A Fish Called Avalon

Went to try this restaurant for the first time on Sunday, my friend and I enjoyed every single moment of our dinner.
Our server, Jacob, was definitely on point, he recommended us a couple of appetizer and the macadamia crusted snapper as main course which was delicious and a good portion to be shared. He was pretty knowledgeable about wine as well.
Service was impeccable since we walked in the restaurant till we left.
Highly recommended!!!

Everything was great, until we had to wait for 1 and a half for our food, not to be picky but other tables that had gotten here got their food first. customer service needs a little work, don’t give attitude, that’s my number one pet peeve! Other than that, the food was amazing!!!

This is by far my favorite restaurant in Miami Beach.
Everything I have tried here is a delicious. My favorite entrée is the scampi dish, which is quite different than any similar dish I have had elsewhere. Any of the seafood dishes, each of which I have tried, has been perfectly cooked and incredibly flavorful.
The bar puts out a delicious old fashioned, which I find quite hard to find in Florida. They have a nice wine and spirits selection, and considering the elevated price of mediocre restaurants neighboring FCA, I think they are very fair.
The service isn’t very warm and friendly per-​se, but they do everything necessary, keep an eye out for empty glasses, and check in at a perfectly appropriate interval.
Best part? They don’t have hosts/​hostesses trying to convince people to eat there – because they don’t need to.

My boyfriend and I visited Miami right before Christmas and one of the things we loved best about our trip was all of the excellent food! A Fish Called Avalon is right in the heart of ocean drive with a wonderful outdoor seating option plus a great ambiance inside. We opted inside, and AFCA was one of the only restaurants we went to that had a Christmas tree (so we got a picture obviously). The service was phenomenal and our food was really good! I got the filet with a chopped salad and then went with the cheesecake for dessert! The cheesecake and chopped salad I liked more than my steak, but overall everything was delicious and I would definitely return.

Great put door seating area right on South Beach. Had the octopus, which was good but way over priced for what it was. Worth checking out.

Amazing fish entrees and waiters! Not only they helped to identify the best dishes but also created amazing atmosphere. Live music was awesome.

Bang Bang shrimp is must try.
Food was good but very expensive.

Came here for a team dinner with 18 people. We had a pre-​set menu, so I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. When we arrived we were seated immediately right on the front sidewalk /​patio on Ocean drive. It was a typical warm Miami night, we had the perfect spot to people watch! The staff was beyond accommodating and both food /​beverages came out really quick (considering the large size of our party).
We had just about everything on the menu — hard to remember all of it, but some of the memorable plates were: Seafood Plateau, Asian Calamari, Tuna Tartar (my personal fav). I had the Filet as my main course and it was perfectly cooked!
Aside from the amazing food — the drinks were strong but tasty and hit the spot! The Jazz /​Latin band also kept the mood /​energy super high. This is a really fun restaurant — highly recommend for a large (or small) group!

A good choice for seafood on Ocean Drive! Nice service! Great setting! Wonderful touch of jazzy Latin live music throughout the evening! As for my meal, most impressed I was of their BANG BANG SHRIMP, perfect fusion of turmeric-​curry and mint-​yogurt in with the shrimps! As for their very lightly seasoned seafood orso paella, loved the choice of seafood used, yet the cooked flavor of the seafood simply coated rather than being absorbed by the orzo! Topping off this meal, not an eye-​pleaser, a delicious pineapple flan! All in all, a nice meal it was! Cheers!

