Taste of Brickell Food & Wine

I had a good time, the food was great and beer is beer. What do you expect for $ 20 or $ 25 per person. The only bother was the beer line. Wasn’t as bad as the lines at Joe Robbie Stadium during a game though. Reading some of these reviews it becomes apparent that there are way too many peasants that expect to be treated like royalty for $ 20. If $ 20 is a lot of money to you… stay home… no one wants to listen to your miserable whinning. Get real people. Great food (albeit in small portions), booze, friendly people (other than a few pompous asses that were rude; probably the same miserable schmucks that want their asses kissed for $ 25) and an awsome band makes for a lovely afternoon.
I pray I never have the displeasure of meeting most of these people/​peasants that gave this «festival» a horrific review. Next time stay home and call Domino’s. Never mind, get a frozen pizza at Publix. …because you’ll just stiff the delivery guy out his $ 1 tip.

Thank goodness I received a full refund from LivingSocials when the VIP tickets for 2 for their annual Food and Beer fest was a complete farce. Will never purchase any tickets for any festival with Brickell in the name again!

We bought VIP tickets for the 2014 Taste of Brickell — to say it was a waste of money is an understatement! You would think a food and wine festival would have food and wine. In reality, our VIP tickets got us a booth were you could get a taste of so-​so paella and the right to stand in a long line for a burger. Clearly, this was not the «Exceptional Quisine» advertised.
As far as wine is concerned, at least they had some Sam Adams beer to wash away the taste of the cheap wines they were pouring (Black Forrest Cake flavored wine, really?). Note, you cound have bought the food and wine at the festival for ¼ the price of the VIP ticket. Conspicuously missing from the VIP tent was the full bar they advertised. Instead, you got two companies tasting their rum and a vodka maker from Hialeah. Once again, we were mislead by their advertising.
All of this, however, paled in comparison to the «After Party Concert» which was to last until 3:00 am. We arrived at the venue at 10:00 and within 45 minutes, we and the other patrons were escorted out because the venue was closing. It seems they decided there were not enough customers. We took the initiative and called the Taste of Brickell promoter to give her an opportunity to remedy the situation. First, she said the call was breaking up and hung up on us. When we called back later from another number and asked about a partial refund, she said «you’ve got to be kidding» and hung up on us again.
Needless to say, we will not be attending the Taste of Brickell again nor any function set up by this promoter.

This is a complete waste of time and money. You are better off walking Brickell and trying the food than trying this event. It is poorly organized…1 hour after start time vendors we still setting up. The food met only the quality level of a mall food court. Don’t go. Complete waste of time and money.

I went to the Burger, Beer & BBQ Bash in Brickell this past weekend and I have never been so disappointed with an event before in my life. It was a total waste of money and I regret even spending the additional money in gas to get there.
Here is a snip of their advertisement:
Come enjoy delicious cuisine showcasing over 40 Brickell and Downtown Miami restaurants and Fine Wine & Spirits from around the world.
40 restaurants? NOPE, I waited in line for 1 hour only to get a tiny pork slider with no coleslaw, I had to wait an additional 10 minutes before the server acknowledged me and gave me a serving that was not even fit for a new born.
As for wine and spirits? THEY RAN OUT OF BEER AT A BEER FESTIVAL! I paid $ 65 via LivingSocial for 2 VIP tickets where we should have received unlimited food and drinks. I had 2 beers (Presidente at that) and an little pork slider.
Not only that, it POURED rain and there were not enough tents. I got soaked and when I was finally able to take cover in a tent someone was pushing me every 5 seconds to get through. Packed like sardines is a kind analogy. There was no room to breathe.
In addition a fight broke out in front of us to which I have footage of on my cell phone. Talk about potential lawsuit! Security escorted one person out. When we were finally about to have some pork, the server was rude (who can blame her) and people kept coming up to her complaining. Security came once again because people got nasty. The crowd was just as rude and rowdy.
Overall this has been the worst experience EVER and I will certainly tell anyone who listens about this terrible event and warn them not to go to any Food & Wine Event. I wish I could have given this review negative stars, one is far too much.

