LT Steak & Seafood Hits a High Note with 15 Years of Partnership with Chef Laurent Tourondel
+1 LT Steak & Seafood Hits a High Note with 15 Years of Partnership with Chef Laurent Tourondel
LT Steak & Seafood Hits a High Note with 15 Years of Partnership with Chef Laurent Tourondel
LT Steak & Seafood Hits a High Note with 15 Years of Partnership with Chef Laurent Tourondel
LT Steak & Seafood Hits a High Note with 15 Years of Partnership with Chef Laurent Tourondel
Defying the odds of the ever-fickle restaurant industry, LT Steak & Seafood at The Betsy Hotel South Beach marks a major milestone, celebrating its 15th anniversary. With a long and distinguished history on Ocean Drive, which is not typically regarded for its fine cuisine, the restaurant is helmed by internationally renowned Chef Laurent Tourondel who has created some of the world’s most acclaimed culinary concepts.
A PERFECT PARTNERSHIP
The longevity of LT Steak & Seafood is a testament to the chef and the hotel owners’ strong partnership, which is equally built on relentless passion and dedication to offering a paramount experience to guests. When opening the restaurant 15 years ago, hotel owners Jonathan Plutzik and his wife Lesley, sought out Tourondel after a visit to the culinary mastermind’s restaurant on 57th Street in New York. “We were moved by his food and pristine presentation,” says Jonathan Plutzik, adding that the chef’s food is approachable and not pretentious. Chef Laurent Tourondel was attracted to the family’s unique cultural curation of the hotel, from nightly live music to the hotel’s walls of art that rival a museum, and their desire to cater to a hotel crowd looking for peace in always-bustling South Beach. “The restaurant’s success has to do with the people behind the hotel, their vision and the way they manage the hotel. If it were me alone, it would not succeed,” says Tourondel.
The Betsy Hotel South Beach delivers a luxury boutique hotel experience — with a soul defined by music, the arts and stellar service — and the owners feel like Tourondel’s lauded skills and culinary artistry is an integral part of the hotel’s opulent experience. Plutzik believes a key to the restaurant’s success story is their dedication to gentle evolution, instead of radical change. Visitors to LTK Steak & Seafood may notice new elements such as new chairs or water glasses and fresh awnings out front. “It was important to keep the hotel and restaurant’s design seamless,” says Plutzik. “In order to do so, we tapped the same Italian American designers who were tasked with The Betsy’s design from the beginning.” No matter where guests are seated in the restaurant, they’ll hear live music which floats through the hotel nine times a week, and Lesley Plutzik curates every single soundtrack in all of the communal spaces with a variety of musical genres.
Tourondel also believes the restaurant’s success comes from something that’s often not seen in the fast-paced restaurant industry: consistency. “Any quality chef can build a great menu, but it takes consistency to keep customers coming back to a 15-year-old restaurant,” he says. “I talk to the chefs every day, sometimes twice a day. I get upset when the food is not up to par, or the quality isn’t what it should be.” Plutzik says he continues to be impressed by Tourondel’s attention to detail, from the food’s presentation to the server’s uniforms down to the silverware and plates. “I often say with a smile that the ultimate moment is when you’re doing a tasting with Laurent. It’s intimidating in the sense that he actually wants your opinion. He cares a lot about what other people think.”
That steadiness extends to the menu, as they want customers to always recognize the menu and the dishes they love. “At LT Steak & Seafood, we don’t change the menu like other chefs do,” Tourondel explains. “We’ve had the tuna tartare on the menu since the opening, and people love it. I try to avoid removing items that people come to expect.” That includes another customer favorite, Tourondel’s coveted popovers, which are delivered to every table and dramatically steam when torn apart. (Fun fact: the chef was inspired to make his own version after lunching at Neiman Marcus and trying their popular popovers.) While Tourondel doesn’t significantly change the menu, he’s constantly working on new presentations, bettering dishes, or even removing something that no longer belongs. “Laurent never stops thinking about what’s next. I have this image of him being locked in his house in Long Island during the pandemic, refining his bread-making skills. His culinary curiosity never stops and that’s important to our relationship,” says Plutzik.
LOOKING BACK ON 15 YEARS
Plutzik vividly remembers the restaurant’s opening night 15 years ago. “Laurent turned to me and said, ‘I know or recognize almost everyone in the restaurant,’” Plutzik says of the New York-centric crowd who jet back and forth to South Florida. “It was filled with people who were in love with Laurent and were rediscovering his food for the first time in Miami Beach.” The hotel owner also admits it was a tough time to open a new restaurant as the nation was facing a financial crisis. “It was a miserable time in the world, but in that space, people felt welcomed and were thrilled to see Laurent,” he says.
That scenario has changed 15 years later. The lauded chef still relishes in the fact that he’ll often receive random text messages from longtime customers who’ve dined at LT Steak & Seafood, applauding the amazing food and atmosphere. “It makes me feel good that after 15 years, people know that I’m still here,” Tourondel says. “It’s exciting to look back and see the restaurant’s evolution over the last 15 years and we’re looking forward to many more evolutions of the restaurant.”
REOPENING THE ALLEY
While many of The Alley’s cherished staples are still on the menu, Tourondel tweaked the pizza-heavy menu with around four to five new pizzas, including the xx, topped with imported prosciutto, tomatoes, white mushrooms, and French cheeses like gruyere and comté for a unique flavor. The pizza will be served with a spicy olive oil that’s commonly found in the middle of a table at restaurants in southern Italy. Look forward to a salad or dish? crafted with buffalo mozzarella — which Tourondel says tastes like fresh goat cheese but milder — chives, shallots, black pepper and sea salt that will be served with warm bread.
Another evolution is the renaming of the lobby bar to The Piano Bar. There, guests are treated to live jazz music every night, mainly serenaded by piano players. There’s no cover charge and anyone can drop in to listen the music and have a drink. Settle into the bar to sip on one of the literary-themed cocktails like The Vesper, a perfectly executed, ice-cold martini that’s ripped from the pages of Ian Fleming’s James Bond novel, Casino Royale. Or like writer Ernest Hemingway, drink to “make other people more interesting” with the Hemingway Daiquiri. The cocktail was famously created for the writer in the 1930’s at the El Floridita bar in Cuba.
THE NEXT 15 YEARS …