The short version: food is ok, the service was ok, waited an hour for appetizers, and reservation time wasn’t honored.
The long:
Came here for the Christmas prix fixe menu with reservations for 4 at 7:30. When we arrived, first we were directed to a very long line leading up to the hostess stand. When we finally reached the hostess, we were informed that a table would not be available for another 25 minutes. Many two-​person tables on the terrace were seated before our group of four. There is a sign at the hostess stand stating that tables on the terrace cannot be combined, which would be fine, if we didn’t witness a group of 5 have a table on the terrace arranged in front of us. As it was Christmas and we knew our dining options would be limited with such late notice, we took our seats in the bar area and had a couple of expensive cocktails (with 18% gratuity automatically included) while we waited.
Once we were finally seated, our waiter introduced himself and brought us a basket of delicious warm breads. We perused the menu and placed our orders, and then waited for an hour for our appetizers to arrive. Many other tables had long waits between their first and second courses as well. Once the appetizers arrived, the rest of the courses arrived in appropriate amounts of time. All told, our meal took about 2.5 hours, which isn’t bad for a prix fixe dinner. I simply think this is not very smart on the restaurant’s part, as they were clearly having a table shortage /​overseating problem, and having more appropriately paced courses would help turn over tables faster. I am also under the impression that prix fixe menus are intended to help kitchens move at a faster pace as there are fewer selections to choose from, which doesn’t appear to have been the case here.
On to the actual food! The food itself was okay but the portions were huge!
Appetizers: bang bang shrimp are probably the worst deal on a prix fixe menu. The escargot, baked oysters, and seared scallops were all equally fine.
Mains: the paella is huge, but unfortunately is made with orzo rather than rice, so not the traditional chewy paella texture you would expect from a paella. Huge portions of seafood in it, though. The lamb rack was pretty good.
Desserts: the crème brûlée, lava cake, and bread pudding were all also fine.
Honestly, one prix fixe course of the paella could probably have fed my entire family of four, so it is an excellent deal for the price!

Not sure how this place gets 4.5 on Unilocal.The food and service were not up to par with even a 3 star restaurant on Unilocal.
For a restaurant with these prices our server was very clueless and rarely checked up on us. I don’t think it’s because he didn’t care, I actually thought he was a nice guy, but clearly he had never worked In a high end restaurant before.
The food was passable, stone crab was ok but I didn’t think it was worth the price. Lobster was overcooked as was the fish dish.
Didn’t make it to dessert.

Avalon is a world of class on a street (Ocean Drive) full of tacky business. While you’re accosted by every restaurant along the drive to eat at their establishment, Avalon keeps it classy, no begging to enter here, just a cheery band playing Latin grooves outside. What’s better than listening to live music while you eat?
Very professional and attentive service. While the orzo paella for two did let me down and did not warrant its $ 85 price tag, I believe the food at Avalon is a touch better than at other places nearby. One of our dinner mates ordered the glazed salmon and that was fantastic. The reason I didn’t like the paella was because it was soup! So much water standing at the bottom and the mussels and clams didn’t taste good and the lobster was lacking in meat, really the claws were the only part that had meat, even the tail was barely edible. The tomatoes were well done. The dish could’ve used more flavor, perhaps some pepper and other seasonings would’ve fixed that. I know paellas are traditionally pretty bland, but this took bland to a whole new level. Also, while I like orzo, I prefer rice paellas better.
Wish I had had the opportunity to try other items on the menu. If you do go here, I advise you to steer clear of the paella, but to instead order any of the fish plates.

Wir haben dieses Lokal auf Grund der Empfehlung eines Freundes gewählt und wurden nicht enttäuscht.
Das Personal war sehr freundlich und das Essen waren senationell. Der Lobster war einer der besten die ich je gegessen habe! Und der Key Lime Pie war auch hervorragend!
Das Essen war zwar nicht günstig aber die Qualität liegt definitiv über jener der anderen Lokale am Ocean Drive!

Did you look at the photos? My review isn’t even needed, just LOOK AT THE PHOTOS.
Customer service was great and ambiance was amazing. We sat on the patio/​sidewalk and people watched all night. Great buzz while having dinner. Also had one of the best mojitos I’ve ever tasted.
Fresh bread comes with peppered butter and this tasty spicy hummus. SO so good.
Octopus salad was so soft and buttery, not chewy. It almost tasted like chicken. The dressing was good — everything about this was great. Awesome recommendation by our waiter.
Lastly we had the orzo seafood paella. O.M.G. I would fly back to SoBe for this. Instead of rice, orzo is used so it doesn’t dry up like most paella. Plentiful lobster and shellfish, calamari and shrimp. Moist and delicious juice in every bite.
To top it off, the waiter brought us a free delicious key lime cake for our honeymoon as a surprise. Very sweet gesture.
Highly recommend!

