Lucky Cat
Izakaya restaurant · Midtown East ·
Noodle soup, Japanese staples, fun izakaya vibe, anime decor
Noodle soup, Japanese staples, fun izakaya vibe, anime decor
"This space heralded by one of those giant waving cats is one of the city’s foremost and most playful izakayas, and strains of bebop fill the air. You can get just about any Japanese or American dish you can think of to go with beer and sake, including chicken wings, meat skewers, ramen, sushi tacos with nori, mackerel, dumplings, burgers, and more. Sometimes the places gets crowded, but that only makes it more fun." - Eater Staff
"The thick crowds at Lucky Cat aren’t here because it’s one of the best restaurants in South Beach. It’s not. They’re here because it’s owned by an inescapably big celebrity chef who’s famous for screaming at people. And although the dark, brooding dining room doses feel aesthetically inspired by a professional meanie, the restaurant itself is not a complete gimmick. It's trying to be a good restaurant, and it occasionally is. Highlights of the vaguely Southeast Asian menu include a fried confit duck leg served with bao and a whole sea bream cooked on a robata grill. But there are misses too, like the puny sushi, a sad take on Korean fried chicken, and the fact that you may have to wait 30 minutes for your table on a busy night. Overall, Lucky Cat doesn't stand out in South Beach enough to make it your first choice for anything, but you can also do worse if your priority is simply to eat somewhere with name recognition. photo credit: Gordon Ramsay North America" - Ryan Pfeffer
"A new outpost on Kingsland Road from celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay is slated to open later this year as a more casual spin on his 'authentic Asian eating house' concept. The owner submitted a planning application seeking a minor variation to the premises layout while keeping existing licensed activities, opening hours and conditions unchanged; the proposed name and description point to a noodle-focused menu and a bar rather than the brooding, formal dining style of the original. The project will take over a space formerly occupied by a fast-casual chicken restaurant and has already drawn critical coverage accusing the concept of cultural misappropriation." - Adam Coghlan
"Launched by a celebrity chef, the new restaurant has drawn sharply negative reviews: service is described as chaotic and the cooking rarely rises above unremarkable. Specific dishes draw heavy criticism — the miso black cod is painfully sweet, smoked shortrib comes across as bland and flabby, and monkfish cheek katsu is so fishy and overcooked it’s compared to pub scampi. The lone consistently praised plate is the duck, lauded as delicious, sticky, crunchy and fatty and served with cucumber and a pillowy bao, though at premium pricing. Speaking of cost, steep cocktail and starter prices (a £16 negroni; £8 for four tiny prawn toasts) feed a larger complaint that, at these rates, everything should be exquisite, which reviewers conclude it very much is not." - George Reynolds
"A soon-to-open Asian eating house from Gordon Ramsay is set to occupy the site opposite the new hotel outlets, creating a high-profile culinary face-off; the concept replaces the previous Michelin-starred operation on that location." - James Hansen
