Exclusive: Inside Lucky Cat, Gordon Ramsay’s New Fine-Dining Restaurant in Miami
Gordon Ramsay is most well known in the United States for his rather fiery television persona and mass-market restaurants like Hell’s Kitchen and Gordon Ramsay Burger. But the celebrity chef is also proficient in fine dining, and he holds three Michelin stars at his namesake restaurant in London. Now, he thinks that Americans are ready to encounter that side of him, too.
Next month, on February 2, Ramsay will open an outpost of his U.K.-based Lucky Cat in Miami. The Asian-inspired eatery draws from the chef’s extensive travels and training throughout that continent, serving a menu with nods to several regions, not just one. It’s more upscale and clubbier than what U.S. diners may expect from Ramsay, but he’s hoping that they’ll respond positively to what he’s doing here.
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“I think the fine-dining aspect is me at my best,” he told Robb Report in an exclusive interview. “I’ve been dying—dying—to bring Lucky Cat to Miami because it’s me at my best.”
Lucky Cat’s offerings span a variety of categories: There’s sushi and sashimi, buns and dumplings, tempura, skewers, and robata-grilled meats, among even more options. Particular highlights include the restaurant’s signature confit duck leg bao with spicy hoisin, apple-pickled cucumber, and bonito crust; Korean-spiced black cod with kimchi, gochujang miso, and creamy pickled daikon; and a lamb larb bowl with baby gem lettuce, cucumber, fish sauce, and fragrant herbs.
Many of those items are also available at Lucky Cat’s locations in Mayfair and Manchester, so to set the new restaurant apart, the culinary team in Miami has whipped up dishes exclusive to the U.S. outpost. That includes a Manila Wagyu roll with F1 Wagyu (a Wagyu beef crossbreed), marinated shiitake mushrooms, tamago, asparagus, and crispy garlic; smoked shima aji nigiri; and baked clay pot glass noodles with Maine lobster, five-spice Berkshire pork belly, jalapeno relish, and garlic chips.
As for the decor, Ramsay is really trying to tap into the vibes landscape of Miami, where N.Y.C. transplants like Carbone and Cote have popped up in recent years. “If there’s one thing Miami does,” he said, “conceptually, it’s about the buzz as much as the food, and the decor as much as the drama.” The design draws on Tokyo’s underground pubs in the 1930s, pulling in Japanese artistry, warm wood tones, and natural textures. But the Art Deco light fixtures might be the star of the show, with Ramsay saying that lighting is the be-all, end-all when it comes to mood.
“I’m a stickler for lighting,” he said. “I promise you now—I mean, I love putting food on a plate, but lighting for me is cool because when the atmosphere descends, it’s only because the lighting is off. And when the lighting is spot-on, the atmosphere rises through the roof.” (He said the team went “OTT” in terms of spending on lighting but declined to give a dollar amount to match that statement.)
While Ramsay’s excited to bring his fine-dining credentials stateside, he’s still not 100 percent sure how Lucky Cat will fare. The Miami restaurant scene has expanded exponentially in the past few years, and Lucky Cat is a change of pace from what American diners have come to expect from the king of Hell’s Kitchen. But for Ramsay, it’s well worth rolling the dice anyway.
“It’s a dangerous game in Miami, because it’s run by some very powerful individuals and so I’m just happy to have a seat at the table,” he said. “This for me is by no means my easiest, but it’s the most exciting because it’s what’s in my DNA.”
Click here to see all the images of Lucky Cat.
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