Novecento

Novecento Restaurant Review:

Perennially packed after work hours with young Brickell-area businessfolk looking to unwind (and, during soccer season, with boisterous sports fans), this trendy Argentine resto-lounge isn't a place for a quiet romantic dinner. But it's a convivial meeting ground for singles, and a good choice for diners seeking Argentine cuisine that goes beyond traditional parilla-grilled beef. Novecento's menu offers a lot of contemporary, internationally-influenced lighter Latin fare, including house-made crab meat-stuffed agnolotti in creamy saffron sauce, and a velvety ginger-spiked carrot and butternut squash soup. Ask about seafood specials; this mini-chain's management allows individual locations' chefs the most creative leeway with these changing items. Of course there’s beef, too, including a hefty traditional parrillada dinner (flank and skirt steaks, chicken, sausages and more, plus three vegetable sides), or, for more modern steak lovers, the ensalada Novecento (Dijon vinaigrette-dressed greens with avocado and slices of juicy, custom-cooked grilled skirt steak, served with fries). Desserts also range from traditional (flan) to mod international (whipped cream-slathered dulce de leche crêpes). The large, almost entirely Argentinean wine list goes way beyond Malbecs to newer, unfamiliar red and white varietals; try some on Tuesdays, when all bottles are 50 percent off.