‘Come as you are’: New outdoor spot in Miami is laid-back like a day in the Keys
When the sun starts to go down, Low Key lights up.
The laid-back outdoor patio restaurant and bar from Brian Griffiths, cofounder of Over Under in downtown Miami, is now open in the Little River neighborhood, sharing space with Rosie’s, owned and operated by husbandand-wife team Akino West and Jamila Ross.
Here’s how it works: Rosie’s opens at 9 a.m. Thursday through Sunday and serves brunch during the day — omelets, lemon ricotta pancakes, polenta, fish sandwiches and chicken and waffles — and closes at 3 p.m. At 5 p.m., the outdoor patio space becomes Low Key, a Florida Keys-style spot with its own menu, frozen cocktails and a variety of community events from live music to movie nights.
The partnership is “working great so far,” says Griffiths, an alum of Broken Shaker, which was named one of the 50 Best Bars in North America earlier this summer.
West, who operated the Copper Door Bed & Breakfast in Overtown before it closed, agrees.
“Brian’s our good friend,” he says. “We’ve always had great synergy with him. We collaborated on our bar program, and in return we let him use the space and use our kitchen and facility . . . . It’s been going well. They’re a great group, and they enjoy what they do.”
The atmosphere is laid back. Low Key is dogfriendly, and the clientele ranges from young parents with strollers at the tables early in the evening to more dedicated fun seekers as the night progresses. The dress code is, of course, non-existent.
“It’s the Keys aesthetic: come as you are,” Griffiths says.
The food at Low Key focuses on Florida, featuring seafood dishes like raw oysters, clams with fries and a blackened fish sandwich topped with housemade pikliz. On Sundays, Low Key does a vegan pop-up, but you can always get a mushroom steak on other days.
The only non-vegan or pescetarian item on the menu is the famous cheeseburger from Over Under, so popular Griffiths didn’t want to leave it off the menu.
Low Key serves beverages with an eye toward the fact that the space is outdoors, it’s summer and it’s hot. Frozen cocktails are practically required. Available right now is the frozen mango margarita, though the bar has the option of changing fruit when the season ends. Next week Griffiths will add a frozen Dirty Shirley, or you can go with a classic (a piña colada).
Beers are served as cold as possible, and all the wines can be served chilled, Griffiths says.
“You’re not going to order a shaken martini or an old-fashioned,” he says, but “we’ve done our best to make the drinks fit the space.”
As you might guess from the menu, prices aren’t exorbitant at Low Key, with a bucket of beers for $15, $13 fish dip and a cheeseburger priced at $11. Griffiths says he wants to have options that most people can afford.
“I come from the service industry and have worked in it half my life now,” Griffiths says. “I want to be able to serve my peers. We try to have options so that a dishwasher at Over Under should be able to afford everything and not feel like they’re getting gouged. Miami has a lot of regular, hard-working people and artists, and they want something that’s
The popularity of the clam shack, which now has locations in Indian Shores on Florida’s west coast plus three in Long Island, is based on the quality of the food, Bell believes.
“We were the first restaurant to bring in a Maine lobster roll,” he says. “Nobody knew what it was when we opened. Now there are 25 or 30 restaurants who have it.”
Bell says he and Gagnon good but not have an extra 50 percent markup.”
But Griffiths sees Low Key as more than just a bar and restaurant. To him, it’s a community space, where people can hang out and try or see new things. Low Key hosted a film festival last weekend, with movies shown on an inflatable 30-foot screen. Next up is a speed-dating night and a figure-drawing event. On Saturdays there’s a market selling wares from local makers.
“Every night we’re open, there’s some entertainment,” he says. “There’s something to check out to give people a reason to stop by.” are considering other Florida locations for expansion, in particular Orlando and Jacksonville (rents in Miami-Dade and Broward are prohibitively high right now, he says).
But Bell doesn’t seem in too much of a hurry to leave the Keys.
“I love going out on the boat and diving and hanging out,” he says. “Exploring by boat is my favorite thing. If you live here, you’ve got to love the water, and I do.”
DJ’S CLAM SHACK
is 79.
Where: 629 Duval St., Key West
Hours: 11 a.m.-4 p.m., 5-9 p.m. daily
More information: www.djsclamshack.com or 305-294-0102
Connie Ogle: 305-376-3649, @OgleConnie