I didn’t have a VIP ticket like the rest of the VIP’s…LOL. I just paid my $ 5.00 to get in and bought food and drink tickets. The location was beautiful and clean, lots of lovely places to sit by the water.
They had lot’s of tasty treats, ceviche, mini burgers, pasta. Not over priced, sample sizes. There was beer available as well as wine by the glass.
We came early and left early, before the crowds came but enjoyed the live music by the bay.
It was pretty much like other outdoor food festivals I go to Miami.
Reading the other reviews all I can say is we had a good time, tried some great restaurant fare that we will frequent again and then spent the rest of the day in Brickell sightseeing and drinking at the great local bars.
Just a bit of advice to Michelle C, Allen D. and Yana A. Maybe you shouldn’t be in VIP if you have to buy tickets at a discount on half off websites.
Yes, if people who cannot afford VIP buy discount tickets just to show off it does bring the standard down low, low, key, is that how you said it?

I have never been so upset about anything! We were robbed by the organizer of this event. I can’t even wrap my brain around how this happened. We paid for VIP for two people. We were unable to get food or drinks. SHAME ON THESE PEOPLE!!!

I wholeheartedly agree with Olivia. I made the best of my time there but it was a crap event. I would not attend next year if it was free.

Wow, what a disaster this festival was! We purchased tickets two VIP for the price of one so we figured after three years of negative reviews maybe just maybe they would get it right. First it said it opened from 12−10pm with VIP arriving an hour before which meant 11 am. We got their at 11, nothing was set up at all.
With VIP we were suppose to get a goodie bag, a souvenir champagne flute and discount book for some food vendors, along with a VIP tent with wine and spirits. Finally around 12:30 more than half the vendors were set up. We walk into the VIP tent which was pretty oh and anyone could have walked in. They were so disorganized they had no one checking ID bracelets. What a joke. The cheap Champagne bar was not even set up until after 2pm, then they gave you no lie one ounce pour of gross Champagne in a small plastic cup.
The only thing that was nice inside the tent was Jimmy Z. had a set up with ceviche that was awesome along with my favorite PR lady Natasha who is always a pleasure to see. The the Hypnotiq ladies were awesome. They had tequila, vodka and bourbon tables set up as well. The Rum side were some of the rudest people ever.
So here we have this booklet with coupons inside that said one food and wine item. Half of the vendors would not even accept them, saying someone messed up. So basically if you wanted to eat you had to purchase tickets. Luckily for us we knew quite a few restaurants participating and they served us food all day with no coupon.
The restaurants that stood out of course Oceanaire, omg they just kept feeding me incredible oysters. Toscana Divino with their amazing meatballs and pasta and oh wait wine. Yes the name said food &wine festival.
«WHERE’S THE WINE?» I counted their were maybe six different types of wine and that was all. Toscana Divino was the ONLY restaurant that offered decent wine.
On the bright side, we had guest in from out of town so we made it fun, we actually did not get discouraged we made our own fun. Plus I found some nice soy candles to purchase and of course Jewelry.
A real shame because the set up was lovely, so much potential but whoever the organizer is should give up their job because after 3 years if you can’t get It right something is way wrong.
One of the most unorganized event I have ever been to.

It was a complete joke. Now I see them advertise on living social for $ 60. I think ey raise their prices every year, mstarting with 25 $, 35 and now 60 $. They also advertising as VIP, everybody is VIP there, it’s just a false advertising.
Place was so low low key lets say. Band was a couple of teenagers yelling something out. We came early, but then when we wanted to renter, line was huge. It was garbage everywhere, there was nowhere to sit even for a moment, I wonder if it was done on purpose.
They did serve food samples in a tiny cups. But you can go outside the tent and buy other food, that was served also in small portions for 8 – 10 $. You can still get some buzz from little wine you get if you stick around for awhile.
It’s right on a lawn, with some grass, but most of it was dust and dirt. Vendors there who we talked to all complained that they didn’t expect this event to be so horrid. I was shocked to find out how much they paid for it. One girl said she paid $ 900 to advertise her little caffe. That’s why portions were so tiny, because poor vendors were trying to at least get some money back.
Overall this event is done in poor taste, it seems like someone just want to cash out on people who when they see wine and food fest think of something fun, plenitude Nd gourmet. It was not the case.

