Barton G is still a hot restaurant after years in South Beach
The popcorn shrimp arrives in a nostalgia-inducing popcorn maker; the server at Barton G sets it down with a grin. Everyone smiles.
This is awesome.
Anywhere else you’d order a salmon, and get a plate of salmon. Here, your pan-seared fish is set down with a massive bucket pouring “orange paint.”
Snap away. No filter needed. A fork the size of a broom comes rolling out, too. Oh cool, adult toys.
Amid the high turnover of restaurants in South Beach, somevertical how Barton G is alive, well and happening. There’s a lot going on here on. We repeat: A lot.
On a recent Saturday night, the 17-year-old eatery tucked under trees on quiet, leafy West Avenue was packed. Patrons dressed to the nines filled tables looking wide-eyed, their phones snapping pics of the whimsical creations coming out of the kitchen.
Dessert is a must. If you don’t order Marie Antoinette’s Head - a playful highlight since the beginning - you haven’t truly experienced Barton G. She’s a bust of a mannequin wrapped in a pink cotton candy bouffant towering two feet high surrounded by massive cupcakes on a plate too heavy to pick up.
You’ll need to set your phone to for good old Marie, a fave of Barton’s G namesake founder, Barton G. Weiss.
“It’s so cool how something that everyone is so familiar with, like cotton candy, can be transformed into a piece of art that has never really been done before,” Weiss said.
Dolla Dolla Bills Y’all is another insane mainstay: chocolate and dulce de leche tart topped with vanilla bean ice cream and caramel corn encased in a gold shell. The ridiculously elaborate treat is accompanied by an enormous $100 bill; the “gold” is melted down in real time by staffer, armed with a blow torch and wearing a welder’s mask.
“There’s a table-side torching element,” explained the veteran showman, 64. “Its concept is based on a bank heist and guests get to see the servers ‘break in.’” Mmk. Mind the little ones in your party.
Weiss, who also has a Barton G in Los Angeles and most recently, Chicago, says he’ll keep on keeping on as long as everybody’s happy.
The restaurateur, who also ran Prelude by Barton G and The Villa by Barton G for a time, knows all too well he must keep upping the ante to keep the Yelp-savvy customer interested. Back when it first opened, Barton G was one of the only go-to hot spots in Miami Beach, before the term “influencer” even existed. The real-deal celebs and A-listers came in droves for Barton’s flair, razzle dazzle and even the occasional zoo animal; the resulting publicity came in the form of (horrors) print.
“It’s a lot harder with social media,” Weiss admitted. “But once in a while a guest comes in and has no idea what to expect.”
Cocktails have always been another draw. The signature Sabrinatini (named after Barton’s late, great pet monkey) is a classic martini with a chocolate (monkey) garnish, and infused with liquid nitrogen. The cost: $32. But you won’t bat an eye because watching that smoke leisurely die down is legit entertainment.
Yes, the sticker shock is often an afterthought, because you kinda get what you pay for, unlike at other upscale haunts we won’t mention. Every night is a special occasion at Barton G, even if it’s just to impress a date, treat yo self or laugh a little.
Weiss hopes his new menu, which includes gluten free items and a chocolate cake delivered in a $250 Brickell Avenue-esque, gentrification happy crane, will help keep reeling ‘em in.
“We always want to innovate and be different from what’s already been done,” he said. “I still get inspired by everything around me.”
Madeleine Marr: madeleinemarr