Ossobuco is a beautifully designed Wynwood restaurant with an everything-is-grilled theme. It puts out dishes that run from fatally flawed to so perfectly executed that it’s almost as if there are two opposing chefs in the kitchen.
The place occupies a space in the bottom of Sentral Wynwood, one of the shiny new apartment complexes replacing the neighborhood’s squat warehouse buildings. Inside, it’s all stone, amber woods and concrete with an open floorplan that spills out to the leafy courtyard. It’s moody and buzzy, with every seat in the dining room and handsome L-shaped bar offering a view to the kitchen’s grill stations.
And that’s the point. Each dish, even the cold apps and some of the cocktails, includes a grilled element. The chef (there’s actually just one) is Guillermo Eleicegui, an Argentine who’s worked at Sugarcane, the Delano and the Hilton West Palm Beach. Here, he’s designed a menu that’s like a modern version of a South American parrilla. Sometimes it works. Sometimes it flops as hard as a flipped T-bone.
Take, for instance, my Negroni cocktail washed in Wagyu fat. The drink itself is a smack-you-in-the-kisser umami bomb, which already is hard to process. The garnish is a clump of raw, lightly blowtorched mushrooms. Bits of them broke off, creating an awkward sip and an unseemly texture that says, “A fungus is floating in my drink.”
But then, to emphasize the dichotomy of the place, arrived the Steak and Eggs appetizer: three slices of butter-tender wagyu draped over a truffle and mushroom mince with a crostini below, the eggs coming from a dollop of caviar on top—a perfect little bite of food, suggesting real talent back behind the grill.
It went on like that. Bad: The ribbons of raw squash on the squash salad, which were almost nonexistent and unseasoned, with chutney as sweet as rock candy. Excellent: The burger with cheese slices crisped along the edges. No: The branzino, too rich thanks to an over-aggressive addition of salsa verde underneath, the charred tail leaving ashes everywhere. Very good: The diced kale salad, super tender and full of texture from the braised carrots and fried tarot.
If you win the menu-ordering lottery, you just might feel inclined to add another five-star review to Ossobuco’s impressive Google rating. But if you’re unlucky, there’s a high probability you’ll end up with a mushroom in your drink.