Kane Concourse in Bay Harbour Islands has a new hidden gem of a restaurant called Paon Eatery. I am giddy with delight to have such a delicious and ambitious place so close to where I live. Located at 1076 Kane Concourse, you will find international and Latin-inspired dishes by Chef Federico Cassino. Chef was trained in a Michelin-starred restaurant in Barcelona before he and his wife Sophia Rodriguez Kandler returned to their home in Buenos Aires and opened their own restaurant. Unfortunately, the economy tanked and they had to close their place. They decided to make a move to Miami, and lucky for us he is still cooking food with the same depth and complexity in the new casual spot. The tiny narrow restaurant seats about 30 inside and another 8 outside, weather permitting. The restaurant is designed in greys and browns, with a mirrored wall, leather banquets, and upside down wicker basket lampshades.

The chef calls his food, “freestyle, international, modern cuisine”.

His menu is easy to navigate and is divided into salads, tapas (which is the bulk of the menu), main courses and desserts. They serve wine and beer, with an emphasis on Argentinian wines. The octopus is tender but charred beautifully on the outside, and sits on a bed of eggplant purée with a smashed potato. Next up, we had the crispy shrimp – four pink crustaceans on a bed of Swiss rosti potatoes. The chef cooks a lot of his dishes with potatoes, but I am not complaining because they were all great, especially the outstanding triple fried potatoes, topped with a soft boiled egg and some garlic aioli. They were out of this world. Another dish served with potatoes is the barbecue pork ribs, which sit on a TOO puréed sweet potato mash. The meat was tasty and tender but suffered from too much salt, as did the pork buns. The homemade clamshell buns, on the other hand, are impressive. The whole roasted cauliflower was sitting in a pool of gazpacho sauce and asparagus purée. We also had eggplant purée-with chickpeas, a salad and some freshly sliced and grilled bread, that I am guessing is either made by Zak the Baker or True Loaf. I forgot to ask. For dessert, we had a mason jar filled with a dulce de leche flan.

There are many options for carnivores, pescatarians, and vegetarians.

Sophia has created a warm, friendly atmosphere, and the chef’s talents are highlighted in every dish.

A must try. Recommend!

Happy dining,
Shanea

4 Comments

  1. Carlos says:

    Shanea thank you for your recommendation great place and food
    Carlos

  2. barry sussman says:

    normally we are in agreement with your observations and enjoy your equanimity, but you made a big mistake on Paon. The service was slow and indifferent, but we are willing to over look that if the good is good, but neither the dishes or their presentation were remotely adequate. One person in our party declared this food was awful. The chef should go to KYU to see how food should taste and be presented

  3. Shanea says:

    I agree, on my second visit there the food was not nearly as good. Unfortunately the executive chef who was there on my first visit, has seemed to depart for greener pastures.

  4. Anonymous says:

    Thank you for your recomendation! Food was amazing, as well as the service.

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