu 7pm-0am, Fri-Sat 7pm-1am
  Price: $$$$
  Payment Types: All Major Credit Cards
• Attire: Casual
  Features: Patio/Sidewalk Dining, Private Party, Wheelchair Accessible
  Serving: Dinner, Lunch
  Alcohol: Full bar
• Reservations: Recommended
  Parking: Meters, Valet

Description

Eden is located in the former Talula space on subdued 23rd Street (but just 'round the corner from the two Chows). The formerly staid decor has been minimally enlivened indoors, although the lush outdoor patio is set in barren manner. Music is too loud, too. If the original Garden of Eden looked and sounded like this one, Adam and Eve would've bolted long before banishment. The cuisine is called "new American classics," which pretty much translates to a T.G.I. Fridays-style starter selection of hummus, quesadillas, crab rolls, tuna tartare, and so forth. The quality of ingredients used is higher of course, as are prices - appetizers mostly cost $11 to $18, entrees $26 to $39. Much of the food is tasty, such as apple-chestnut ravioli, blackened chicken quesadilla, miso black cod, and lamb loin with hummus. A full bar pours creative cocktails. And some 70 global wines are offered in a very sample-friendly format - two-ounce sips, six-ounce tastes, a bottomless glass, or by the bottle. Waiters are friendly too, and for the most part efficient. But management of the room feels more corporate than neighborly - and the clientele seems tilted towards tourist rather than local. Eden's main sin is that consulting chef Christopher Lee, from New York City, has created a drab, completely unoriginal menu that seriously underestimates the increasing sophistication of Miami diners.