The coolly sophisticated Gardiner House Hotel has unveiled its Mediterranean inspired restaurant, Flora, and it’s a star. Its owners’ Newport roots run deep, one the great grandson of renowned painter Howard Gardiner Cushing, whose works are displayed at the Newport Art Museum. If you miss the exhibit, an extraordinary example of the elder’s artistry crowns the bar, a painting commissioned by Gerturde Vanderbilt Whitney of her daughter, Flora.
While the aesthetic of the 21-room hotel is a chimera of the diverse history and eclectic appeal of Newport, its waterfront restaurant gets added inspiration from across the Atlantic. Soft greens and corals, wallpaper reproduced from a mural at the nearby Cushing family estate, wood floors, upholstered banquettes and a sparkling, 14-seat bar under an ocean-blue ceiling set the scene for the glass-fronted dining room and an unobstructed view of Newport Harbor. Take a seat at Flora and you could be in almost any charming, seaside town, anywhere in the world.
The simple yet elegant cuisine follows suit and with just over 10 days under its belt, the tasting my friend and I enjoyed at Flora was exceptional. Not a surprise when you consider Chef Miguel Somoza’s storied career includes stints as Executive Head Chef for Sir Richard Branson’s Moskito and Necker Island estates as well as his most recent role as Executive Chef at a luxury resort community in Virgin Gorda. The accomplished Somoza is also a trained pastry chef and baker; in addition to creating and overseeing the full menu, he makes all of Flora’s breads and desserts.
Under the direction of Charlie Holder, Director of Operations, and manager Jessica Moreland, from arrival to departure, service was superb, hostess Stephanie offering a warm and professional welcome, server Alix a veritable fountain of trivia on the history and backstory of the restaurant, its owners, and its dishes. We jumped in with Steak Tartare, a classic, and in recent years legitimately elusive French dish. If you’re a fan, you’re picky as hell about where you’d order it and though the old-school tableside preparation is traditional, you won’t miss the fanfare when you taste Somoza’s version. Finely minced cornichons and shallots, egg yolk, capers, mustard and Worcestershire are blended into the fresh, smooth meat which is accompanied by sourdough toasts. Topped with half a salty caperberry that we sliced and added to our crostini, this is the best tartare I’ve had outside of Paris, bar none.
After a refreshing, sweet and tangy salad of cubed red and golden beets topped with a warm goat cheese croquette, we went raw again with the Tuna Carpaccio which will now haunt my foodie dreams forevermore. Not the boring same ol’ that’s been on every restaurant menu since the beginning of time, this dish was a work of art for the eyes, its combined components as exhilarating as pop rocks on your palate. The tender, oh-so-sweet tuna was topped lightly with the most delicate shavings of Pecorino Romano cheese, a smattering of crisp microgreens, salty capers and quarter-sized, shallow dollops of smokey, spicy Nduja aioli. The flavor profile here is nothing short of sublime.
Probably best ordered as a bar nibble with your cocktail, the crispy bite of Wild Mushroom Croquetas gives way to a rich Bechamel center mixed with very finely minced, almost undiscernible wild mushrooms, and is topped with lemon aioli.
The Spanish influence brought to the Flora table by both Chef Somoza and co-owner Howard Cushing’s wife, Lucia, can be found in the restaurant’s adapted version of seafood Paella, Arroz del Senyoret, meaning “rice of the serf or lord,” created for the lord of the manor who didn’t want to get his hands dirty peeling and shelling the seafood. Served in a small, cast iron, handled dish reminiscent of a paella pan, the dish is comprised of short grain, Bomba saffron rice dotted with bits of tomato and minced parsley, topped with chunks of fresh lobster meat, melt in your mouth scallops, jumbo Gulf shrimp and unbelievably tender calamari. Just a hint of the sought-after “socarrat,” the crisp bottom layer of rice critical to great paella, can be found along the pan’s edges, but squeeze that grilled lemon over the top and dig in. You won’t be disappointed.
The wine list’s by the glass offerings are well curated for this style of dining, and while there is no cocktail menu as of yet, I recommend you order a martini of some sort, just for the gorgeous glasses they’re served in.
As if it couldn’t get any better, an adjacent, open-air deck is nearing completion, slated to open in early August and featuring a second bar and multiple tables for an exquisite, outdoor, waterfront dining experience. Flora’s moment in the spotlight is imminent; the Gardiner House has already been featured in Vogue magazine, on msn.com and in other national media. If you’re smart, you’ll make a reservation as soon as possible.
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