Top 10 Secret Menu Items Found at Miami Area Restaurants

July 15, 2016

Where do you go to eat in Miami? Avoid chain restaurants and dive into some of the area’s coolest restaurants. In fact, ditch your usual menu favorites. It’s time to try something new, something local, and something unique to Miami. Many of the restaurants around the city have incorporated some exciting menu items that are like secret menu items added by the chef.

If you like to try new things and go off the beaten path, you’ll love sampling Miami restaurants’ secret menu items that are something you’ve never tried before. These exotic creations around town are worth restaurant hopping to try from the fried chicken and biscuits at Tongue & Cheek to the Sticky salmon at Primrose. Take a look at the top 10 secret menu items found in restaurants around Miami.

Uni Croissant

The Federal is a Miami restaurant run by chef Cesar Zapata who really enjoys uni. While Uni Croissant’s brunch is known for traditional items like biscuits, a recent introduction of uni on top of a hot, buttered croissant that was topped with Maldon sea salt, micro cilantro, and chives had everybody hooked. This secret menu item isn’t going to be available just any time, but pop in for brunch at The Federal at 5132 Biscayne to try the chefs take on the exotic protein.

Zucchini rollup

Make the special request for a zucchini rollup next time you’re at the Café Prima Pasta and you won’t regret it. Located at 414 71st Street on Collins Avenue, this Italian restaurant is known for its homemade pastas and the colorful street outside that draws you in with the smells of garlic and oil.

The restaurant has come up with a zucchini rollup which features arugula, capers, and black olives stuffed inside, topped with truffle oil, fresh lemon juice, and balsamic reduction. While this was once an appetizer, it’s now an off-the-menu item that you have to ask for on the side or for your entrée. It’s perfect for vegans who typically are out of luck when it comes to Italian cuisine.

Sticky salmon

Do you love seafood? Primrose, a Miami restaurant featuring chef Daniel Healey, is known for giving diners the option to try whatever crazy dish is up the chef’s sleeve that night, giving a fun twist on dinner. One of his secret specialities stuck because diners are requesting it on the regular.

His sticky salmon includes a pan-seared, boneless filet of salmon served with coconut jasmine race, an Indonesian-inspired soy sauce, and tempura green beans. You can find out why the stick salmon stuck by visiting Primrose at 1120 Collins Ave.

Foreman Burger

Do you love a good burger? Go to Pincho Factory in South Miami where you can find one of the most popular burger joints in town. When the restaurant first opened, the owners decided to offer the Foreman to their chalkboard specials menu and it really stuck. The burger featuring tomato, lettuce, and a secret sauce in two grilled cheese sandwiches is now a secret menu item that you’ll have to special order. Since it’s never been advertised again, only regulars know about this one and know to ask for it.

Pasta Carbonara

If you’ve been to downtown Miami’s Food, you know that this restaurant is a great spot for international cuisine in a farm-to-table kind of way. This modern restaurant is great for a laidback meal that whisks you away to Europe through its menu. Next time you go, be sure to order chef Nicole Votano’s family recipe for pasta carbonara and meatballs, made with eggs, Parmigiano Reggiano, smoked pancetta, and pecorino. While it’s not on the menu, you can special request this from the kitchen almost anytime.

Dolphin Fingers

Have you ever heard of the Dolphin Fingers at John Martin’s? They used to be on the menu until fresh dolphinfish became too expensive to continue. You’ll find that the chef will serve up a mahi mahi fish stick if you ask for the Dolphin Fingers though, and usually only regulars know about this delicious dish.

Fried chicken and biscuits

Stop by Tongue and Cheek’s on Washington Avenue in Miami Beach to try their special menu item that is unlike their typical pork cheek and Peking duck dishes. The fried chicken and biscuits option known as the “bucket of yardbird” is one of those things only loyal patrons know about. This secret codeword will get your table a bucket of eight breaded chicken with biscuits and honey butter.

Tagliolini with black truffles

Corsair, the restaurant of celebrity chef Scott Conant, can be found inside the hotel Turnberry Isle Miami featuring a delicious menu by the chef himself. Occasionally when chef de cuisine Peter Masiello takes things over, you can get this secret menu item known as the tagliolini with black truffles. This fresh, homemade pasta is covered in black truffles and parmesan cheese making it a real treat from the regular menu here.

Uni arancini

Whether you stop in for lunch or dinner, you have to try Modern Garden’s secret menu item of uni arancini. The chef here pulled it from a childhood memory of first trying it from a neighbor and now it can be found at this local Miami restaurant. The classic Italian dish has its own interpretation in which coconut rice, fresh uni, and ramp pesto are pulled from other dishes to come together to make something special. These crispy rice balls can be ordered by special request.

Bullfight cocktail

If a special cocktail is on your radar, stop by Bulla for their bullfighter cocktail. It’ll make happy hour super unique this week when bartender Joel serves up the Matador. It features Bulleit bourbon, aperol, fresh lemon juice, port wine, cranberry juice, and Sprite.

Related: Top Restaurants Found in Coral Gables

When you are feeling like experimenting with food in Miami, these ten menu items found at top restaurants around Miami will do the trick.