The New Chef Allen's: Iconic Chef Modernizes Restaurant & Creates A Seafood Bistro

A culinary legend, Chef Allen Susser, one of the original "Mango Kings," helped put South Florida on the international culinary map when he opened his groundbreaking Aventura restaurant Chef Allen's in 1986, to widespread critical acclaim. Now, in harmony with the times, he has revitalized his restaurant's interiors and created an exciting new modern seafood bistro menu. "My goal is to create the best fish and seafood restaurant in Miami, in a more casual environment, at prices that will appeal to our loyal customers as well as today's mix of educated and adventurous diners," says the James Beard Award-winning chef.

Infusing new life and passion into the 100-seat, landmark restaurant, Chef Allen's sleek, modern interiors were created with the assistance of Amanda Rice, of Rice Design. Shimmering with a fresh coat of spicy tropical colors balanced with chocolate mahogany and pale sugar maple accents, the newly configured space includes a larger, airy, more contemporary bar area, which offers 360 degree views into the dining room and adjacent wine room, and two intimate private party rooms.

To complement the fresh look, a sublime, new bistro style menu -- focusing on the best locally caught sustainable fish, seafood and regional produce -- is being offered. "It's a bistro where the chef is always is in the kitchen," observed Susser, who is assisted by talented longtime chef de cuisine, Daniel Serfer. The ambiance and menu are enhanced by one of the finest service staffs in Miami, overseen by general manager Philip Shayne.

To begin the culinary adventure, the new menu offers five perfect snacks, priced from $4.00 - $7.00, including addictive chicken truffles, mini chicken meatballs in a piquant chili sauce, and devils on horseback, roasted chutney-stuffed dates, wrapped in Applewood smoked bacon. Sumptuous starters, priced at $7.00 - $12.00, encompass many of the superb ingredients and flavors for which Chef Allen is known. These include a hearty seafood chowder with calamari, clams, bacon, potato, corn and crispy leeks; shrimp & grits br�l�e, sweet Florida shrimp, served with grits made from stone ground organic corn meal, flavored with tamarind, shallot and manchego cheese, and mussels steamed in a subtle sauce of fennel, oven dried tomato, and fume blanc, served with a thick slab of wood grilled country bread to sop up the juices. Clams casino, with Applewood smoked bacon and French bread crumbs; wild mushrooms and chick peas with organic spinach, olives and vine ripe tomatoes; a tableside Caesar salad; a fresh feta cheese and roasted beet salad, with cucumber, baby arugula, sour orange and thyme, and the chef's classic, lobster mac and cheese, round out this section of the menu. The snacks and a chef's selection of starters are offered, with a wonderful choice of wines by the glass, at the bar as well as in the dining room. A full range of creative and classic cocktails, including the restaurant's signature champagne mojito, are also available at the full-service bar.



The New Chef Allen's
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Fish and seafood dishes ($24.00 - $ 28.00), comprising the menu's main section, include an innovative surf & turf combo of garlicky guava shrimp and Niman Ranch skirt steak served with crisp yuca fries; blackened red snapper with platanos maduros and a cool orange raita; meaty swordfish with wood grilled pineapple, Thai stir fry and
tomato salsa; grouper with rock shrimp, leeks, mango and coconut rum; mahi mahi in a savory sofrito with Peruvian lima beans; wild Florida shrimp scampi, with zucchini and ricotta ravioli, shallots, lemon and caviar.

Also offered is a whole roasted yellowtail, cooked in saffron tea with capers and red quinoa, and three, new, hard-to-resist Maine lobst