Las' Lap
Chef Kwame Onwuachi has an amazing restaurant we’ve been to in NYC recently, Tatiana. When I heard of him opening another restaurant not in NYC, but in Miami, I was eyeballing reservations for this for a few months. The menu seemed very similar to Tatiana, and the wait staff told us there were some similarities. The Miami scene has not seemed to catch on to his foods yet, so we were able to make a reservation for 2 on a Friday night without any issues just a few weeks in advance. Chef Kwame is a James Beard Award-winning chef, and we had some expectations for this food tonight because we had a pretty good time when we went to Tatiana.
From the website for Las’ Lap:
Las’ Lap has arrived in Miami, bringing our signature energy, world-class cocktails, and island spirit to South Beach. Guided by the culinary vision of Chef Kwame Onwuachi, our kitchen reimagines vibrant coastal flavors with bold, modern flair.
Ambiance & Service
The interior was very dark in the front, but as you walk past the restaurant neon sign, there’s a bit more light at the tables. We saw that there was a patio area that some diners were eating at, but we opted to sit inside due to the humidity and the fear of mosquitos.
The service was excellent as the wait staff recommended us excellent dishes and had us ordered sufficient food to be full.
Food
The Coconut ($15 - right) came with the Las’ Lap branding on it. We ordered this without even looking at the menu, so this was a real sticker shock for me. It’s very expensive for fresh coconut water. Keep in mind, you can buy these in markets for much less.
The glass of Sauvignon Blanc Sancerre ($24 - left) came from Domaine Paul Cherrier, France 2023. This was a very delicious, fantastic Sancerre. It was dry, slightly less than medium body, and acidic enough to go well with any seafoods. It had an excellent aroma of citrus, apple, and earthy notes to it. I would also sip on this by itself.
The South Beach Snapper ($26) came with red snapper, guacamole, and plantain chips. This was very good. The snapper was super fresh, and the blend with the other condiments created a nice harmonious fresh flavor. The plantain chips were a nice vessel for the snapper.
The Escovitch Crab Claws ($41) came with 5 pieces of snow crab claws, pickled white onion, and carrot. The sauce was the same as what was in the South Beach Snapper. The math says this is about $8 each claw. The claws are small, and if price was no factor, I’d say the meat was deliciously sweet. I had a 50% success rate in 2 claws to get the nail meat out. My partner had a 66% success rate. The crab claws were very fresh and tasted great, but it’s difficult to get past the price and value proposition for this if that’s something you care about.
The Doubles ($24) was curried chickpeas, tamarind, and smoked snapper. This was surprisingly very good. The doughy vessel was made from phyllo dough, so it was puffy and tasted great with the mushed chickpeas and snapper.
For the red wine, I also had a Pinot Noir ($18) from Maison Noir, Willamette Valley, Oregon 2023. I believe this can also be labeled as “OPP” (Other People’s Pinot). What was interesting about this one was that it was medium body with nice earthy, spicy, and floral flavors to it. It was actually a really good wine to pair with the dorade.
The Charred Dorade ($73) came with coconut trini curry, shito crisp, and rice and peas. This was actually deboned nicely. Only the center spine had bones to be careful of. Everything else was pretty easy to eat, and it was very meaty and flavorful too. Coupled with the rice and peas, it was by far one of our favorite dishes we’ve had from Chef Kwame.
The Passionfruit Stracciatella Gelato ($14) was amazingly good. It had some strong notes of seasoning ( I think cardamom?), but it blended well with the subtle passionfruit flavors. Normally you’d expect the color of the gelato to be orange, but it was white instead, probably because they blended the passionfruit with the stracciatella.
Overall Impression
We thought this restaurant’s foods was better than Tatiana. Not only was the ambiance very fitting for Miami vibe, but it was a lot easier to get reservations. The foods were fantastic, albeit some of the options were grossly expensive. Regardless if taste is what you’re looking for, then this Caribbean blend will make you happy. We wouldn’t be surprised if this ends up at the minimum making onto the Michelin Guide shortly.
Yelp & Google Jabs
Chicken wings were the favorite at the table.
The wait staff said these were the same as the ones in Tatiana, so it’s sure to be a hit for future diners.
I was suggested a fish disk, I forgot which fish it was but tried it because my waiter was insistent that it was a crowd favorite and he was not lying.
The “fish disk” was actually the dorade. They split the fish in half, so it looked like a disk to this Elitist.
Revisions
- Dec 19, 2025 - Initial revision.