Alpareno Restaurant Group has announced that Chef Niven Patel’s new restaurant concept named Orno is now open. This highly anticipated launch from the “Food & Wine Magazine” Best New Chef 2020 comes on the heels of Chef Patel’s successful Mamey restaurant, which also opened last year at Thesis Hotel.
Orno is a true farm-to-table restaurant concept heavily focused on fresh, quality ingredients sourced from Chef Niven’s farm in Homestead, Florida known as Rancho Patel. Many of the 35-plus varieties of seasonal greens, fruits and vegetables that he grows can be found on the menu, including okra, which Chef Patel grew from seeds brought back from India. Orno focuses on New American cuisine centered around locally-sourced vegetables, the highest quality meats and sustainably caught seafood. Wood-fired culinary creations are complimented by specialty cocktails in a sophisticated yet laidback ambiance.
Designed by Saladino Design Studios, Orno unfolds culinary showroom orbiting around an open-kitchen concept with marble bar seating where guests are invited to witness craftsmanship at its fi nest. Featuring a built-in, fresh produce display and wood-fi red oven, the open kitchen was designed with materials that will cure and age naturally. The fire-brick wall is intended to subtly evolve as it absorbs the colors of the smoke, evoking the authenticity of Orno as a story not told overnight, but over time.
Given Orno’s philosophy, its goal is to provide an intimate space that feels upscale, yet inviting. The color palette was inspired by the green leafy herbs, golden tones of turnips and earthy tones of soil found on Chef Patel’s farm. These colors are refl ected in the fern-green tile and moss-green ceiling, in the warmth of the walnut planters suspended from the ceiling and in the elegance of the brass accents on the fixtures and cabinetry.
The back bar, side walls and center column feature green and white custom tile work where each piece has been hand-cut. Staying true to Orno’s nature, the tile has undergone a wood fi ring which allows the clay and the ashes to disperse and fuse creating an alchemy of tones within the same tile. The terrazzo’s confetti of colorful marble, quartz, granite and glass dances across a floor anchored by leather banquettes and a built-in, back-lit wine display.
Nestled within Orno is The Library, the restaurant’s private dining room with intimate seating for 20 guests. The hideaway features floor-to-ceiling bookshelves hand painted in navy with yellow accents filled with classic books and velvet blush drapes. The “library of classics” found within are part of the inspiration behind Orno’s extensive menu of signature libations, fittingly based on famous literary figures.
“My goal is to bring people together and invite guests to be a part of the process. As guests walk into the dining room they are greeted by our open-kitchen concept where they can see the food being prepared, smell the garlic as it hits the pan, hear the sizzle of steak as it’s being basted and feel the warmth of the fire as a dish slides out of the wood oven. Dining at Orno is a journey the entices all the senses,” explained Chef Niven.
Orno is a play on the Spanish horno, which means oven and it’s exactly that which lies at the heart of the restaurant. “There is a certain finesse to cook- ing with an open flame, a danger, a risk and ultimately a chance to impress. This finesse carries through the carefully curated Orno experience,” said Mohamed Alkassar, founding partner of Alpareno.
Orno offers an impressive seasonal menu that takes guests on a gastronomic journey with small and large plates, wood-fired pizzas and savory sides. The menu opens with small plates that range from the vegetarian-friendly roasted summer squash and Vadouvan cauliflower dishes to seafood standouts including red snapper crudo and grilled octopus dishes.
Indulgent pastas include rigatoni with tomato ragù, sun dried tomatoes and basil butter and the bucatini featuring Sunray Venus clams served with a shallot confit and Calabrian chili peppers. The only restaurant in North America serving this clam varietal, Orno sources their Sunray Venus clams locally. Rounding out the small plates is a roasted bone marrow dish, beef tartare and Jamon Iberico de Fermin.
Specialty large plates include entrees from the land and sea including a whole grilled branzino, wood oven-roasted black grouper, Australian lamb rack, a wood-fired half chicken, Iberico pork pluma and the six ounce A5 Wagyu sirloin.
Unique cocktails inspired by literary classics include the Holly Golightly, a revitalizing cocktail mixed with St. Germaine and a lavender bitter soaked sugar cube topped with champagne and the Master Copperfield, Wray and Nephew Jamaican Overproof Rum torched with lemon peel and sugar, Hennessy Cognac, black tea and lemon which draw from the legendary Truman Capote’s “Breakfast at Tiffany’s,” and Charles Dickens’ “David Copperfield,” respectively.
Orno brings the Ernest Hemingway enduring novel, “The Sun Also Rises” to life with the Jack Rose, made with Courvoisier Cognac VS, Copper and Kings Brandy, pomegranate reduction and fresh lime; and the Old Sport, inspired by F. Scott Fitzgerald’s “The Great Gatsby,” with Maker’s Mark Bourbon, muddled lemon, mint and Angostura Bitters.
Guests are also invited to imbibe from an innovative and refreshing mocktail menu or the notable 400-bottle wine cellar featuring a wide selection of unique and diverse wines. When selecting the wines for Orno’s wine list, which features over 100 different varietals from sparkling and rosé to white and red vintages, Chef Patel took the time to pair each of the wines with the restaurant’s signature dishes.
Orno is open for dinner Tuesday through Thursday and Sundays from 5:30 p.m. to 10 p.m. and Friday and Saturday from 5:30 p.m. to 11 p.m. For more information on Orno, visit their website, ornomiami.com, or follow @OrnoMiami on Instagram.