Attended Brickell Burger, Beers, & Balls event on August 4^th, 2012
Pretty much a terrible festival/​event. If it wasn’t for our group of friends and the event-​goers making the best of the situation there would have been a mass uprising. The event organizers oversold VIP tickets through LivingSocial (essentially turning VIP into general admission) It was all meant for charity but honestly I imagine the organizers made quick easy money and did not care about the charitable aspect of the event.
I don’t necessarily think VIP is better than general admission but if you bought VIP you were duped into overpaying and did not get your monies worth. The event was overcrowded and understaffed. There were long lines, not enough trash cans, too few vendors, shortage of vendor workers, and shortage of food/​beer. Imagine running out of food and beer at a food and beer festival lol. People had to wait even longer then to get food and drinks. The front entrance was in a state of disarray with people everywhere. They weren’t able to disperse tickets quickly and were just handing things out without checking.
This is the second Miami food and drink event I have been to that was extremely unorganized. A few of the vendors were very nice and recognized the deteriorating situation and tried to alleviate crowd unhappiness by giving out bottles of beer and as much free food as they could.

Just when I thought I’ve tried most of Brickell’s restaurants, along comes Taste of Brickell Food & Wine. I dropped in both days this year (the W was out of town) at $ 5 admission and $ 1 a ticket. Each food dish was between $ 4 and $ 6. This year, I tried the Dolores, But You can Call Me Lolita Kobe Burger Slider and Serrano Ham Croquettes; the Rosa Mexicana Chicken Taco and Guacolmole and Chips; the Scalina Penne Pasta with Truffles; the Chop House Slider; the Bön Bromage Turkey and Gruyère Sandwich; the AltaMare Ice Cream Sandwich Cookies and HalfMoon Empenadas. There was an Activate Energy Drink Booth and Italian Ices passed out by Miami Management, Inc.
There was plenty of Drinks, Beer and Wine with Samuel Adams, Gordon Biersch, Botran Rum, ZYR Russian Vodka and many more.
Taste of Brickell was a great opportunity to sample food from a great selection of the Brickell Restaurants. This was its second year.

Finally! Brickell is getting their act together to show off the delicious cuisine options it has to offer… at least that’s what I originally thought when I heard about this event. When tickets went on sale, it was advertised as regular admission or VIP, with complimentary cocktails and food for the VIP option. I quickly gathered a group of friends and rallied to get us together to check it out. It was a pretty hot Miami day, so we were pleased to discover that the VIP area was actually inside a nearby building, complete with air conditioning. After being sent around to three tables to actually pick up our necklaces and wristbands we went inside. We got there pretty close to opening, so some of the drink booths were still getting set up. Meanwhile we went to the back of what appeared to be a real estate office with a couple of high-​top tables thrown in, to discover the «food» options. What once sounded plentiful and interesting turned out to be only a mere fruit and cheese platter with a couple of crackers. They didn’t even have plates out, so people had to either stand there to nosh, or use a real estate brochures to gather food for the table. When the liquor area finally opened up, we made several trips back and for to procure various beverages for our group. Kinda wish they would pour larger amounts the first time to save us a few trips, but I guess that is to be expected at these things. The drinks ranged from one wine place, to PAMA liquor with lemonade, Sam Adams, a vodka booth and some Colombian beer. After a few hours standing around, and getting pretty tipsy from the booze, we decided to check out the real food booths outside.
We bought some tickets and perused the menus, before finally settling on some stone crab from Trulucks (I still question the hours theses claws spent in the heat), a kangaroo sausage from Chophouse (a bit spicy and tasted kind of like venison), mac and cheese eggrolls from Boiler House (fun idea, mediocre quality and taste), and some Ceviche (not too bad, but again not sure how this survived the scorcher of a day). I was surprised that the cost of tickets seemed so varied… whereas some booth you got a really good deal for the price, at others it was grossly expensive for the portion and type of food being offered. Frequently, the dishes cost as much in the actual restaurant for larger portions and real service. Also there was limited options outside as to where you could actually eat. The best part of the outdoors was the breeze you got off the water. It would have been nice to have a shaded area with plastic tables and chairs set up, preferably with fans.
Come on Taste of Brickell… you can do better!

