THIS RESTAURANT IS CLOSED The Restaurant at National Hotel

THIS RESTAURANT IS CLOSED The Restaurant at National Hotel Restaurant Review:

With only brief exceptions, this Art Deco hotel’s visually striking indoor-outdoor restaurant has been the most unpublicized on a beachfront strip which houses celebrity magnet spots like Blue Door Fish and Nobu. And, admittedly, the food has gone through periods when such a comparative lack of attention was understandable. Currently, for instance, chef Matthew McDonald's mostly Mediterranean-inspired dinner menu (grilled salmon "Provencal," the latter probably referring to tomato confit and saffron beurre blanc accompaniments; a Greek-like roast chicken with lemon jus; paella with chunks of seafood, chicken and chorizo, plus rice with a texture more like risotto than anything Spanish) and more global lunch items (fish tacos and mini-burgers are added) are simply fresh-tasting resort fare, with a few unexpectedly imaginative dishes like dessert's chipotle chocolate cake. A major highlight is the Sunday buffet brunch ($39, $49 with unlimited mimosas or Bloody Marys); reserve a veranda table for one of Miami's best-value luxe meals. The experience not only includes lavish breakfast, pasta, smoked fish, salad, carving, specials, fruit, cheese and dessert stations, but post-brunch access to the hotel's 205-foot-long infinity pool and ocean beach, so diners can make a whole afternoon of it.