The Embassy of Well-Being and Debauchery sounds more like the title of a whimsical independent film than a welcoming restaurant. But in fact it’s the charming 40-seat restaurant from admired chef Alan Hughes, located just north of the Design District in Buena Vista.
The restaurant is truly a one man show – Hughes is owner, chef, manager and designed the space – The Embassy affords him ample opportunities to showcase his hospitality and culinary skills. The Argentine-born, French-trained chef has cooked all over the world, and in the early 2000s opened the critically acclaimed One Ninety in the Design District.
What makes the Embassy a “guerrilla kitchen” is the fact that all of his plates emerge from a 98-square-foot kitchen that’s missing tools considered essential to most chefs including a grill, range top – even an actual oven cannot fit in this kitchen. So Alan makes do with his convection oven, his fryer and a flat top to turn out an impressive dinner menu five nights a week, and brunch on Sundays.
The menu at The Embassy offers a mix of small plates, comfort food, and composed dishes including a weekly family special on Tuesday evenings.
The menu rotates seasonally but diners can start the meal off with favorites like cod cakes with aioli, duck confit salad with apricots, pistachio and frisee, and octopus bruschetta.
Main courses include steamed mussels with white wine, sunflower seed-crusted salmon served on a bed of bok choy and caramelized onions or coffee-glazed braised short rib with mushroom ragout, among others. Desserts, all $6, offer choices like coconut tapioca pudding with fresh mango, Earl Grey milk chocolate verrine, Greek yogurt panna cotta with rhubarb sauce or mousse chocolate cake.
Every evening after 9 p.m. the mood shifts with live music on a small makeshift stage – everything from reggae to jazz to Latin rock, and many of Miami’s top local acts perform – sometimes even Chef Hughes picks up his guitar and puts on a show.
“Come early for dinner and stay for the music,” suggests Hughes.
The Embassy is located at 4600 NE Second Avenue. The Embassy is open for dinner Tuesday through Saturday from 6 p.m. to midnight, bar remains open late on Fridays and Saturdays; brunch is served Sundays from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. For reservations or more information contact (305)-571-8446; www.theembassymiami.com
