MIAReview
Included In
It’s easy to underestimate Edan Bistro. At surface level, the atmosphere doesn’t match the elegant Basque food. The walls are mostly bare, save for a few framed photos of Donostia and botanical wallpaper. There's a deli case near the kitchen that’s perpetually empty, and your server is also the chef dressed in crisp whites that become less so with every order.
photo credit: Cleveland Jennings / @eatthecanvasllc
photo credit: Cleveland Jennings / @eatthecanvasllc
photo credit: Cleveland Jennings / @eatthecanvasllc
But the dishes at this North Miami restaurant challenge the definition of luxury every step of the way. Is it fine dining? No, it’s a bistro (says so in the name). But you could serve this food to the Spanish royal family at the palace and no one would be the wiser. That’s why, in a city like ours that’s flooded with sensationalized restaurants, Edan is a breath of fresh air.
This place is like many of the best restaurants in San Sebastian, where chefs greet you with coffee and send you off with wine after dropping by the table with croquetas and ribeyes you’ll remember for a lifetime. They’re not always the fanciest or most expensive places, but their value is in their dedication and generosity. Edan falls under this category.
Perhaps that’s why, on weekend nights, the small bistro can be just as exclusive as those Miami restaurants with memberships that cost as much as a semester at Ransom. Edan only takes on as much as the small team can handle, and we’ve seen our fair share of walk-ins get turned away (so make a reservation). Luckily dinner isn’t just the only meal Edan does well.
photo credit: Cleveland Jennings / @eatthecanvasllc
photo credit: Cleveland Jennings / @eatthecanvasllc
photo credit: Cleveland Jennings / @eatthecanvasllc
photo credit: Cleveland Jennings / @eatthecanvasllc
Brunch is every bit as impressive thanks to dishes like fried eggs and Iberico ham with black garlic mayonnaise. And the all day menu includes a rigatoni with carbonara foam that will make a random Monday lunch break feel like a tiny holiday. But nothing impresses quite like Edan’s dinner tasting menu that makes you feel like you have your very own private chef for the evening.
Maybe those bare walls, simple white plates, and basic wooden tables are a blessing. They downplay Edan Bistro’s talents and enable the food to deliver you somewhere completely unexpected, like a promising blank canvas capable of creating extraordinary things. Close your eyes, order whatever your finger lands on, and see where it takes you.
Food Rundown
photo credit: Cleveland Jennings / @eatthecanvasllc
Tasting Menu
The $100 eight-course tasting menu is the fanciest option at Edan. Ikea tableware is traded in for slate plates, and because there’s no written menu, you’re completely in the chef’s very capable hands. He’ll ask you a few questions and then start bringing dishes that build into a crescendo—starting with a soup you’ll want to pump intravenously to your heart. Courses six and seven are always shared. One is a starch, like creamy rice, and the other is that perfect 30oz dry-aged ribeye. Portions are filling, so pace yourself for Edan’s final act: the Basque cheesecake.
photo credit: Cleveland Jennings / @eatthecanvasllc
Mushroom Croquetas
Six croquetas filled with creamy smoked shiitake mushrooms and a sweet black garlic emulsion taste like pure luxury. They’re velvety inside, crunchy outside, and the size of a BIC lighter. It takes two to three bites to eat one, but you’ll want to devour them in one go after you try your first.
photo credit: Cleveland Jennings / @eatthecanvasllc
Crispy Artichokes & Tuna Tartare
These delicate chunks of fresh bluefin tuna have more grace than a debutante ball. The crispy artichokes give it a crunchy, savory touch, and the citrus vinaigrette brightens everything up.
photo credit: Cleveland Jennings / @eatthecanvasllc
Rigatoni Carbonara
The pasta in this dish varies. Sometimes it’s bucatini, other times it’s rigatoni. But it’s always cooked al dente and surrounded by a sauce made with smoked idiazabal cheese foam that’s both rich and light, despite looking like it’ll put you in a dairy coma.
photo credit: Cleveland Jennings / @eatthecanvasllc
Dry-Aged Boneless Ribeye
This 30oz steak is massive and cooked “al punto,” meaning your aunt Hilda who thinks a parasite will burst out of her stomach if she eats anything under medium-well will want to send it back. Do not let her. This might just be the best steak in Miami. And it comes with a side of large, crispy patatas so airy a squirrel could use them as water skis.
photo credit: Cleveland Jennings / @eatthecanvasllc
Basque Cheesecake
With its delicate burnt edges and rich and gooey center that slowly flows onto the plate like molten metal, you’d think this cheesecake was cast by a goldsmith.