After much debate on what place to try in South beach for seafood, Hubby and I settled on a Fish Called Avalon. We had some happy hour drink’s at Mac’s and the locals did tell us to go to other spots (which we will try in the future) but we were intrigued by the pictures, and curious to see if a place on Ocean Drive can really deliver a good meal.
We made reservations for 8:30am, and they tried to seat us inside, but it was boring, and empty and had to wait another 30 min or so, which is why it loses a star.
It is your typical art deco with neon signs, very Miami, and was pretty packed.
We decided to go with bang bang shrimp and crabcakes
The server came out with bread, a red pepper hummus and butter which we chowed down as we were starving, and are used to 6pm dinners but trying to get used to the Miami later dining! lol
Bang Bang Shrimp– tasty, succulent, but not your usual creamy sauce. Also, a little small in portion, 3 shrimp!
crabcakes– Yeah, um he forgot we ordered this so that didn’t happen! HAHA.
I ordered the Lobster tail sake style with mashed potato and green beans. I absolutely loved this dish! It was filling, and the green beans and mash were done really well.
Hubby ordered the two whole lobster with drawn butter and mash as well, and he enjoyed himself.
A pricey, tasty dinner, with OK service. Would come here if we happen to be on Ocean Drive and want to pay a pretty penny, otherwise definitely more open to trying some other establishments as well.
Def. recommend to a tourist for good seafood in an iconic location!

Wow! Service and food were on point! While in Miami, my husband and I chose this place for our date night based on the Unilocal reviews (thank you Unilocalers!) and it did not disappoint. For starters we order the scallops ($ 19) which were nothing special. We only got 2 scallops over a bed a light mashed potatoes. Def not worth $ 19 bucks. For the entrée we ordered the twin Maine lobsters ($ 44) and the special sea salt fish ($ 42) and both were cooked to perfection. Yum! Those were worth the 40ish dollar price point. The best dish of the night was the amazing crème brûlée dessert. It was definitely not your typical crème brûlée and certainly the best we have ever had. (See photo)
Service and ambience were great! 18% gratuity is automatically added to your bill regardless of party size, but that seems to be pretty standard around Miami. We’d certainly eat here again!

There aren’t enough words in the universe to properly explain how good this meal was, and coming from a non seafood lover that is a big deal. Easily this will go down as one of the best meals of my life.
We ended up at AFCA entirely by accident. I had made a reservation before we came to Miami at another place. Once we got the car valeted and were settled though that place seemed too far away and the reservation was too early. I quickly pulled up Unilocal and found AFCA was within walking distance. They could take us at the time we wanted too. Perfect.
We had a seat in the corner of the patio area which was nice. Although right along the beach if you ignore the people, as we did, you can enjoy a nice seaside seafood dinner. Nice ocean breeze and relative peace.
We started with crab cakes. Now like I said I am not a big seafood fan. I only recently discovered my love of crab cakes. I decided though that if my honeymoon was going to be in a place where good seafood was abundant that it was time to get over my distaste. I am so happy I did though. The crab cakes were little pieces of heaven. Moist, flavorful, and that buttery/​sweet that everyone talks about when the speak crab. The garnishes and siracha sauce it came with also paired perfectly with the cakes. I will dream of these cakes.
For my main course I had the macadamia encrusted red snapper. The first time I had red snapper was in Colombia. We were on a little island and for lunch these guys caught and grilled fresh snapper. It was divine. This snapper was even better. The snapper was still moist with a nice crispness added by the macadamia nuts. It came with a spinach risotto and a raspberry bur blanc sauce. When all those elements were paired together it was like heaven in my mouth. The sweetness of the fish, the crisp meatiness of the macadamia, the earthy tones of spinach and risotto, finished with the bright bur blanc sauce.
For dessert we had the pecan crusted key lime pie. We had a lot of key lime pie over our honeymoon, and honestly this was probably the best. The pecan crust added a distinct texture and flavor that regular crust just can’t capture. The pie filling was also just so well done. It was not overly tart or sweet, but a happy medium. The biggest deal to my husband was the fact that they used real whipped cream. This was something he judged all other pies on.
We also enjoyed some cocktails with dinner. Even in their cocktails they have a deft and light touch. Their drinks could have easily gone one way too far (too sweet, spicy, strong, etc) but they always found that sweet spot.
This was also by far our most expensive meal, but totally worth every penny. A meal that we will never forget.
⁸³⁄₁₀₀

