NOVECENTO - AVENTURA: Novecento: Refined Argentine & Pan-Latin Cuisine

It was around 15 years ago when I first visited Novecento in Buenos Aires. It was a small cool bistró with simple yet fantastically delicious Argentine food paired with excellent wines. Guests were served outside on sidewalk tables. Novecento has come a long way since then, having opened 11 restaurants across the globe including Miami, New York City, Punta del Este in Uruguay, Mexico, Buenos Aires & Córdoba in Argentina.

I personally think Novecento is the only Argentine restaurant who has embraced their worldly clientele. The proprietors created an Argentine-inspired menu infused with international flavors. And that's the key to their success. Anyone who walks into any Novecento restaurant will notice the warm wooden panels and old street signs reminiscent of Buenos Aires. But as soon as they sit down and open the menu, they will feel at home.

It's as if they took the best Argentine plates, mixed them with a more Americanized concept, and delivered back a North & South American fusion cuisine.

With the farm to table trend here to stay, I was pleasantly surprised how it's finally made its way to the new restaurant in Aventura, FL. This location features a warm, welcoming ambiance centered on a casual yet sophisticated dining room with European Bistro accents, a custom-built wine cellar, and the Malbec private dining room. They also have the exclusive chef's tables by the new brick oven.

Novecento now serves flatbreads straight from their wood pizza oven, a new concept they recently introduced. I ordered the mushroom flatbread with truffle oil ($12), which was crispy, tasty and full of fresh ingredients. For the main course, I refrained from the traditional grilled beef cuts Argentine style and, instead, ordered the branzino (fish for $32). It melted in my mouth; it was cooked to perfection. Without use of heavy cream, the branzino was light yet flavorful. I highly recommend it.

No room for dessert here, but in my previous visits to other Novecento locations, I always order the panqueques con dulce de leche (thin crepes filled with milk caramel. It's an old school Argentine dessert) paired with a cortadito (espresso with foamed milk Argentine style). It's the perfect end to such a divine meal. The wine list is complete with the best that Argentina has to offer. I always start with sparkling (Chandon Rosé sparkling $16 a glass) and a Malbec when I'm ordering steak (Vistalba Corte B, Carlos Pulenta – $65 a bottle), or a Pinot Noir (Pinot Noir 7 Lagos – $9 a glass) if I'm getting pasta or fish.

Novecento is refined co-existence of Argentine, Mediterranean and Pan-Latin cuisines heightened by French techniques. They place in-depth attention to presentation and detail. Their cuisine isn't fusion; rather each style is separate and a pure reflection of its heritage.

I am very pleased that the farm to table movement is finally catching up everywhere else besides the usual metropolitan areas. Novecento is blazing the trail in Miami.