Lippi Navigating The Menu | Brickell, Miami

Tunu Puri, Lippi owner and president of Zuma Restaurants, doesn't do small.

Lippi's 60-plus dishes, inspired by Puri's globetrotting, dazzle on gorgeous clay plates and in glass orbs. Iron chandeliers dangle from towering ceilings. A sprawling outdoor terrace–the best place to sit–commands an elevated view of a Brickell Avenue corner.

Puri hired vaunted chef Philippe Ruiz, previously at The Biltmore's Palme D'Or, to head the kitchen. Lippi's eclectic menu lavishes the most attention on seafood and vegetable dishes, but it can overwhelm–and dramatically priced main courses can intimidate.

Vegetable fritto and silver weakfish (corvina) | Ceviche with purple potato mousse (Photo: Viviana Aviles Garcia)

Navigate Lippi's menu with two editor-approved approaches, whether you're craving a snack or desire a heartier dinner:

Light Bites: The baby vegetable salad ($12) is all restraint and elegance, lightly embellished with Banyuls vinaigrette and basil oil. Pristine silver weakfish (corvina) ceviche ($14) astonishes with counterbalances of velvety purple potato mousse and corn panna cotta.

Comfort Food Feast: Start with vegetable fritto ($14), dipping the taut fried asparagus spears and eggplant slices into smoky romesco sauce. Follow with creamy farrotto primavera ($14) and fish and chips ($20)–black cod encrusted with semolina, sesame seeds, herbes de Provence and a Tajín spice blend.

No matter which path you choose, all dining adventures at Lippi should end with frosty pineapple-and-mango cannoli ($11).