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Meeting Demetrios Chef & Owner at the Poseidon Greek Boutique Restaurant

Today we would like to introduce you to chef Demetrios Pyliotis, a multi-awarded Greek chef who keeps stealing the show with his reputed outlet on Miami beach. 

Thanks for sharing your story with us Demetrios. So, let’s start at the beginning, and we can move on from there.
Real pleasure to exchange with you today, much appreciated VoyageMIA! I am the Chef and owner of the Poseidon Greek boutique Restaurant, located onMiami Beach.Since a very young age I was visiting Miami for tourism purposes and in 2001 I realizedsadly that in Miami the Greek cuisine is mainlyknown as “gyros” (popular Greek type of street food)while its heritage, ingredients and flavor-oriented richness has been unknown.

Returning to Miami in 2011,I joined forces with my brother Vasilios who owned a small Italian restaurant at Collings Ave while I was studying simultaneously at the reputed College of Culinary Art at Cordon Blue, specializing in French techniques and International Cuisine

At this stage, my multi-faced vision had been fully developed, my next “mission” was crystal clear to meto introduce to Miami’s residents and international visitors the real Greek cuisine, highlight its nutritious value and its unique flavors, make accessible for locals and visitors its most sophisticated ingredients (such extra virgin olive oil, wood barrel feta cheese, sheep yogurt, fresh herbs -fresh fish & seafood and a lot of more) aiming todeliver a holistic Greek experience, in Miami.

In March 2013, the opening of Poseidon Greek Restaurant was realized in close collaboration with my brother Vasilios. The location of Poseidon was relevant to its potential, in 1131 Washington Ave rightacross the landmark heritage building (1923) of Miami Beach old City Hall and next to the police department station.

Today, thanks to its reputed clientele’s support and our continuous efforts to improve, Poseidon stands at the top in its segment as the best Greek restaurant in Miami Beach and one of the top five seafood restaurants in the area .It is so exciting and inspiring for Poseidon’s teams to meet and serve people who visit Miami from all over the world, bringing over their diverse experiences, cultures, mentalities and positive vibesQuite often, US and international celebrities also honor our establishment as they wish to experience our minimalistic  and highly sophisticated Greek cuisine.

As a chef, I have been honored and nominated three times as Chef Champion at the reputed Sobe Chef-Showdown Competition which iconsidered to beAmerica’s top seafood competition as per the Travel Chanel, 

Champion -Best octopus 2014

Champion -Best fish 2016

Champion -Best fish 2017

The restaurant ratings till today 

Yelp 4,5,/5 stars 

Trip Advisor 4,5/5 stars and Traveler Award Choice in 2015-17, 

Open table 4.5 /5 Diner Choice Award best seafood 2014-17, 

Google 4.5/5 stars 

For the current season of 2018-2019, I ahonored to be a member of the NBA Miami Heat family’scooking team, offering our services to the VIP elite courtside tickets at the American airline arena during the games. Once again, I proudly represent theauthentic Greek cuisine internationally in such anone-of-a-kind dynamic environment.

Has it been a smooth road?
Certainly not and honestly… this is what made things more interesting and sexy  for me and Vasilios. Startups and new concepts include risk and constant challenges. Overpassing the first tough days, trying to attract ourclientele, creating our loop of repetitive guests, maintaining consistency while being innovative and creativeidentifying the top quality – realistic prices“magic button”... and so much moreOne more variable which does not smoothen our road is the phenomenon of seasonality; when the operational sustainability needs to be maintained while offering our elite services and products regardless the volume of guests, which latter in any case is not our main goal. Looking back at this stage, we feel so privileged to have experienced such difficult days which act as great tools for collective reflection and generation of new conceptual pathways. 

We’d love to hear more about your business.
Certainly, I could keep talking about it for weeks!Poseidon Greek boutique restaurant specializes in Greek flavors and serves the freshest seafood in town. Almost each day fresh Mediterranean fish fliesfrom Greece to be ready to be served to our guests;seafood and live lobster are also always available in our fish display.

We only use extra virgin olive oil which comes from the region of my origin, named Kalamata, located in the south of Greece and being it considered globally as top-quality olive oil producer. The use of top-quality olive oil is a key component for us due to its value for the health, while we bring each dish to the next level by combining other ingredients’ authentic flavors and an outstanding visual representation. As a professional establishment, we value very highly our people and the team spirit which is safeguarded and empowered with every opportunityThe F&B way of life is not an easy ride, but the results are not only theoretical, you can see smiles and hear others’ appreciation; these elements keeps us focused and ready to give more, collectively. Rather than just a job, we consider Poseidon as a lifestyle concept where its employees learn as persons and professionals. Even our past employees maintain our appreciation and we happily receive their visits, as they also added a stone in this construction, and this is not forgotten. 

Is our city a good place to do what you do?
Miami is a wonderful cityI love Miami I can’t think of myself living elsewhere at this stage of my life. To open a restaurant is “magical ride”. And Miami is a magical destination. So… things seem to fit if there is a vision, passion, good partners and some luck. Authorities-wise, I find Miami very supportive and thanks to them Poseidon’s operation is a reality and its staff can progress as modern professionals. The competition in Miami beach is considerable as around 1,000 restaurants are activated aroundHowever, I still recommend people to start a business here by considering that previous experience will be critical to face challenges in such an environment.

Pricing:

  • Whole grilled Bronzino 45
  • Choriatiki salad 16
  • Lamb hindshank 28
  • Seafood pasta 31
  • Award-winning octopus 23
  • Chicken Souvlaki 20
  • Mousaka 20
  • Grilled fresh calamari 20

Contact Info:

  • Website: Www.Poseidonmiami.com
  • Phone: 305-534-4434
  • Email: [email protected]
  • Instagram: Poseidonmiami; Demetrios_p23 (Personal Instagram)
  • Facebook: Poseidon Greek restaurant
  • Yelp: Poseidon Greek restaurant

Image Credit:
Vasilios Pyliotis, Kelly Blanco, Fat Joe

Getting in touch: VoyageMIA is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.

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