Karu & Y

I don't mind paying for good food but I actually felt like I was ripped off. Very disappointed, the food is really not noteworthy. I received my snapper undercooked and flavorless. Service was slow and spotty. The portions are ridiculously small and the prices are insultingly high!!! The menu does not make sense. Why are chefs trying so hard with the Alta Cocina, what happen to excellent simple food just cooked right and that taste like what it suppose to be. Karu and Y are in my worst restaurant repertoire. I feel sorry for the owner because with this Chef who knows how long they will last. "Falling short of a standard of what is satisfactory". Pros: Decor Cons: Food more

New Years Eve 600$ per couple what a rip off.... The food is horrible how they can charge this prices if they don't deliver. The steak was horrible, bland and flavorless. If this is what you call wgyu please I rather have a piece of choice steak. The snapper, again flavorless and overcooked the skin was not even crispy. If you serve a fish with skin the least I expect is to be nice and crunchy. Desserts abdominal painful, not even edible..Ok I am being a little critical but when you pay money, you expect first class. Don?t waste your time and money; go to the real restaurants like Michaels or Brosia.. Pros: Nothing Cons: Everything more

I had the best meal at Karu & Y, and it was out of this world. The atmosphere is incredible--beautiful gardens and decor, even in the middle of downtown would you not expect this gem of a place. The staff was so accommodating and nice. We had a friend with us who had dietary restrictions, and the chef/owner came out to the table to speak with her about her meal choice. He created something specially for her. Wow! The aroma of the plates that would pass by was each its own temptation! I highly recommend the place to any local or owt-of-towner looking for a place to enjoy a good meal and have a few drinks afterwards, especially if you go on a Saturday night like we did. I would recommend this gorgeous place to anyone. Karu & Y knows how to make a guest feel welcome. Pros: Decor, food, service...no particular order Cons: none more

The meal was amazing. The eclectic mix of flavors made for an amazing meal. This is a must try once in a lifetime. Pros: Great tasting food Cons: neighborhood more

The food at Karu is amazing. If you want to have the same boring food, there are thousands of restaurants. If you want the meal of a lifetime, you must go to eat Chef Cabreras' marvelous food. The fuois grois is to die for. Pros: Amazing Meal and service Cons: neighborhood more

Worst New Years Eve Dinner I went to Karu and Y for New Years, Dinner was 600$ per couple the place was nice service was good the waiters very attentive. Food the worst in my life, the appetizers were ok but the entrees were very bad. For main course we received a snapper that was overcooked and bland, cracked baby conch that was on c r a c k ,chewy, hard and tasteless, and the dish was missing a froth no were to be found. The wagyu was cooked medium rare but tasteless, the rice was not even cook it was hard and it tasted old, Desserts disgusting. Dinner was very bad. We then moved to say goodbye to 2007 to the lounge lots of people but it was not exciting they announce that Dj Clue was going to be there no were to be seen. We said goodbye to 2007 then we left to the shore club to finish the year. The shore club does know how to throw a New Year?s Party. I hate to do this but when you pay so much money for dinner you expect perfection in every aspect. Very disappointed will never come back? Pros: Service Cons: Food more

Ok where do I begin the neighborhood is the horrible. If your not mugged while walking in the club you better valet your car because who knows whats lurking in that area. The club inside is very modern but for 23 million dollars it better be. First you get clipped at the front with 20 bucks for parking or ten if your going into the rest. ( Than more money at the door) The resteraunt is terrible with small portions of over priced meats salads wines etc. The decor is really nice I guess thats what your paying for. One bar charges different prices for drinks than the other the staff is horribly rude at the bar along with sour mixtures in your drink. The clientile is your miami nightlife crew that on some nites is good and others gross. The latest I cant beleive this chick ultra modern nite club is actually catering to the hip hop crowd! where you can have gangsta fabulous along with your 12 dollar bud lite no thanks. Do your self a favor and just go to a regular nite club on sobe or even up in ft lauderdale. If you wanna great time at half the cost try going to christophers nite club they have been there for over 30 years and know how to treat there customers. Close down Karu you have failed miserably. Pros: modern club Cons: bad neighborhood too exspensive more

Good Restaurant??????Last night I went to a show at karu and y, the show was ok. So we decided to have dinner instead. Service was good, food was ok. For the amount of money you pay, I can get a better meal anywhere else that?s not so pretentious. Is not worth for the money you pay.. Pros: Decor Cons: Prices, Food ok more

