At the end of the 4000 block of North Miami Avenue sits a pristine whitewashed building, gleaming brightly in the sun and steam of the South Florida heat. Inside it’s sleek yet rustic, and buzzing with Greek chatter. The vibe is enchanting.
Settled between the designer boutiques and art galleries in Miami’s up-and-coming Design District, Egg & Dart is a restaurant that is more characteristic of modern Athens or Mykonos than of the symptomatically loud and vibrant city in which it resides. “We wanted to move away from that old-school kind of mentality and show people the kind of Greek restaurant that would be open in Athens today,” muses co-owner Niko Theodorou. A Greek native and second generation restauranteur, Theodorou and his partner, Costa Grillas, have created a haven of quality and contemporary Greek cuisine that appeals to both the design-conscious cognoscenti that frequent the area, as well as the Greek families who keep returning for meals.
Egg & Dart, named after a historically Greek decorative architectural molding, opened in August 2011 and has always championed family and quality as part of its business philosophy. “I had my mother in the kitchen for the first nine months,” Theodorou says. “She was supporting the kitchen and training the staff, making sure that the food was consistent. Family is very important in Greek culture, for better or for worse. Especially in business.”
This interest in preserving the things that are passed down is inherent to the design of the restaurant. From organic clay walls and glossy concrete floors, to the cherry wood bar that was constructed with salvageable panels from the space’s old entrance, it is obvious that Egg & Dart makes an effort to give a warm welcome to Greek culinary culture with a multi-sensory experience.
And if succeeding in a recovering economy isn’t enough reason to celebrate, Theodorou and Grillas plan to open a Greek Boutique Market adjacent to the restaurant, in the space that currently functions as a private dining room. “We are going to have a lot of Greek products, and we’re looking to work with small-time, unique producers from different villages and areas in Greece,” Theodorou says. “Cheeses, olives, olive oils, sweets, desserts — unique things that are very hard to find, even in Greece.”
