At Flora Plant Kitchen, Latin American Ingredients Are the Vehicle for Mindful Eating

Travel inspiration runs throughout the design and menu.

Gelhard’s background as a designer for establishments like The Cactus Shop in Brooklyn and Virgin Voyages, combined with frequent travels to South America, inspired her to design a serene setting in a city known for its glitz and glam. There’s no dress code at Flora — it’s casual and relaxed with sustainability and environmental impact front of mind.

“My husband and I traveled to Mexico and Colombia, finding inspiration in the architecture, and how nature is seamlessly integrated into the design,” recalls Gelhard of transforming the 5,800-square-foot restaurant into an oasis. “Our restaurant’s design aims to make guests feel like they’re on a tropical vacation, with plenty of fresh air, calming vibes, and lots of natural light.”

Building Flora’s indoor/outdoor design was a labor of love. Gelhard’s father-in-law poured the concrete bar and added micro-cement texture to make the walls look rustic. Gelhard herself custom-designed furniture with materials made in partnership with artisans in Bali. She wanted chairs “to hug the body” and sourced recycled teak and suar slab wood to achieve that sense of comfort. The outdoor landscaping goes beyond typical Miami-style native flora and fauna with 50+ varieties of tropical plants, many of which climb the exterior walls and hand-built pergola.

For Gelhard, each plate should evoke memories. The open kitchen features a charcoal grill where humble ingredients shine on the Spanish and Latin American-inspired menu. There are also tropical fruit salads and juices, a nod to morning market strolls in Cartagena and Mexico City. Dishes are served on custom earthenware designed by a Colombian ceramicist, too.

Don’t be fooled by the wholesome, veggie-based menu — bold flavors take center stage.

Creating recipes using only vegetables was initially a challenge for the Flora team, but they knew the importance of demonstrating that you don’t need animal protein in a dish for it to be exceptional. After all, Hispanic and Latin American communities have thrived with plant‐based diets for centuries thanks to access to corn and yucca, many types of beans, peppers, avocados, pineapples, and other tropical fruits.

Delgado has created an array of exceptional vegetable-forward dishes with different textures and flavors, along with house-made elements to enhance those natural qualities. Think: grains, legumes, mushrooms, and vegetables with textural contrasts. Moreover, expect lots of wood-fired vegetables with smoky flavors, spices, and sauces — an homage to the wood-fire home-style countryside cooking of Colombia and Mexico Gelhard felt it was crucial to represent.

Delgado’s team prioritizes vegetables as the primary protein and offers up lighter sauces and fruit-focused desserts that avoid excess sugar thanks to a network of regional purveyors like Gratitude Garden Farm (mushrooms), Sullivan Street Bakery (breads), and Harpke Farms (micro-greens). Latino or not, Flora’s menu is familiar and exciting. There’s yucca chicharron, savory and sweet charcoal-grilled products, Spanish romesco sauce, spicy Calabrian chiles, and more.

“Plant-based cuisine offers endless possibilities to explore different flavors, textures, and combinations that you might not expect,” says Delgado. “It also highlights the natural flavors of fresh, seasonal ingredients, which can be both nourishing and vibrant.”

While many dish concepts and names initially derive from Gelhard, Delgado shares a vision for creating health-conscious and flavorful plant-based meals.

“One thing that doesn’t get talked about enough is the real impact that a veggie-based menu can have on health and the environment without sacrificing flavor,” adds Gelhard.

The restaurant’s recently launched dinner is gaining momentum.

Flora is known for its stellar daytime cafe service, quickly gaining popularity as a casual neighborhood go-to spot giving Miami diners a taste of Latin American cuisine with a fresh, plant-forward approach. Evening options offering that same relaxed atmosphere, though, are something that Miami’s dining scene often lacks. Capitalizing on that niche, coupled with Delgado’s urge to bring more of his refined techniques to create a distinct dinner experience, Gelhard expanded Flora’s operations.

Dinner is an extension of the low-key atmosphere Flora does best with Delgado and his team taking center stage in the open kitchen. He incorporates classic European cooking techniques, traditional Spanish and Latin American ingredients, and condiments to create an eye-widening dinner menu. Expect hearty dishes and showstopper presentations like foams and sauces poured tableside, a raising of the stakes from the breezy fare on its all-day menu.

One of those dishes has been the kitchen’s vegetales al Carbón: “The idea for this dish comes from my trips to Spain where the romesco sauce is eaten with spring onions cooked on charcoal,” says Delgado.

