Flora: A marriage of Mediterranean & New England coastal fare

The new restaurant at Gardiner House, under the direction of Chef Miguel Somoza, is the talk of the town

Photos by Nick Mele

Accordion windows fold flush against the walls, inviting fresh, sea-kissed air to pour into Flora, the top-level perch at Gardiner House on Lee’s Wharf, while crisply pressed tablecloths gently dance in the soft breeze. It’s a few hours before service and the only sound in the dining room is the serenade of halyards haphazardly clanging against masts along the docks and the soft hum of preparations in the kitchen.

It feels a bit like the calm before the storm, but in this elegantly appointed space, even a full house can hardly be called a storm.

Much of that can be attributed to the poised yet passionate demeanor of Executive Chef Miguel Somoza, whose symphony conductor-like disposition comes with more than two decades of global experience combined with the undeniable clout that goes along with cooking for clientele including British royals, a roster of dignitaries, and Sir Richard Branson, for whom he served as private chef at the business baron’s private island.

Newport is a homecoming of sorts for the chef — emphasis on “of sorts.” Born and raised in Madrid, Somoza’s Mediterranean roots are implanted deep in his persona as much as they are Flora’s menu, although his first foray on Newport’s culinary scene was at Vanderbilt Hall. His post at the former Georgian-style manse, originally commissioned by Alfred Gwynne Vanderbilt, completed in 1909 and today simply called The Vanderbilt, would change the trajectory of Somoza’s life.

“[It’s] where I met my wife-to-be,” he says with a smile, referring to his bride, Katherine. “Twenty-five years later, this opportunity comes through.” The couple, who share two daughters, ages 13 and eight, had been living in the Caribbean for 11 years, much of which was spent cooking for Branson; the query to return to Newport was too hard to pass up.

The foundation of Somoza’s culinary career is the experience he earned over 15 years as a master pastry chef before transitioning to an executive chef. It’s a craft that’s meticulous, he insists, and the side of the kitchen that demands methodical organization and precise measurements.

His resume includes learning the art of fine pastry making and perfecting how to make yeast-free bread under Michel Bras, whose eponymous restaurant in Laguiole, France, earned three Michelin stars, and at Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons in Oxfordshire, England, which has held two Michelin stars since it opened 39 years ago.

When Gardiner House opened last fall, the 21-room luxury hotel made a soft launch into Newport’s hospitality scene — not that it didn’t make an enviable first impression. Co-owners Wirt Blaffer and Howard Cushing’s vision, five years in the making, was to create a place that felt more like home than hotel.

Part of Gardiner House’s quasi-quiet opening was purposeful; Flora was still just a concept and light bites and beverages were relegated to the chic Studio Bar on the hotel’s main floor. Once Somoza was in place, the restaurant’s menu began to take shape.

While Newport’s culinary scene offers a cornucopia of flavors, there’s a dearth of Mediterranean dishes, yet the cuisine is a palpably natural fit here. Somoza espouses the palate-pleasing parallels of New England and Mediterranean coastal fare.

Calamari, officially designated as Rhode Island’s state appetizer as more squid is landed here than any other port on the Atlantic seaboard, is equally prolific in Spain. The bocadillo de calamares — fried calamari sandwich — is a signature dish attributed to Madrid, and calamari in many forms is a ubiquitous tapas dish found throughout the country.

Sourcing locally has always been part of Somoza’s ethos, and with the abundance of farmers and fishermen/women in the Newport area, he says it just makes sense. This time of year, mixed leaf lettuce, arugula, summer squash, and even flowers for the tables and bar come from Hawk and Handsaw Farm in Portsmouth. Cherry and heirloom tomatoes, peaches, and corn are harvested from Rose Hill Farm in Wakefield. Daily seafood deliveries arrive from a variety of purveyors, including Newport Lobster Company and New Bedford-based Foley Fish, while the local fishing vessel Karen Elizabeth supplies the restaurant’s scallops and squid.

