Grand Central: another gem in Miami's Little River neighborhood
Venture to Little River to try Grand Central, a 6 month old restaurant from Chef Nuno Grullon.
But first, a news flash!
One of my favorite Miami restaurants, Entre Nos, was just given a Michelin star. Trustedtables posted about Entre Nos in January. I’m so happy that Michelin confirmed my opinion of this restaurant, located literally in what is a coffee shop by day. The restaurant is helmed by two young, super-star chefs who are creating their menu from locally sourced and sustainably produced food. Here’s a link to the review:
Now let’s move on to Grand Central from Nuno Grullon
Nuno Grullon is already an award winner. Uptown 66, his first restaurant, is a taqueria in MiMo that started as a pop-up during COVID. In October 2023, he won the “United States of Taco” competition on Good Morning America.
Although known and clearly loved for his tacos, his friends were gaga over his drop-dead smash burger which he would prepare for them when the restaurant was closed.
Nuno knew he wanted to showcase his burger in a new restaurant. He was also intrigued by a particular space on a busy part of Biscayne Blvd in Little River. Chef Nuno would drive by this space, thinking about his burger. When he saw the space open up for rent, he grabbed it.
Trust me when I say this restaurant is small but mighty. Literally the width of an alley, it sits in a funky strip of even funkier stores. It’s so narrow it’s easy to miss. Inside, you’ll find white-washed walls and seating for up to 24 people (with 7 of those 24 at the bar).
Unlike its namesake in the middle of New York, this Grand Central is simplicity personified, the kind of place you’d find hidden in the old part of some quaint, historic European town. It is quiet. The night we were there, the noise level was low. Music played softly in the background and it was easy to converse with friends/dining companions.
Chef Nuno is French trained and the restaurant plays on his vision of bringing the French sensibility to American food.
After we got seated, Carol, our server, brought us some still-warm, very flakey, homemade biscuits and butter under a pretty little glass dome. A little bit of the US South in taste and a little bit French in presentation!
She also brought us Grand Central’s highly curated menu. I’m becoming very fond of these small menus that are typically found in chef-driven restaurants. I love the idea of putting myself into the hands of the culinary professional, knowing he or she has given a lot of thought and best effort to the choices. The infamous burger is the lead-off item and the star of the menu, but our table went a different direction. We started with the artichoke appetizer.
The yellow sauce is a hollandaise. The artichoke hearts are perfectly cooked and topped with some salsa verde and pecorino. It’s a variation on the way I serve artichokes at home, cooked simply and served with a buttery mayonnaise. But it was so much more sophisticated and nuanced than what I can produce. We loved it.
Next we explored the fish side of the menu. The sea bream was unavailable the night we were there. Instead we enjoyed a perfectly cooked trout, crispy on the outside, moist and flakey inside, served with black rice, spring asparagus and a butter sauce on the side. The portion is generously substantial!
We also tried the prawns, served over saffron rice with a few nicely cooked exotic mushrooms. The prawn dish is very rich, much more so than the trout. The prawns themselves are, well, the essence of what prawns should be. Succulent for sure. Sweet. Briney. With a hint of ocean and a slight char from the grill.
Bottom line for me: I’m going back to Grand Central. I want to try the burger and fries for sure! And there’s an intriguing truffle version of a chicken pot pie, served with elegance and sophistication, that has my name on it.
Plus the prices here are more than reasonable.
Plates and Prices: $206.04, including taxes and tip. $68.68 per person
3 glasses of wine
1 beer
2 orders of the trout
1 order of the shrimp
Grand Central
7919 Biscayne Blvd.
Miami, FL 33138
305-456-3088
Parking in lot beside Biscayne Optical, next door
How exciting to be ahead of the stars!!! Congratulations for your culinary intuition! Even more incentive to follow your leads.
And the write-up on Grand Central is terrific. I’m glad you’re focusing on these “hole-in-the-wall” places—we get enough flash. Nuanced and cozy is nice.
You, Ms Anne, are on a roll for lifting up GREAT, little, promising restaurants in the Miami area. Now we have another exciting place to visit, knowing that it produces good food and reasonable prices. THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!
Also, you motivate us to look ,more seriously, at the places we see, where great things might be happening, and we’re not appreciating them, as we should. Keep up your good work, and we’re going to visit Grand Central very soon!