Tag: Sunny Isles Beach

Owner and philanthropist Alexandra Milton knows that the Rose Cafe & Restaurant in Sunny Isles Beach is more than a little off the beaten path. The Mediterranean and Italian-inspired spot is tucked away in Milton Tower, an office building on Collins Avenue just south of 826, and you might never know it was there unless someone told you.

But Milton also believes that her restaurant, which just underwent a big transformation, is worthy of attention.

“Letting people know we’re here has been a challenge,” she admits. “It requires a lot of effort. I know that I have a very good product, a very nice place, and we’re thrilled to give people very nice hospitality. But the situation puts you in a position where you have just to be patient and work very hard with your team.”

A collaboration between Milton and her business partner Sebastian Garaviz, the restaurant began as Rose Cafe, an unpretentious breakfast and lunch spot that focused on nutritious offerings and a small grab-and-go bakery with croissants, homemade pastries and gelato.

Milton, who’s married to real estate developer Joseph Milton, wanted to recreate a version of the European cafes she visited on travels with her husband.

“I saw a lot of cafes, beautiful cafes, very romantic with flowers, beautiful desserts and healthy food,” she says. “And I said, ‘You know what, I want to have a place like that.‘ ”

But eventually, Milton had a grander vision for the space. At the end of October, Rose Cafe blossomed into Rose Cafe & Restaurant with more space, dinner service and a full bar serving terrific craft cocktails, aiming to create a full-service dining destination. Designed by Heather Ashton, the cafe that once seated 40 now seats 110 with an outdoor terrace and new dining room.

The menu, which steers clear of refined oils and processed sugar, includes antipasti and salads as well as Mediterranean dips and dishes like slow-steamed octopus on hummus with fried polenta. Pastas include Paccheri pasta with tomato sauce, basil and burrata and tagliatelle Bolognese. One of the most popular dinner items is gnocchetti (small gnocchi) with clams, mussels, shrimp, octopus and cherry tomatoes.

Diners can also order Dover sole for two, grilled langostinos or braised lamb shank with polenta.

The most curious item on the menu is a tasty chicken curry, which at first glance seems an anomaly on the Mediterranean menu. But Milton explains that the dish, which she created, is one of the most popular items from the restaurant’s days as a lunch spot. It contains no dairy products and instead uses coconut milk for its creamy consistency.

“People always ask, ‘You have chicken curry?’ ” she says. “That’s a normal question. But the reality is when we opened, we were creating our own recipes without a chef. So that was on the menu, and you cannot take it away from our best customers. People really love it.”

She can’t get rid of the guacamole, either, another lunchtime favorite: “I call it Mediterranean guacamole now,” she jokes.

Milton has found ways to incorporate her philanthropy into the restaurant as well. Her involvement with the Agape Foundation, a rehabilitation program for women survivors of abuse and substance dependency led her to the Seeds of Faith initiative, which teaches women to cultivate gardens. Some of the products find their way to Rose Cafe & Restaurant’s kitchen: parsley, oregano, cilantro and other herbs among them. She’s also inviting a group of women from the foundation to the restaurant for dinner this week.

Philanthropy, she believes, has helped her be a better person — and a better restaurateur.

“People say that when you love your job, you don’t feel that you’re working. And I feel the same,” she says. “Having a restaurant, it comes with a lot of challenges. So we try to do our best every day. I think that being a philanthropist has helped me to embrace every situation. I’ve been learning to be grateful. I’ve been learning to be patient, and those things you can see in my restaurant.

“I embrace my customers in the same way that I embrace people in the foundations. And it’s nice because I also can share everything that I do here with the people that I am helping. You take the tools that you have in your bag, and you use them for the benefit of other people.”

Rose Cafe & Restaurant

Where: Milton Tower, first floor, 16690 Collins Ave., Sunny Isles Beach

Parking: Free valet available

Hours: Breakfast 7:30-11:30 a.m.; lunch 11:30-5 p.m.; dinner 5-10 p.m. daily.

Reservations: Resy

More information: @rosecafeandrestaurant or 786-653-3891