Some restaurants specialize in meat or wine. Caviar Russe specializes in caviar and champagne.
New York’s three-time Michelin star-winning Caviar Russe brings its Madison Avenue taste to Brickell in Miami. The restaurant had a soft opening Monday, April 4, though the official grand opening will be Thursday, April 14.
Nestled on the ground floor of the Four Seasons Hotel, Caviar Russe is an elegant and intimate setting for caviar connoisseurs, or those first-timers looking to explore.
There are 15 caviars to choose from as well as an a la carte menu with a sharing concept. As far as champagne goes, there are 24 options.
“For someone who really wants to learn about caviar, this is the perfect place,” says managing director Ilya Panchernikov. “They can come in and try one [caviar] next to another and see really the differences in taste, flavor, color, texture, you name it. It’s like putting diamonds together essentially. You can tell right away the different characteristics. By itself it’s a lot harder.”
Panchernikov plays with different elements of caviar to “make it fun,” as he says. While guests can taste caviar on mother of pearl spoons, they can also try it in ways they might not expect, such as a caviar Caesar salad with quail egg and parmesan ($45) or the tuna and himachi taco in a house-made blue corn shell with caviar, avocado and aji amarillo sauce ($55).
Everything at Caviar Russe, from the Calacatta marble above the seven-seat bar to the pearlized Italian leather on the custom-tailored seats, plays into the champagne and caviar theme. The glass bubbles hanging from the domed, gold leaf ceiling create an illuminating chandelier meant to represent the caviar pearls, just as is intended with the gold Bernardaud plates. A custom jet-cut gate stands in front of the servers’ stand, cut to mimic the dancing swirls of champagne bubbles. The craftsmanship in these custom pieces were sourced locally to pay homage to Miami. Even the music is given significant thought, with a French stylist curating tunes for lunch, dinner and the hours in between.
Next door to Caviar Russe is their retail boutique, where guests can purchase items such as champagne, caviar, foie gras or smoked salmon for takeout or delivery. Deliveries can be made to Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm Beach County, and beyond.
“You can purchase caviar today and will have it tomorrow in California, Hawaii, or Alaska, doesn’t matter,” Panchernikov says. “That’s what we do and that’s been the core of our business.”
Caviar Russe’s boutique style aims to go above and beyond when catering to clients, whether that means creating a vegan menu or obtaining products not in stock. In fact, the Brickell location was chosen to meet requests of guests.
“[Brickell was] the perfect synergy for us,” Panchernikov explains, “because a lot of our clientele are from South America … and right in this Brickell area, most of them have second homes … and spend a big portion of their year here, so … they were traveling back and forth and kept saying, ‘Ilya, when are you going to make a restaurant? Can you put it in Miami?'”
Miami is like the sixth borough of New York, according to Panchernikov, which means similar clientele, and consistency between the New York and Miami restaurants.
In the upcoming months, Panchernikov has plans for Sunday brunch at Caviar Russe, serving champagne with meals such as “fluffy eggs with caviar and baked potatoes.” He also plans to implement lounge nights Thursdays through Saturday, to gratify the high-end boutique nightlife that he says is lacking from the Brickell area.
Caviar Russe is in the Four Season Hotel at 1441 Brickell Ave., in Miami Beach. The restaurant is open 12 p.m.-10 p.m. Monday-Thursday, 12 p.m.-12 a.m. on Fridays, and 6 p.m.-12 a.m. Saturdays. Call 305-902-6969 or go to CaviarRusse.com.
