Over the past year, Miamians and visitors alike have enjoyed dining at the area’s great Italian restaurants: Il Gabbiano, Carbone, Contessa, Zucca, Macchialina, Casa Tua, Casa d’Angelo and Osteria in MiMo – not to be confused with Luca Osteria in Coral Gables – and many more. And the city’s new year dining scene is already buzzing with the openings of several new options, from classic to contemporary, just when you’d made a New Year’s resolution to go on a diet!
A longtime favorite is Dōma (786.953.6946) at 35 NE 26th St. in Wynwood, a contemporary Italian restaurant serving up a mix of classic and modern Southern Italian cuisine.
(Courtesy of Giorgina)
A mouthwatering selection of Giorgina’s offerings.
As you enter the restaurant, the cozy bar is the perfect spot to enjoy wines, spirits and classic cocktails. Choose to dine in the artsy, modern interior or in the outdoor garden patio.
Dōma, which means “at home” in Latin, is owned by Italy native Luca Lomonaco, who guides diners through menu selections and helps pair them with wines from the carefully curated list of more than 800 options.
The kitchen is headed up by Italian chef Marco Giuliano, who dishes up stunningly colorful, flavorful specialties made with local products and seasonal ingredients. Entrée standouts include sweet and spicy glazed salmon with porcini mushroom purée, cauliflower salad, English peas aioli and broccoli rabe. Signature dish pistachio-crusted New Zealand lamb cutlets is served with lentil mousse, taggiasca olives (small, fruity olives), mozzarella and port jus. For dessert, resistance to the cheesecake accompanied by berries and gelato is futile.
Openings
Giorgina (786.542.5185) at 2700 North Miami Ave. in Wynwood comes to us from Grupo Mandolina. Hailing from Mexico City, Grupo Mandolina has restaurants and lounges in Mexico City and Villa Azur in Las Vegas. Known as Mandolina in Mexico City, Giorgina has been a popular Italian dining destination since 2020.
(Courtesy of Rao’s)
Rao’s baked clams and seafood tower.
The décor transports diners to Italy’s Amalfi Coast via a citrus-colored palette and a ceiling entwined with vines with lemons. The selection of craft drinks made with fresh ingredients is inspired by Italy and Mexico’s rich cocktail culture, from classic Negronis to innovative creations with Italian and Mexican liqueurs.
Under the helm of executive chef Hector Caspio and chef consultant Federico Tischler, Giorgina features classically inspired Italian dishes such as truffle tagliolini with Parmesan sauce; grilled octopus over cannellini beans; and whole roasted orata topped with garlic confit. Signature pizzettes include the margherita and three cheese truffle. Save room for the Immenso chocolate cake or the gooseberry panna cotta.
A perennial and popular New York City haunt has opened its first Florida location: Rao’s (305.404.7267) is adjacent to Loews in the historic St. Moritz Tower at 1601 Collins Ave. in Miami Beach. For decades, it’s been one of Manhattan’s top stops for Italian fare, and one of the city’s most difficult-to-get reservations. Established in Harlem 127 years ago, Rao’s is among the country’s oldest family-operated restaurants and is known for its authentic, southern Neapolitan cooking.
(Cristian Gonzalez/CG Media)
Casadonna’s delectable dishes are served up in a historic landmark building.
Honoring the restaurant’s legacy, Rao’s co-owners Frank Pellegrino Jr. and Ron Straci maintain a menu that reflects generations of authenticity. A raw bar and seafood tower has been added to the Miami Beach menu, but Rao’s popular classics remain, including the legendary Rao’s meatballs and Uncle Vincent’s Lemon Chicken, baked clams and lobster fra diavolo. Other mains include grilled pork chops, lamb chops, veal scallopini and veal marsala.
Casadonna (305.475.2272), at 1737 Bayshore Dr. in Miami, in the Edgewater neighborhood, has opened in the landmark building that was once the home of the historic Miami Women’s Club. The restaurant, a partnership between Groot Hospitality and Tao Group Hospitality, is named for its storied landmark location and is a fusion of Italian words meaning “House of the Woman.”
The courtyard bar in the building’s original atrium welcomes guests. Waterfront views with Biscayne Bay and Miami Beach’s iconic skyline as a shimmering backdrop are seen through its original windows. Facing the bay, the Ocean Bar has intimate lounges and al fresco dining areas, offering bespoke cocktails and an extensive wine list.
The menu features traditional handcrafted dishes made with recipes from Italian Riviera coastal towns. For starters, try the crispy young artichoke or a half dozen oysters with limoncello mignonette. Pasta options include spaghetti Nero with lobster, shrimp and clams; and tagliatelle al limone with caviar and Meyer lemon. Mains are Dover sole with datterini tomato; diver scallops with tomato puttanesca, taggiasca olive and capers; and lamb chops with salsa verde.
Erba (305.712.7788) at 227 S. Dixie Hwy. in Coral Gables has been named among the “50 Best New Eateries in America in 2023” by Esquire magazine. Competing with restaurants in other major cities, Erba made the cut for Miami.
Pasta is the star here. Using locally sourced and ingredients grown at his own Rancho Patel in Homestead, chef Niven Patel puts his own unique spin on Florentine pasta dishes such as spaghetti alla chitarra with basil, crispy garlic, and olive oil, with the tomatoes sourced from the Everglades; gnocchi with Key West pink shrimp, broccoli rabe and Calabrian chili; and the unique mafaldine linguine with Bahamian conch subbing in for clams, lemon, parsley and Vermentino. From 5:30-7 p.m. daily, the restaurant offers a tasting menu of eight pastas.
A second location of IT Italian Trattoria (305.488.5080) has opened at 1014 Lincoln Rd. in Miami Beach; the first is at 1656 Collins Ave.
A fun, lively atmosphere is created with walls covered in giant, colorful Italian posters. Try the Italian spritzes, beers and wine at Bar Aperitivo. The main focus here is pasta and pizza, with panini and salads also on the menu. The restaurant is designed in an open-kitchen concept so you can watch as your dishes are created. Ingredients are sourced directly from Italy: Sicilian tomatoes, olives from Puglia and mozzarella from Piacenza, produced by a local family there for five generations. For a sweet ending, be sure to try the cannoli.
Events
The sweetest event of the year, the 17th annual Chocolate Festival at Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden (305.667.1651) in Coral Gables, is being held Jan. 20 and 21, from 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. Taste your way through a variety of chocolate confections and decadent desserts. The two-day event features more than 15 chocolatiers, a wine and cupcake pairing, a build-your-own-chocolate-bar station, chocolate-inspired martini flights, chocolate Olympics for the kids, chocolate education, and entertainment, activities and lawn games.
Irene Moore is a Miami-based writer and certified sommelier whose vivid descriptions take readers through culinary cultures around the world. Her feature articles have appeared in print publications, travel guidebooks and websites in the U.S. and Europe.
1 of 2
(Courtesy of IT Italian Trattoria)
Pizza loaded with prosciutto at IT Italian Trattoria’s Pizza and Pasta.
2 of 2
(Irene Moore for Biscayne Times)
Chocolate cupcakes at the Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden Chocolate Festival.