Taste Of The Town: The Deck At Island Gardens Boasts Exquisite Waterfront Dining With Picturesque Views

MIAMI (CBSMiami) -- South Florida is famous for its many waterfront restaurants and the marina outdoor lounge at The Deck at Island Gardens is a welcome addition. The newly designed Deck at Island Gardens serves up amazing Mediterranean dishes where diners can enjoy endless views of Biscayne Bay, mega yachts and stunning sunsets.

It is located on the south side of the MacArthur Causeway just next to the Children Museum.

"The backdrops are gorgeous yachts and the cruise ships," explains Executive Chef Alfio Longo. "The vibe we want to pass to the people to our customers is a vibe similar to Monte Carlos, St. Tropez so we say between Brickell and South Beach we have a little Monte Carlo."

Dining is al fresco and at night, this place lights up and it is party time.

"Thursday night through Sunday there is always a full house from happy hour through dinner," said Chef Longo.

The food concept is Mediterranean, mainly Spain, France, and the Italian Peninsula; which are areas Chef Longo knows a lot about.

"We try to keep simple. We use a lot of quality products that have been selected by me and we import products from Italy, France, Spain. For us, it's important to have quality for our customers."

A table side favorite is the Arugula salad with endives, cherry tomatoes, Greek olives, and a lemon dressing tossed in a 24 month Parmigiano Reggiano cheese wheel.

Next is the seafood tower.

It is an enormous selection of freshly sourced oysters, Maine lobster, jumbo prawns, King Crab legs and ceviche served with lemon, and shallots mignonette.

Then there is the Chilean sea bass.

It is oven roasted with leeks, marmalade, and champagne sauce but that's not all.

"We finish our fish with a touch of caviar. Yea, a little caviar never hurt anybody."

Finally, the meal ends with a decadent dessert called Chocolate Nemesis, which is a flourless dark chocolate cake with hazelnut gelato.

The Deck at Island Gardens is designed to create a relaxed European vibe while capturing the best of what Miami has to offer.

It is open Thursday, Friday and Saturday for dinner and Sundays are open for brunch and dinner.

The Deck at Island Gardens is located at 888 MacArthur Causeway in Miami.

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