Just like the Catalan spring tradition, a bounty of the season’s best vegetables are celebrated — baby leeks, broccolini, asparagus, spring onions — all cooked on charcoal with a chimichurri sauce that makes for pronounced and addictive heat and spice. The dish is topped with toasted pine nuts and crunchy purple sweet potato for crunch, and finished with a tableside pour of smoked saffron butter for a touch of luxury. (Pro tip: Order a side of house-baked bread to mop up the sauces).

Meanwhile, a popular black risotto fuses Italian and Spanish traditions, demonstrating Delgado’s range of techniques with a little of molecular gastronomy flair. “The biggest challenge was creating a dish that has so much flavor and trying to balance it since it can be heavy due to the rice and the amount of cheese,” he notes.

Delgado cooks riso nero (black-grain Italian rice) slowly for nearly two hours in a house-made vegetable stock, before deglazing with Spanish red wine. Then artichokes, broccolini, and spinach get the vegetales al carbon treatment alongside garlic, shallots, butter, and Parmesan. The dish is finished tableside topped with a light, airy goat cheese foam.

One of Mexico’s favorite vegetarian street foods, charcoal-grilled elotes (grilled corn on the cob) with chimichurri, chipotle guava aioli, long hots aioli, and cotija cheese, is the newest star appetizer.

“We slather the hot corn in a smoky chipotle-guava aioli, add a kick with long hots aioli, and finish it off with paprika breadcrumbs and fresh chimichurri,” adds Delgado. (Fun fact: The dish, called Cactus Elotes, is also a subtle nod to Flora’s sister restaurant in New York, The Cactus Shop — a Mexican cocktail bar in Williamsburg.)

There’s also a popular dish of tempura enoki mushroom, a playful take on fish and chips. Enoki mushrooms are dredged and fried in Pacifico beer batter for a light, crispy crunch then served with jalapeño tartar sauce.

“We tested these at private events, and they were a hit—now, they’re here for everyone to enjoy,” says Delgado.

All-day dining remains a hit.

Yep — Flora is now open for breakfast, lunch, dinner (Wednesday to Saturday, 5-9 p.m.), and weekend brunch. So whether you’re already vegetarian or vegan, or are just trying to eat less animal protein, there’s more than enough on the menu to keep things interesting.

The shakshouka is understandably one of the restaurant’s best-sellers, with a red pepper and tomato stew base amped up with charcoal-grilled maitake mushrooms, plus Latino touches like dollops of avocado crema and queso fresco. “The idea was to fuse [shakshouka] with Latin flavors and at the same time be vegetarian,” says Delgado of his approach. The dish arrives with a side of Colombian arepas using Flora co-owner David Rodriguez’s family recipe (use the handmade arepas to dip into the runny fried eggs and sauce) — Rodriguez’s father even makes his signature cheese arepas for the restaurant every morning.

Got a sweet craving? The restaurant’s banana bread toast is a winner. “Generally, this dish is with multigrain brioche bread, but I wanted to get away from what we are used to seeing, so l used my own banana bread dough,” says Delgado who puts fruit as the star of this traditional American brunch plate. He adds luxurious toppings including mascarpone cream cheese, Greek yogurt, grapes, blueberries, bananas, fig jam, berry compote, almond and oat granola, and amaretto-agave syrup. Prepare for leftovers.

“What makes this plate unique is the diversity of colors and textures,” says Delgado. “When it reaches the table it looks and feels healthy, that was always my inspiration.”

Breakfast drinks aren’t to be missed — they include endless arrays of flavor combinations plus teas, tonics, smoothies, and health-boosting shots.

Kids and pets love dining here, too

“I’m really excited to have our restaurant in this family-friendly neighborhood,” says Gelhard. “Many families are looking for places to dine with their kids and pets. As a bonus, they can enjoy healthy food and drinks at our restaurant.”

Humans and pets alike get the same warm hospitality here. Families gather over weekend brunch; kids are playful and aren’t afraid to order their own dishes or sip on their favorite juices. Dogs large and small are regulars here, too, with staff bringing out water bowls and offering welcome pats. Many staff and guests are on a first-name basis with each other and greeted with hugs.

“We’re creating a space that truly welcomes you, a place where everyone feels seen, valued, and comfortable being themselves,” says Gelhard.

Flora Plant Kitchen is open daily for breakfast and lunch. Dinner is from Wednesday to Saturday, 5-9 p.m. And weekend brunch is Saturday and Sunday 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Alisha Miranda is a food and travel journalist and #LatinxIndustryNight cultural producer based in Philadelphia. Follow her at @alishainthebiz. Follow Resy, too.