At Ensenada, having an ordering strategy is key - Review - Miami - The Infatuation

"To have a great meal at Ensenada, you’ve got to hopscotch around the menu in a slightly counterintuitive manner. For instance, they have an impressive mezcal selection, but the cocktails aren’t very good. The menu revolves around Mexican mariscos, but nothing on it beats the Venezuelan-influenced vuelve a la vida. And despite how thrilling the words “swordfish al pastor” may feel in your ears, that anemic taco will let you down. But these speed bumps are easy enough to navigate around, and a strategic order reveals Ensenada’s potential to be the great Mexican seafood spot Miami badly needs. photo credit: Ensenada Miami photo credit: Ensenada Miami photo credit: Ensenada Miami photo credit: Ensenada Miami The restaurant is located inside the Vagabond Hotel, a gorgeously restored example of the Miami Modern motels that dot Biscayne Boulevard in MiMo. They keep it pretty simple inside, with just bare white walls interrupted by the occasional mural of a derpy ocean critter. There’s patio seating that tragically ends just shy of the hotel’s pool, which looks like a postcard from your grandparents’ Miami honeymoon. Here’s hoping they use it for some sort of spicy shrimp-fueled pool party on a summer day in the near future. Ensenada comes to us from New York—that original location actually does live up to its tagline of “mariscos and mezcales” well enough that it’s one of the city’s best restaurants. In Miami, it’s not quite there yet, but it’s still worth a trip if you want an aguachile that’ll make you sweat, or an excellent butterflied snapper you can make eye contact with before making tacos out of it. Hopefully the restaurant can eventually smooth out some of its inconsistencies. Until then, order strategically. Food Rundown photo credit: Ensenada Miami The Cocktails The drinks are one of the biggest letdowns for a place with such an impressive mezcal selection. The best cocktails on the menu are just fine, and the worst ones are watery with cloudy ice cubes. Stick to the simple margarita, wine, or a nice sipping mezcal ordered neat. photo credit: Ensenada Miami Pescaditos Fritos A thousand years from now, when you can just tell your kitchen robot, “Make me something that’s like french fries, but fish,” it will come back with a plate of this. Maybe the future won’t be so bad. video credit: Julia Malavé Vuelve A La Vida This dish has a foot in two doors: Mexico and Venezuela. And it’s the best thing on the menu. The shrimp bathe in a savory, ketchup-infused sauce with a healthy dose of lime juice. It’s a little sweet, a little tart, and best scooped up with the Saladitas that come in their plastic wrapper on the side. video credit: Julia Malavé La De Viera Tostada The jícama and apple are a bit too greedy for the spotlight, burying the scallop to the point where you can barely register it with each bite. The tuna toastada is a slightly better choice, though neither justify their $20-ish price point. photo credit: Alex Staniloff Aguachile Amarillo There are three aguachiles at three various spice levels, but the best one is the middle one. Aji amarillo and turmeric give it a brilliant yellow color, as well as a spice intensity that makes the sweat glands on your forehead pop like TV static. video credit: Julia Malavé Pez Espada “Al Pastor” Taco It’s not that a taco can’t be $8. It’s that an $8 taco needs to be a revelation. None of them—including the overcooked al pastor—are. Plus, the bigger shareable entrees all come with tortillas and make better tacos anyway. video credit: Julia Malavé Pescado Del Dia “Al Pibil” Always order this, whether you’re with one other person or five. The butterflied fish is tender enough to saw apart with a whisper, and it’s covered with crispy sunchoke chips. Arrange it all into a soft corn tortilla or just go wild with a fork. photo credit: Ensenada Miami Passion Fruit Tiramisu There’s no discernable coffee flavor in this tiramisu, but we don’t care—we really like it. This one speaks to the unfailing power of well-deployed passion fruit in a dessert." - Ryan Pfeffer