This new restaurant in a Miami Beach hotel offers a ‘melting pot of Latin cuisine’
“Mehzcla” means mixture, which makes it an appropriate name for the new restaurant at The Balfour Hotel on Miami Beach.
Executive Chef Steven Acosta, who trained at the now-closed Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts in Miami, aims to reflect his mixed Cuban and Costa Rican heritage at Mehzcla. Growing up in Miami, he reveled in the best of two worlds, helping his mother make arroz con pollo and making Costa Rican vinagreta with his grandmother.
He went on to work as a sous chef at several Miami-area restaurants, including the Cascada Grill at the Turnberry Isle Resort; Vix’s Restaurant at Hotel Victor; the former Solea at the W Hotel South Beach; and Kimpton EPIC hotel in downtown Miami.
Such experiences left him with a desire to create a restaurant that reflected the best of Miami and Latin America.
“Just like Miami, Mehzcla is one big melting pot of Latin cuisine,” he said. “I’ve worked with chefs from all over the world, and now I get to apply that multicultural, global influence from my heritage to the restaurant.”
The menu at Mehzcla, which overlooks Ocean Drive and has indoor and outdoor seating, reflects an interest in local flavors, with starters like a classic avocado and tomato ensalada ($17) and entrees like a whole fried snapper (market price), fried without the bones for an easier dining experience.
Also on the menu: crowd pleasers like Ahi tuna tacos ($26) topped with caviar because this is South Beach and a little excess is in order. There are also medianoche croquetas ($18), bringing the classic flavors of a Cuban sandwich into a handheld bite.
The cocktail program includes favorites like the South Beach Mule and Spiced Smoked Margarita as well as Latin-influenced apertifs like the Balfour Batida (vodka, passion fruit and coconut syrups) or the Spicy Boi Summer (which includes gin, ancho reyes and mango puree).
Naturally, being part of a hotel, Mehzcla also serves breakfasts that run from the health-conscious (the Detox Bowl comes with scrambled egg whites, sauteed kale, turmeric cauliflower, avocado and Marcona almonds) to the decadent (Croissaint French Toast Casserole, anyone?)
Mehzcla
Where: The Balfour Hotel, 350 Ocean Dr., Miami Beach
Open: Daily 7:30 a.m.-10 p.m.
Reservations and more information: mehzclasouthbeach.com
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