Blue Matisse

The Blue Matisse is located in the Intercontinental Hotel. We had dinner there on a Tuesday night and the restaurant was not busy. We both enjoyed our meals, as well as, the service we received very much. We had flank steak and salmon dinners which were excellent. Both dinners came out on sizzling platters and were cooked perfectly and complimented by a very tasty sauce. Our servers, Orlando & German we’re extremely attentive and professional. Definitely worth five stars for ambiance, food, & service.

Food was outstanding. We came in for lunch and were really surprised at how good the food and staff were. The spread is top notch and a great value at under $ 20. I would highly recommend it to anyone wanting the best to offer in Doral.

I had a late lunch here today. The food was exceptional and Rene’s service was outstanding. Highly recommended!

What a wonderful experience and ambiance! The restaurant was beautiful and the food and staff was even better. For the appetizers we had an arepa with Carne asada and it was absolutely delicious! We also had a chorizo dip with tortilla chips which was awesome! My mom had a tomato soup which she said hit the spot. She also had some shrimp tacos which were delicious topped with a garlic cilantro sauce. And I had the churrasco and fingerling potatoes which were delicious! We were very well taken care of by the manager herself Elizabeth! She was extremly attentive and sweet. She checked up on us frequently and made sure everything was brought out and made sure we had everything we needed. This was mine and my mom’s first time there and we will definitely be back!!!

Delicious food, great atmosphere and super courteous staff!

Why do you say you’re open until midnight if you’re closed at 11:30.
Just be honest about your working hours, it’s really not that hard.

Great food, excellent attendance. One of the bests (if not the best) burguer i’ve ever eaten.
The attendance by Julio and his colleagues was five stars as well!
The sallad was very good. And im not a fan of sallad.
The burguer… Oh, the burguer… Ill miss that when i go back home.
The desert is really really good too.
You wont be disappointed. I wasnt.

Wow, wow, wow! Today’s lunch special was amazing. Kudos to chef Elizabeth, talk about something new for lunch. Tostón burger! The picture doesn’t do it justice.

FOOD AS ART
My sister is a Professor of Art at the University of New Mexico Albuquerque. Henri Matisse, the post-​impressionist artist and the father of Fauvism, was her inspiration. One of his most famous works, the Souvenir of Biskra, was an international sensation. It is known today as the Blue Matisse.
Matisse used empty spaces as contrast to make his works more direct. Here, the chef uses simple blank plates as a canvas to present unique edible creations. I should know. Fortune smiled on me when she coincided my stay at the Intercontinental with opening night at the Blue Matisse.
While the management made sure to preface that the menu was incomplete, evolving — like art, a work in progress — it was shocking in it’s bold strokes. It was in fact so overwhelming that I — and the better half in absentia — thought it best to focus only on the appetizers and I believe I ordered all of them.
It is important to note that the better half has a «particular» palate. While I will eat anything and have — from guinea pig to live grubs — she is less adventurous. This being said, here is the low down, just the facts:
MOCHA RIBS (aka «Oh No You Didn’t…»): Start with a high grade beef (likely Kobe); slow cook it until it melts off the bone; form it into a filet; dust it with cacao and then lightly bake it. Add a side of sweet potato pâté, serve it to unsuspecting patrons and watch them fight over it. It was perhaps ugly to the eye but tasted like what I imagine flowers sound like when they speak to each other. I had one bite and then the daggers in the better half’s eyes dictated that I should back off, sit in a corner by myself for safety. I had a bite: it was good. She finished it and we are still a couple. All is right with the world.
FLAT NAAN: Why would anyone take something that everyone associates with troff feeding at Taco Bell and turn it into something that looks good, tastes incredible yet is not pretentious? Oh I understand — Blue Matisse is a cutting edge, take no prisoners restaurant. I can live with that. Simply, they took the Mocha beef, spread it on naan flat bread, added cheese, toasted it and called it a day. I actually had two pieces. It’s not fat laden — even on the dry perfect side — and the better half smiled as she ate it.
TUNA TARTARE: Okay — truthfully, in my experience as a sashimi addict (if I could inject it with a U100 Insulin syringe I would) you really cannot ruin raw fish. If you start with bad fish, you end with bad fish (accompanied by all of those gastrointestinal problems…). They started with a high-​grade fatty tuna belly (toro?), diced it to a Julia Child/​Sardi specification, added some accentuating spices, formed it into a circle, topped it with a very light avocado paste with microgreens and then actually gave it to me in exchange for a minuscule amount of cash. I was able to have a few bites before the better half reminded me that it would be best if I left the rest to her and got on with my life.
TEMPURA SHRIMP: Here is the recipe — take eight to twelve count shrimp and cook them until nearly done. Peel them, flavor them with something sort of sweet, add panko bread crumbs, bake, serve and then again, watch people fight over them. Sorry: I forgot one ingredient. Add in two tablespoons of magic.
MAHI CEVICHE: Okay. I admit that I have always taken issue with the ceviche served at the former establishment. I ordered it once and found it mostly inedible. I ordered it a second time so the the Peruvian bartender and I could make fun of it. Thus, I admit my trepidation in once again facing what could have been a horror. Much to my surprise and to the contrary, if I were religious, here is where I would say something like «Praise God» or some such nonsense — but I am not. The ceviche was traditional, perfectly flavored (maybe a bit more pepper), plantain chips for scoops and came with corn, a worthy attempt a choclo. The only thing that was missing was the pisco sour but it would have certainly made any Peruvian mother jealous. BTW: The better half doesn’t eat ceviche — well at least she didn’t use to…
CRAB CAKE: Stop. Hold On. Stay in Control. Typically, crab cakes have chunks of bell pepper and onion and fall apart like one of those vegetable concoctions they misname «veggie burger.» This one did not. Thankfully, the better half claimed it not be her favorite so only ate one third. It didn’t make up for her absconding with the Mocha Ribs but c’est la vie.
So to sum it up — The Armillary Restaurant is dead. The Blue Matisse has taken its place and this is a very very good thing. This certainly will not be a restaurant that only hotel guests frequent. The food, the atmosphere, the service and the pricing will certainly attract the smart crowd… my opinion anyway.