I am always excited when there’s an event in my hood that promises food and booze to which I can just walk. From the beginning, however, I feared that this event would disappoint.
For starters the marketing was very vague about what exactly was being offered at the Taste of Brickell and listed only a handful of participating restaurants. There was a general admission and VIP admission prices but it was unclear what you got for general admission. I mean, why am I pay 5 bucks to enter a fenced in vacant grassy lot to sample food from restaurants that are next door to me?
It turns out that with the VIP you got access to a building ACROSS THE STREET from the vacant lot where you could cool down in the air conditions and sample free booze from little-​known brands of vodka, wine and beer. My friends had VIP and they brought back booze for me and I couldn’t even drink it.
So I stuck with buying my booze. The International Wine Garden offered glasses of decent wines ranging from $ 8 to $ 12 poured in a nice little plastic glass for you. Beer was $ 4 a cup, but you had to come early for Sam Adams, because even though the event was supposed to last 10 hours THEY RAN OUT OF BEER! Good thing Gordon Biersch was there to offer constant cups of beer.
I had a tasty mini Kobe Burger from Dolores’ booth for $ 6, $ 3 mac n cheese eggrolls from Boiler House and two mini braised short rib sandwiches from Oceanaire’s booth for $ 6. I wasn’t crazy about anything I ate and I was annoyed that I had to make multiple trips to the booth to see if the food was done being prepared. Boiler House had to make fresh eggrolls and Oceanaire ran out of Bread.
I could have just visited my local restaurants, paid the same price, sat in air conditioning and been served at a table. The vacant lot didn’t offer any places to really sit and «enjoy» the food and beverages and the entertainment was just plain lame.
The only thing that saved this event was my company, which fortunately is portable and I could take them elsewhere. Hopefully the organizers will take some lessons from other well-​planned events in town and put on a better show next year.

This is the first time Brickell holds this event and as far as choosing a venue someone screwed up royally. My feet were black from the dirt, tables were limited with nowhere to sit, and the ticket process was just silly.
As far as restaurant selection I was pretty happy since their were several restaurants in the area I had been wanting to try.
First on my list Truluck’s, with their Jonah crab claws I couldn’t have been put into a better mood quicker than this. Just from speaking with the manager and chef for a few minutes, I was able to recognize this as an establishment that strives for customer service.
Next we got drinks for free at the Georgio vodka tent. Since trying their Acai vodka all I can think about is making a trip to the liquor store to buy a bottle. Only $ 19.95 for a 750 ml bottle, I’m sold!
Looking for shade we stumbled into the center tent which we originally thought was for VIP. Hello sushi maki! Probably the best priced at the event. The spicy tuna mini taco and the salmon mini miso taco were heaven. We also had the spicy tuna roll and all the ingredients tasted very fresh. Will be visiting this location soon!
To finish up the day we had Crazy About You’s serrano croquettes, The Trapiche rooms sea bass ceviche shot, and Atrio’s snapper triadito. All were satisfying but would have to try more from their menu to make further comments.
Taste of Brickell you have alot of work to do before next year to get properly prepared for this event. I would get started today! :-)

This event gets my elementary school rating of ‘Needs Improvement.” I considered buying VIP tickets, but couldn’t convince my friend. Based on others’ reviews I’m so glad we didn’t.
The event advertised $ 5 entrance fee for Brickell residents. Someone at this event (who probably doesn’t live in Brickell) had decided that the only Brickell zip codes are 33 129 and 33 131. I live in 33 130 and I was told that I don’t live in Brickell. For those of you that know, I live in Latitude on the River, and some friends with the same 33 130 zip code live in Axis. We may not live on Brickell Ave, but we live in Brickell. So I was insulted and I had to argue with the ticket people to get in for $ 5.
The lot for the event was in desperate need of landscaping and the food was overpriced for the most part. Luckily there was free Georgio vodka ‘tasting’ at the very last booth we stopped by, so that made it worth the $ 5 because we were able to get 2 free drinks each. The vodka was pretty good, btw.
Next year I would suggest organizing the entrance lines better, offering more freebies, and making sure that Planet Sushi keeps their food on ice.

This event was a total dissapointment! Having paid $ 25 for the VIP, which according to the website would serve food and alcohol, goodie bags and a change to meet tennis players??? If food is considered a table with cheese and crackers… then this must be joke!
This event had so much potential but failed to deliver…

