THE EXECUTIVE CHEF OF THIS SOUTH BEACH STAPLE LAUNCHES HIS FOURTH SEASON AT THE HELM

BY ERIK SCHONING PHOTOS BY ALEX BARETTO

Since its grand reopening four summers ago, South Fin Grill in South Beach has become a sun-season holiday for beachgoers. This year, executive chef and general manager Francisco Loor is plan ning the restaurant’s most lively season yet, with an revamped food and cocktail menu and a pared-back, ingredient-forward approach to cooking.

Loor has been cooking professionally since 2002, when as a college student in the city he pivoted from studying graphic design to working as a prep cook. Like many chefs, food was in his blood from day one.

“My family loves cooking,” Loor said. “I’m from Ecuador. We have a big eating culture, and I kind of grew up around that, with elaborate meals and large gatherings of family. I was always around the kitchen helping out.”

After a 12-year stint with a major restaurant group and a career that took him from Hackensack to Florida and back again, Loor knew he was ready to lead his own kitchen. He wanted to be more hands-on in menu creation. Eventually, he was approached about the South Fin opportunity by Joe Tranchina of It’s Our Pleasure Hospitality Group, a Staten Island restaurant power player whose portfolio includes Arirang Hibachi Steakhouse along with a slate of additional venues on the Island. At first, Loor, a New Jersey resident, was hesitant to take the job.

“At that time, I had other offers that were an easier commute,” Loor said. “But Joe called me and he convinced me to take the trip. It appealed to me because I had the opportunity to come in and reset this restaurant to what I wanted it to be. They really trusted me from the beginning and gave me free range: these are the parameters, and you get to do your own thing, your own concept. You do what you think is best. And that ultimately is why I took the job.”

Loor’s bread-and-butter is modern American cuisine, but his menu at South Fin is a hybrid. In his four seasons at the restaurant, Loor has been able to adapt what he serves to include sushi, Thai dishes, American staples, and Italian classics. In fact, what Loor sees as the unifying concept of his menu is not a particular cuisine but a methodology of simplicity and freshness. Tellingly, the South Fin menu is a single page.

“I’ve always been a believer that less is more,” Loor said. “From an operational point of view, it’s really hard to execute properly when you have these massive menus. I’m big on doing everything from scratch, and having a small menu facilitates that. I really pay attention to every dish.”

Take the baby back ribs as example. What in many restaurants is a braised rib slathered in barbecue sauce is for Loor and his chefs a labor of love, starting with sourcing; Loor gets his ribs from Denmark, for the simple reason that Danish pork is graded in the same way as American beef, assuring consistency and quality. From there the ribs cook for ten to twelve hours in an Alto-Shaam low-heat oven and are finished in a house-made sauce.

Everything at South Fin is made from scratch, from the signature burgers, which are a house-ground blend of chuck and brisket, to the sauces. Loor himself butchers the restaurant’s steaks, and all the fish is cut in-house. Loor’s motto is to start every day from scratch, noting, “Nothing comes out of a bottle for us.”

Loor also has the unique advantage of helming a seasonal restaurant; South Fin runs a six-month season starting every May. During his six months off, he gets valuable time to rethink the menu and incorporate thoughtful suggestions into the coming season, a luxury few working chefs have.

“We’re always trying to improve,” Loor explained. “Last year we got a lot of feedback from our guests. We handed every guest a sheet to offer us feedback at the end of their meal. I basically did my homework for this year from those notes. Every year we try to incorporate more nuanced flavors that are both familiar yet delightfully unexpected for our guests.”

This year, Loor is moving his menu in an increasingly more Italian direction. He is expanding his pasta offerings while featuring seafood more prominently. (Dishes like calamari and baked clams are a perfect illustration of both of these goals working in harmony.) He’s also debuting a reimagined drink menu; for beachside diners, a smooth, refreshing cocktail is almost as important as the food on the plate.

After four summers at South Fin, Loor ensures operations are humming. As both chef and general manager, he oversees the entire experience, from seating to service. In many ways, South Fin is exactly what Loor has been looking for his entire career: an opportunity to put his stamp on a restau rant.

“We really have that teamwork mental ity,” Loor said. “And that reflects on the experience that the guests get when they come to dine with us. They’ll have a great server, a friendly face that’s making sure that they’re okay, and they’ll see me, the chef, walking around as well. So I think that really says a lot about what we are as a restaurant.”

For South Fin, the season is just beginning. As sun-thirsty crowds descend on South Beach once again this year, Loor is ready to wow them.

South Fin Grill

300 Father Capodanno Boulevard

718.808.6104 / southfingrill.com