Review by Hannah Neville

Cuvée Kitchen + Wine Bar, located in Destin, is known for its unique food and wine selections. Cuvée has recently been renovated under the management of their new owners, Chris Ruyan and Tyler Jarvis. The restaurant has been revamped in terms of both food and style. The rooms are now more light and open than before. The menu consisted of a sushi, small plates, entrees, meat and cheese boards, oysters, steak cuts, and sides.

To start off with, I ordered the Cuvée martini: a drink that consisted of western son citrus vodka, cranberry bitters, limoncello, lychee, lemon, and soda. Combined, these flavors were light and fruity with a slight kick from the vodka and bitters. Chase, my dining partner and fiancé, who prefers whiskey, asked for the bartender’s favorite and received a McKenna single barrel on the rocks. While we were waiting for a drinks, our lovely waitress, Edit, brought us some fresh rosemary bread with a blue cheese spread. Chase and I absolutely love blue cheese, and we were drooling over how well the two paired together.

After receiving our drinks, we were recommended a few appetizers and ordered a meat and cheese board as well as some sushi. We chose some prosciutto from Iowa and paired it with some lamb chopper Gouda cheese from California. The meat and cheeses came with a side of smoked tomato jam that really added an extra zing of flavor. For sushi, Chase and I chose the miso fresh roll that featured spicy yellowtail, green onion, seared tuna, miso ponzu, cucumbers, wasabi tobiko, and fried shallots. The presentation of the roll was absolutely stunning! I personally am not one for tobiko in sushi rolls, but the wasabi tobiko coupled with the fried shallots completed the roll. I will definitely be ordering this roll again!

After our appetizers, the bar manager, Zach, came and spoke with us about what to order for our entrées. He also brought us two glasses of Albariño white wine to go with our dinner. After much thought, I decided to stick with a few small plates for variety; I ordered the scallops, mussels, and brussel sprouts. Chase picked an entrée that sounded irresistible: bone-in Kurobuta pork chops with sweet potato has, apple chutney, and finished with a demi glaze.

The scallops were my favorite dish of the night; they were very tender and with an apple and parsnip purée in the center and were topped with a grapefruit lemon and ginger beurre blanc. As for Chase, he really enjoyed the pork chops, but the mussels were his favorite. The mussels were lightly bathed in a garlic and tomato white wine sauce and had pomme frites in the center; I would definitely recommend any of these dishes.

By the time dessert rolled around, Chase and I were both stuffed. I had been eyeing the espresso martini all night, so I definitely had to order one of those; it was delicious, and Chase ordered a coffee. We settled on the Guinness chocolate brownie with mascarpone cheese and salted caramel pretzel ice cream topped with pretzel crumble and the white Russian crème brûlée. Both desserts were fantastic and a great way to end our meal!

All in all, our experience with Cuvée was wonderful. The atmosphere is very open and the waitstaff was extremely friendly and helpful, but more importantly, the food was excellent and there were a wide variety of things to choose from!

Cuvee Kitchen + Wine Bar is located at 36120 Emerald Coast Pkwy, Destin, FL 32541. For more information visit their website or call (850) 460 2909.

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