The internet is great because it allows "the common man" to get his/her opinion to millions. What a shame that he/she is a total idiot too stupid to take in and appreciate all the elements that make Karu & Y a fun experience. And what a shame the "professionals" working for what passes for newspapers in South Florida aren't very far behind. Arrival: Everyone complained about the location. Yes. the area has not lived up to its promise, but that's because all that gentrification the real estate boom was supposed to bring went bust. But that brings an unintentional coolness to the place. As if the three steps from your car to the door are like leaving the green zone in Iraq or something... please. it's more a reflection of the inexperience of the reviewer than of anything wrong with K&Y (see? even the name can be fun!). I heard terrible things about the service. I simply cannot understand who would be upset about the service in this place! We escorted from our car to the door, from the door to the bar (to wait for the rest of our party) from the bar to the table with courtesy and professionalism. The bartender mixed up two perfect drinks while we waited and listened to the pianist and as soon as everyone arrived, two people showed up; one with a tray to whisk away our half-done drinks to our table and another to welcome us again and show us to our table. Dining: Our waiter was great, and explained everything well. The staff came just the right amount of times to offer water/more bread and the appetizers were fantastic! (the menu changes every two months so I won't go into the specifics... be assured you will eat well) The Main dishes were very interesting and tasty, although I admit my own choice wasn't as adventurous (I had a New York Strip that came perfectly medium rare). We also had the trout, which was delicious) The desserts were the work of a master! Don't let the troglodytes keep you from Karu & Y! Pros: Best decor in Miami Staff is second to none Food is different and great Cons: Too smart for Miami. Would do better in a real city more

(The Lounge) My brother, his two friends, and I were looking for a place to celebrate my brother's birthday last weekend. We called around and negotiated a deal with the table reservations host to get in for one bottle (he said he'd do us a favor). So.... we take a cab all the way from South Beach to go to Karu & Y. I find the host at the door, tell him about my reservation ... and he says: "I don't care what I told you, 4 guys are not getting in with one bottle. two, and i'll let you in." So what do we do? Go back to South Beach and buy the two bottles at Mokai ... which was an awesome time. Don't support these liars. They have no idea how to run a business and take advantage of whoever they can. Pros: nothing Cons: service, distance from south beach, crowd more

I don't know if the other people writing reviews here were asleep, too old, or just bored of life !! I'm 44 and went here with my wife for some dinner and some fun. What a place !! This type of place is what makes Miami such an interesting and international city. The food was good, the outside gardens were incredible and we managed to get to the lounge and have a bunch of fun with 20-30+ year olds...Congratulations to the creators of this place...great imagination !!! Pros: The setting, the energy of the place... more

Whoever had a bad dining experience must be ?glass is half empty? type of people! The service was exceptional! I had been to the lounge area before, but this was my first time dining. From the moment we arrived, the friendly hostess guided us to the lounge area by the piano while they got our table ready. We weren?t there for long before the hostess came back to seat us. As we entered he dining area we were greeted by the magnificent Chihuly chandelier. Visually it is brilliant. The interiors of Karu & Y are phenomenal; the silverware, hand painted table cloths & menus were all well thought out, great ambiance. Our waiter was very descriptive of everything that came to our table. Compliments of the chef, we began with a lamb dish which was wonderful to start off with. Then came our appetizers which was the watercress salad with pineapple and goat cheese ravioli. The entree was the braised short rib. I left the knife aside! It was so tender & just absolutely flavorful. The portions were just right. I didn?t finish my entree because I had to leave room for dessert. For dessert, I had the Chocolate tart. The waiter also brought us a slab a mini pastries compliments of the house. The presentation of everything was very memorable. After dinner we headed to the outdoor lounge. On our way we passed a private dining room that was very Kubrick-esque. The rest of the evening was great. The staff (including the bartenders), were very friendly; a nice change from the beach attitude! Although it?s pricey, I definitely recommend Karu & Y. Pros: ambience Cons: price/location more

I and a couple of friends decide to try this place that everyone is bragging about. We arrive around 9 o?clock it took them around 1 hour to seat us. This place was busy which is good I believe. Finally they took us to our table; the restaurant is amazing beautiful chandelier, tables very good decor. So we order couple of appetizers to start off. Nothing really impressed me I had a wild mushroom ceviche there was nothing wild about it. Portobello mushrooms, shitakes and canned straw is this what you get at a top fine dining restaurant. It was disgusting the mushrooms tasted fermented and too much soy sauce. I also had the foie terrine it was good but the marmalade a little too strong in vinegar. One of my friends orders the fish it was bad not fresh at all it smell like you know what. My entree was not good at all the meat was dry no flavor at all, did they forget how to season and cook their food properly in this place. So I asked my friends, who is the chef of this place.Supposedly he is a master because our food taste like S*#@. This Master Chef had worked previously at la broche they say he got fired, chispa also got fired, the dinner also got fired. My question is why you would hire somebody with the portafolio to run a million dollar property, the only answer to go down. I think the chef needs to learn a lot maybe take some cooking lessons, and if this company has so much money invest in a chef that can cook like Michael Schwartz, Michelle Bernstein or the chef from table 8 this people know what they are doing. I wouldn?t recommend this place to anybody save your money and time. I don't understand how this place is being run. I guess they don't care. One last thing THE FOOD S@ks. Pros: Desserts Cons: FOOD, THEY NEED TO CHANGE THE CHEF more

It was painful to pay the restaurant bill, the savory food is just terrible. Deserts are good. Pastry chef obviously knows what he's doing. Main courses, appetizers, terrible. Servers, irritating - did they forget that without clientele they will close? The kitchen needs to actually get the food to the table when it's hot and the food actually needs to taste good and not lie in it's descriptions. Very dissapointing. Lounge atmosphere OK but DONT EAT. Pros: Desserts Cons: Chef more