I heard about this festival on the internet and since I live and work in the Brickell area, I checked out the website and saw that admission prices varied between $ 5.00 & $ 25.00. I checked out the VIP section on the website and read that purchasing a VIP ticket would give you access to the lounge at Engel & Voelker’s. The website said there would be cocktails, wine, beer, complimentary light bite from some of the area restaurants & goodie bags. I called the number on the website and was told by the woman that the VIP ticket would include alcohol & food from some of the restaurants.
I was really looking forward to going to this event and got there about 2PM with a few friends. We went to the main table and were given our VIP bracelet. We immediately went to the lounge and were unpleasantly surprised by what we saw. The Sam Adams table was serving normal portions of beer but the wine table was serving wine in small shot glasses which were very awkward to drink from. They had a table with Vodka but had no mixers. I went looking for the food since I had yet to eat lunch and was looking forward to some delicious appetizers. Instead of finding complimentary light bites from the local restaurants, I found a table with some peanuts, fruit, crackers & tortilla chips. Lets just say it wasn’t what I was expecting. Also, on the website it said one goodie bag per person would be given. I never received my goodie bag nor did I see anybody else with theirs.
We went back across the street and walked around the tables. Just about all the food was very overpriced. A small burger was $ 6.00 and a glass of wine was $ 8.00. On the website, it said the wine varied in price from $ 3.00 to $ 8.00, but when I got to the table, the prices ranged from $ 8.00 to $ 12.00.
I realize the proceeds were going to benefit a charity which is a great thing. I do believe in giving back and support a few charities. However, I do feel the event’s advertising was very misleading. I would not go back to another Taste of Brickell.

I was looking forward to this event because it is right in my neighborhood, so I was more than happy to pay for the $ 25.00 VIP ticket. I was told that it would include food and drinks at the VIP lounge located at the Engel and Volker Realty office in Brickell
So I get there today around 1:00PM and come to find out that it costs $ 5.00 to get in. I ask a lady there to tell me where the pre-​paid VIP ticket section is and she walks me to this table where they give me a wristband and tell me to walk across to the street.
When I get there some lady makes me sign in and then I go inside only to find a few tables had been set up with some wine, vodka, and some fruit and crackers.
When I get to the wine table I am given a plastic shot-​cup so small that it would be difficult to stick my thumb in it. The fruit and cracker table is surrounded by people and most of it is already gone.
Since it was after lunch I decided to walk across the street and check out the tables of food and wine. As I come across a table selling hamburgers I see a sign that says $ 6.00 each. I tell her that I had purchased the VIP ticket and she tells me «sorry, that does not matter. Nothing is included for that». So I begin to look around and see that a glass of wine is $ 8.00 and a soda is $ 3.00.
At this point I am beginning to realize that my group of 3 people had paid $ 75.00 just to be able to walk into a Realty office and have one sip of wine, along with a few grapes. Needless to say we were not happy.
So here is my advice for anyone reading this:
If you have not gone yet today, and you still want to even after reading this, just go and pay your $ 5.00, and then decide if the food and drinks are worth you opening your wallet.
If you have already paid the $ 25.00 VIP ticket … well, let’s just say you have been screwed.
If you are reading this after the fact and are thinking about going to this even next year. Just pay the $ 5.00 to get in and don’t let anyone talk you into the $ 25.00 VIP ticket, unless they explain to you first that V.I.P really stands for a Voucher Idiot Pass.
As for me I am man enough to realize when I have been screwed, but I can tell you (and them) this … It will not happen again.

Ok, for the first go ’round Taste of Brickell was pretty fun. The VIP sold out quickly, so I wasn’t able to purchase those tickets, but from what I have heard so far, I’m glad I didn’t. I paid $ 10 for a ticket, then purchased the fair style $ 1-​per-​ticket food & drink tickets. Drinks & food were, let’s say, happy hour priced, so all in all pretty reasonable. I was able to try several restaurants that I’ve been interested in and even had a mini ceviche-​off (Inka won). The drinks were reasonable, and I was happy to find the one tent that had complimentary cocktails. The food was actually very good. There were a variety of plate sizes, so if you wanted to eat more at one place or try many little plates (my fav), you could. Every restaurant really had their game on. There was plenty of fresh food, not pre-​made to sit out in the Miami sun, and happy servers, who were just excited to get their food out to more people.
It was a good first round, Taste of Brickell, but we can step it up next time. To start, what about an all inclusive package, that costs more than $ 25 (VIP price) and you don’t have to nickel & ticket people? I understand you want to keep ticket prices low, but a tiered ticket price, would make it accessible and provide folks with an opportunity to spend more to get more. Second, the fair-​style tickets are just annoying. Once you walk in you can purchase tickets, then if you run out, there’s a terribly long line to purchase more? Either more ticket booths or no tickets. It’s just a waste as far as I’m concerned. It’s a deterrent for folks to spend money.
Just my two cents. But let’s try again. I enjoyed sitting on the seawall and having drinks and great conversation, with friends, on a beautiful Miami afternoon. That said, I am really happy that I went to check it out. The food & the gorgeous view of the bay, are bumping it up to the third star, for me.