La Petite Maison brings South-of-France vibe to Miami’s Brickell area

La Petite Maison just opened in Miami’s Brickell area, marking the first outpost in the United States for the French Provençal restaurant that has locations in London and Dubai.

The dining spot, at 1300 Brickell Bay Drive, is on the ground floor of the Brickell House condominium.

La Petite Maison‘s principal shareholder Arjun Waney — one of the owners of Zuma and Coya — and operating partners Bob Ramchand and Chef Patron Raphael Duntoye have been building out the formerly raw 4,217-square-foot space for nearly a year, Ramchand told The Real Deal. He declined to disclose the investment amount.

Carmen Moré

The restaurateurs are leasing the space from a Mexican investor who owns the retail condo. Carmen Moré, restaurant and commercial specialist with Cervera Real Estate, represented La Petite Maison in the deal, and Alexandra Goeseke of Cervera Real Estate represented the landlord, Nicolas Carrancedo Ocejo.

Alexandra Goeseke

Records show Infinity Commercial Investments, managed by Gerardo Madrigal Urango and Eloisa Alonso purchased the commercial space for $3 million in November 2014. In addition to the dining room, the restaurant has a 2,444-square-foot terrace, Goeseke said.

The original La Petite Maison launched in Nice, France, and Waney and his partners bought the global rights to the brand outside France, Ramchand said. They refined and expanded the menu, opening first in London in 2007 and then in Dubai in 2010. Their next goal was the United States, and Miami made sense because of Zuma’s popularity, he said.

Here, La Petite Maison wants to appeal to local residents as well as tourists, with lunch and dinner service. “What makes us unique is the food,” Ramchand said.

Duntoye, a three-Michelin star chef, oversees a kitchen where every dish is made “à la minute“ so nothing is cut or cooked in advance. The cuisine is French with Mediterranean influences, with dishes like marinated beetroot, salad of green lentils, Scottish salmon tartare, grilled tiger prawns, whole sea bream baked en papillote with lemon herbs and olive oil, and grilled veal chop.

Decorated by London-based Sagrada, the restaurant has a South-of-France, elegant, yet light and airy feeling, featuring pale green banquettes, ivory leather chairs and floor-to-ceiling wooden shutters. Artwork adorns an entire wall. Design materials include marble with copper accents, and a bar area has glass bowls from Biot, France, full of colorful fresh vegetables ready for chopping.

Waney, who launched successful import businesses that later became the powerhouse Pier 1 Imports, now leads a dining empire that stretches from Miami to Hong Kong.

He first turned his attention to restaurants in 2000, he previously told TRD, after unsuccessful attempts to book a table at the always busy Nobu in London. He figured he could open his own Japanese restaurant, and soon after launched Zuma with a chef-partner. Today, he and various partners own several restaurant brands, including Zuma, Coya, La Petite Maison, Roka, Il Baretto, Aurelia and Banca.