Ghee Indian Kitchen - Downtown Dadeland

Chef Niven Patel struck gold with his Kendall restaurant as the first to introduce Miami to elevated, modern Indian cuisine. Its focus on locally sourced produce, most of which Patel grows on his farm in Homestead, certainly helped amplify the buzz. The large, contemporary dining room is decorated with rows of pickling jars and—you guessed it—Patel and his team are responsible for all the deliciousness inside. So, what should you order? The curries are excellent and you really can’t go wrong with anything on the menu, but Ghee does have a few standouts: the cheddar naan (warning: it’s spicy!), smoked lamb neck (it takes about five days to make, says Patel) and the green millet, which is like polenta and happens to be the chef’s favorite. “We get the millet from a small Indian village where my ancestors are from; we support the whole village on this one dish because we buy out everything they can produce,” says Patel. While most Indian restaurants aren’t known for their desserts, don’t skip it here. The date cake topped with ginger ice cream takes the cake-and-ice-cream combo to new levels.