If you want to be front row and center in Miami beach, then AFCA is an excellent choice. My group of 7 ladies expanded to 12 for my bride-​friends bachelorette. The amount of cheers, photo ops with other bride-to-be’s and congratulations my friend received made for an idea setting. Not to mention there was a live two-​man (actually 1 woman and 1 man) band playing some jamming latin music.
Originally we had attempted to organize with the pre-​fix meal beforehand, but the event coordinator said we would all need to order the same entrée. Let me tell you something. Getting 12 ladies together from one state to another is trouble enough, trying to tell them all they are going to have to eat the same thing is something altogether monstrous! Especially ladies from California. ‘do you have vegan, soy, gluten free this and that?!’ Please. Cancel that pre-​fix, everyone is ordering a-​la-​cart. It worked out perfectly. But, in the event you do want to have a pre-​fix meal, the option is there. If I recall correctly there are at least 6 different menus to choose from.
The food here is excellent. I ordered the special for the night, Halibut. It was served on a bed of creamy risotto, topped with sautéed onions and a side of spinach. I did not favor the spinach very much because I felt it was overcooked, but, paired with the risotto sauce it was palatable. The halibut on the other hand was moist and plump. Each bite practically dissolved in buttery, creamy heaven. Unfortunately I was unable to finish the entire plate. I’d ordered a starter of the scallops and jumbo lump crab cake for our group. The scallops were oozing with flavor, seared with a tinge of crust. Ultimately it was crab cake that was my downfall. One bite and that plate never left my sight! I didn’t share like I was meant to. It. Was. Heaven. Order it, you will see.
Being located just across from the beach, you could head over for a swim after lunch, or for a stroll after dinner. Actually, just lay on the sand and let your stomach savor that divine meal you just finished. I hope to return.

Dinner was very enjoyable. Made a last minute reservation and was able to get a table on the porch outside. It’s a classy atmosphere but not stuffy. The service was great everyone was very nice. The food was excellent too. I had the Asian calamari appetizer which had awesome flavor. Started off sweet and finished with a good spice. The jumbo shrimp scampi is a great dish I loved every bite of it. All the food came out quickly, I’d highly recommend this place.

This is the place to be if you want to eat good seafood on south beach.
The food is really good, whatever you order.
Ok, prices are not really low, but it worth it.
Make sure you have a reservation if you want to eat outside between 7 and 9 pm.

What brought me here was indeed the cute name! A FISH CALLED AVALON! And make sure you are sitting outside, so that you have the privilege to enjoy the band!
Cool wind, lovely food, that’d essentially what you get here on a holiday night. They provide fresh jumbo shrimp, which went well with the cocktail sauce. Fish was, as their name indicated, marvelous. We got the tuna, but also recommend the snapper.
The only thing I’d like to point out was their speed… kinda slow indeed… but that was alright, I would have more time to enjoy the night:)

Table incontournable de Miami Beach, c’est une des tables où l’on finit toujours par passer et y retourner.
Mais ma dernière expérience m’a laissé un goût un peu mitigé.
Je né reviendrai pas sur le «sur&turf»: viande délicieuse, homard impeccable.
Par contre j’ai été un peu déçu par les huitres. Déjà par rapport au choix: comme dans de nombreux endroits de Miami Beach la carte se résume à des… Blue Point et rien d’autre. Encore heureux qu’elles sont bonnes. Par contre la présentation m’a laissé sur ma faim.
Au départ l’idée de servir les huitres avec une marinade de ceviche était intéressante et, à mon avis, pas désagréable même si en matière d’huitres il n’y a rien de mieu que le «naturel». Par contre point de sauce à l’échalotte comme il est de coutume mais le traditionnel ketchup (on est aux US… on né les changera pas) et une espèce de sauce coktail excellente au demeurant mais qui finit absorbe totalement et le goût des huitres et celui de la marinade. Au final on né sent pratiquement rien de la matière première et c’est un peu dommage.
SInon pour le reste ça reste une des très bonnes tables du coin.