Somoza’s George’s Bank Scallops are served in a tomato broth gazpacho with roasted corn (both tomatoes and corn locally farmed) and topped with cilantro microgreens. Pan seared halibut prepared in a béurre blanc sauce is paired with North African couscous, and Somoza’s version of Arroz del Senyoret features lobster, scallops, jumbo gulf shrimp, calamari and bomba saffron rice. (Bomba is a short grain rice, also called Valencia rice in a nod to the dish’s origins, that is ideal for seafood paella.)

“Only people from Valencia would call it ‘paella,’” quips the chef, explaining that much like sparkling wine can only be called “champagne” if it is made in France’s Champagne region, his recipe is a different take on what is considered authentic paella.

While the dishes at Flora are beautifully plated and presented, the Dover sole is an experience.

“We cook it in the kitchen, and then we present the Dover to the table, and then the server, tableside, will break the flesh off the bone and serve it on the plate,” explains Somoza. “It’s beautiful.”

The dish, meant to be shared by two people, is accentuated by capers and parsley and served with mashed potatoes and cavolo nero (Tuscan kale). It makes an impression on the palate and the wallet at a price of $94. Chef concedes the price point is not for everybody, but Dover sole is one of the priciest and
most widely regarded fish on the market, and not found on many Newport menus.

“The flavor of Dover is buttery, white, clean, delicate, and yes, beautiful,” says Somoza of the fish, which also is known as “true sole” and named after a fishing village in Southeast England.

Though seafood- centric, the menu offers elegantly composed dishes for landlubbers and vegetarians as well — and they equally excite the chef. His face lights up when waxing poetic about his Jamón ibérico, a slow cured leg of pork.

“Your best Italian prosciutto, or ‘French prosciutto,’ [Jambon de Bayonne] French ham, they cure for 12 months, 18 months… Iberian ham is cured for five years, so this increases the flavors of these hams. It’s amazing,” he says, his accent thick, peppered with rolling r’s and silent h’s.

“We make a crouton of our sourdough, nice and crunchy with a little bit of olive oil, with some tomato. And we put a small slice of the ham that we cut daily as your little taste of the day and is an example of what experience you’re going to have.”

The sourdough was one of Somoza’s priorities upon landing at the 110-seat restaurant.

“Our own sourdough startup that we have created here we started on the 15th of May. I mixed it and she was born, and the restaurant being called ‘Flora,’ we call her ‘Florita’,” he says. “All of our breads come from her. It’s something we do daily.”

It’s the basis of their yeast-free focaccia, boasting a golden and crisp crust and chewy texture. The focaccia serves as the basis of the restaurant’s panzanella salad, and the sourdough bread that accompanies the steak tartare, the gambones al ajillo (Spanish garlic shrimp) and the croutons atop Somoza’s Andalusian gazpacho. “It’s very hard work … something that I am personally involved in every day, but it’s very rewarding,” he says of the from-scratch approach. Bread, pasta, ice cream, dressings and just about everything is made in-house.

“We use as much local product for that healthy, clean, European cooking,” he says. “We don’t fry anything — everything is plancha.” Plancha, a traditional Spanish cooking method marked by high-temperature searing, typically brings out a protein’s natural flavors, eliminating the need for heavy sauces or marinades. It’s emblematic of Somoza’s culinary ethos.

“That would describe part of what kind of chef I am, in a way, again, farm to table. I believe less is more,” Somoza says. “What ignites my flame is taking raw ingredients and doing the best with the minimum effort to transmit that quality.

“All the oils that we use for cooking are extra virgin olive oil, so the balsamic dressing, the French dressing; we don’t have anything creamy apart from a couple of dishes that are very classical, like the Dover sole.”

And while the restaurant environs and menu are indisputably elevated, the chef is looking ahead as Flora settles comfortably into Newport’s dining scene, embracing the year-round community as much as the guests staying at Gardiner House.

“We want to make sure we have people coming through the doors, as it’s a place open for everybody, and a place people come here to enjoy the space and the food,” he says. “I don’t want the place to feel stuffy or we’re too exquisite; no, this place welcomes everybody. Again, I’m looking at the menu, the prices and I’m considering everything in that way, so you come here, and you believe that you are getting a great experience.

“I’m here to stay, and I’m here for a long time, and I want to create an institution in Newport.”