We recently went to try out the restaurant during Miami Spice. $35 a man, not bad. Food on the other hand, not good. We received tiny portions of everything. The watercress salad was excellent. I had the salmon and my wife had the braised rib. Rib good, salmon just o.k. In the middle of dinner they served us a small bite on a clever dish of some type of meat that the entire table questioned...not good. I took a consensus of everyone at the table and it was a unanimous "3" on the 10 scale for the mystery meat. In all fairness, it was the Miami Spice deal but I was super hungry still when I left. The reason I'm taking the time to write this is because they ticked me off at the bar. I ordered a bottle of bud light at the front bar and paid $7.69, gave her a $10 and said whatever. Then, at the back bar I ordered another Bud Light and they told me $9. I said the bar at the front told me $7.69. She said "It's $9." I said "should I go back to the front bar?" She then came clean and told me "Well, the tip is included." What a joke. Borderline scam. I wonder how many people tip on top of the $9. I guarantee they're banking on it. It's one thing if you hand someone a check and the tip is included but to verbally give the tab without any indication is downright sneaky. Otherwise, beatiful place, gorgeous cutting edge decor but skip the food and keep an eye on everything going on around in that place and outside that place....Evidently, they paid $23 million for the renovation and are using every trick in the book to get it back. more

First of all let me say that I have lived in downtown Miami on and off for the past 11 years. Overtown is Overtown, one day it will be a great area but NOT in 2007. So for all the people who are complaining about the area and claim to be so worthly my advice is to do your research before you go.

I went to Karu & Y and had a wonderful night at the Y lounge, so this review is for the lounge part ONLY. The drink selection was great and the drinks were made right, the bartender was very friendly and although it got very crowded we were able to keep ordering drinks through out the night. The patio section is very nice and they had a fashion show with very interesting costumes. There were beautiful people all over and the music wasn't too loud.

Next week will be my business partner's birthday and so I began asking my friends who had dined at Karu, and they all were very dissapointed with the food. That is the reason why I went on line and decided to check out these reviews. We had plan to take my business partner out for dinner at Karu, she is a wonderful person and we were prepared to spend any amount of money for a great evening.

Needless to say that after reading the 20+ reviews we are going to pass. I own an Apartment Finding Agency / Realty office, and I am the Manager as well. If I was reading reviews such as these about my place of business I would do what ever it took to make it better .... So, is a Manager or anyone for that matter listening to all of these reviews at Karu???

We will go to a different Restaurant this weekend and I will keep checking these reviews, and talking to people who dine there, to see if it improves. I plan to keep enjoying the Y lounge until then. But word of advice to the owner and manager of Karu, people do read these sites and they do decide whether to go or NOT go based on these reviews. more

I came to visit Karu for a second time and this is my experience. Service is ok, and i notice that they change their menu. Perhaps they change the menu, but they have not change chef because the food is still unedible. I won't give this place anymore chances don't waste your time and money.. Pros: Decor Cons: Food more

driving to the location was interesting, was way out yet kid of fun....... and seeing a old part of miami that will not be there in five year.... we were getting close to the location, and we can see abondon store's and a midtown in history was once a promident residentail and comercial centre.. now its ?.... we drove up to a white building with a small water fall in the front.. kind of reminded me when i was in rome over there they have many chic restaruont. walking into karu was cool , felt like a very new and chic local the first thing that gab my eye was the wonderful foral arrangment in the restaurant and front desk.. I asked who was there florist..... responded Rock'n'Bloom. servie was ok... food was ok and I think that they need a ne chief.. drink were a liitle too there sitting on a gold mine... I would rate them 7 star and would be interested in commming back to see if anything have change... like the food.. more

I am so upset, that this place doesn?t even deserve a review. The food is garbage. The food doesn?t make sense. I am not blaming the way it was cooked just the combination of flavors. No wonder nobody comes to this place. Advice, keep it better as a club or hire a new chef!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Pros: Wine List Cons: Food and Service more

My husband and I along with 4 other couples went to Karu & Y for dinner on May 5, 2007. The place was modern and elegant therefore, we expected great service( given that we spent nearly $1300.00 on dinner and cocktails). Instead we were humilated and kicked out of the couches outside. The very rude and arrogant security claimed the area was just for VIP's (it was 9 p.m.) and the club was far from full. Our friends and I were enjoying cocktails after dinner and simply chatting in the patio area. We complained to the manager because of the embarrasing and humilating event thinking he would atleast be considerate enough to atleast say sorry. But instead we were questioned, and the manager after realizing what occured promised us a good time by giving bands that would guarantee us entrance to the club's vip. Instead, we were escorted to an empty room and told it was the VIP area, but somehow we were the only ones in the room all night. Needless to say, it was a waste of a night, money and a horrible time. We would never go back there again. They have alot to learn about service if they want to be in the club industry. Word of Advice: Karu & y, " Hire a Real Dj, One that plays music people have heard"! Pros: Modern Place Cons: Horrible Service and Music more