It’s that time of year again! As temperatures plummet anywhere north of the tropics, Miami continues to bask in the sunshine. Up north, it’s all braised meats and Barolo; down here, it’s always pasta al limone and Pinot Grigio.
Whether you’re headed south for Art Basel Miami Beach and Miami Art Week, or just on an extended weekend getaway, it helps to know the best Italian restaurants. Here, I’ve compiled personal favorites from places I've dined and chefs whom I respect, as well as places that have earned praise from locals and media. The list is divided into Miami neighborhoods roughly by geography, starting from the south and moving north. (We'll soon have a similar guide to points north of Miami, so stay tuned.)
This list is subject to change, and if you have a favorite spot that we missed, feel free to email me: richard@appetitomagazine.com
The Keys
Italian Food Company— Isis and Tony Wright started this restaurant/market concept in Key Largo during the pandemic, with Neapolitan pizzas and recipes from Tony’s Italian mother helping round out the menu. As Isis explained to Appetito, the first location took off, leading to a second in the resort town of Islamorada, and then a sort of commissary kitchen between the two, Italian Food Company Express, in Tavernier. Recently, the dynamic duo launched a new concept, Lido 73, inspired by Italian beach clubs that Tony frequented as a boy, with coastal Italian cuisine and charming seaside views.
Coral Gables/Coconut Grove
Caffe Abbracci—Italians have long been drawn to Miami’s sunny shores, which means the city is dotted with old-school joints like this classic Northern Italian restaurant, open since 1989. Founder Nino Pernetti, a native of Lake Garda, created an elegant Coral Gables destination for elevated food and wine. He passed away in 2022, but his daughters continue the legacy.
Cotoletta—This newcomer to Coconut Grove focuses on one dish: cotoletta alla Milanese. The veal cutlet for two is $80, inclusive of two seasonal antipasti and two sides (French fries, pasta al pomodoro, or arugula salad).
Fiola Miami—The Coral Gables outpost of Fabiano Trabocchi’s signature upscale Italian restaurant from Washington DC is led by restaurateur Thomas Angelo, an attorney and wine connoisseur. Under his leadership, this powerhouse spot features Trabocchi’s refined cuisine and an exciting wine program that includes curated dinners with some of Italy’s top winemakers. With success comes expansion: Angelo, his daughter Kassidy Angelo, and Fiola Miami executive chef Daniel Ganem are poised to open a new steakhouse in Fort Lauderdale, Daniel’s.
Erba—Only in Miami would you find Bahamian conch mixed into a Mafaldine pasta dish—and probably only at this Coral Gables spot from chef Niven Patel. His first restaurant, Ghee, focuses on his personal heritage and Indian cuisine, but here, he showcases his appreciation for Tuscan cooking (and Italian cuisine in general), using local ingredients including produce from his Rancho Patel farm. The menu features traditional dishes like a bone-in bistecca, but takes exciting detours—the bread, served with a butter candle, being another example.
Luca Osteria—Chopped champion Giorgio Rapicavoli is the force behind this focused and refreshingly straightforward Coral Gables Italian bar and restaurant. Start with a spritz or Negroni, move on to an alluring selection of appetizers, then try house-made pastas and secondi.
South Beach
Carbone — The Major Food Group came in hot to Miami in 2021, opening a Carbone in South Beach, and sprinkling luxury restaurants and clubs around the Design District—including Northern Italian trattoria Contessa. The flagship Italian-American restaurant in the South of Fifth neighborhood, a stone crab claw’s throw from Joe’s Stone Crab, is as tough a reservation as its original New York City location, with the same spicy rigatoni vodka and Sinatra vibes.
Casa Tua — Part Italian restaurant, part private club, and thoroughly a lifestyle brand, this South Beach hideaway started the Casa Tua experience in 2001. Now with locations in NYC, Paris, and Aspen, the original remains a perfect mix of experiences—though dining on burrata and fresh heirloom tomatoes in the lush garden on a warm Miami night is hard to beat anywhere in the world.
Harry’s Pizzeria—Michael Schwartz, a Philly native who has become Miami’s elder statesman of creative fine dining, spun off the pizzas from his oven at legendary Design District standout Michael’s Genuine with this casual concept. It has two locations, providing South Beach with some of its best pizza, and in Coconut Grove.
Lucali — Mark Iacono went from a tiny Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn storefront restaurant to international fame as a celebrity pizza maker, yet he hasn’t opened a chain of his flagship to cash in on his status. He has, however, opened a Miami Beach location of Lucali that many swear is as good as the original.
Macchialina — There’s a reason why this unassuming, standalone restaurant in a residential section of South Beach tops most people’s best Italian lists: co-owner and chef Michael Pirolo turns out perfect plates of pasta, homey trattoria-like dishes such as roast chicken, and locally sourced seafood dishes. The Queens-born, Italy-raised chef and his team created an Italian oasis on Alton Road that continues to impress after more than a decade.
Brickell/Downtown Miami
Felice Brickell—The ever-expanding, Milan-spawned NYC brand SA Hospitality has been lavishing its attention on South Florida, first with Sant Ambroeus, and more recently with Felice. Its Brickell location is an “opulent newcomer,” as we put it, with a greatest-hits menu (cacio e pepe, Bolognese) that is wide ranging and accessible to Italian food lovers. There’s also tableside service, a first for the Felice brand.
Il Gabbiano—I ate osso buco at this luxe, waterfront dining destination when it opened in 2007, and I still recall the flavors and the experience today. Founded by Il Mulino vets, Il Gabbiano has taken on an identity of its own over the years as a place for its famous veal shank, but also as an upscale, unpretentious restaurant with a view of Biscayne Bay and a menu featuring Italian favorites as well as notable wines.
Vice Versa—This aperitivo bar from award-winning Italian bartender Valentino Longo features a menu of excellent pizzas, plus a raw bar, charcuterie, and salads. But cocktails are the main draw, with Longo and his team stirring and shaking up classic Italian drinks and putting his own twist on them.
Wynwood
Oise—We’ve written frequently about the continuing crossovers between Japanese and Italian cuisine, which is what you’ll find at this Wynwood restaurant from rightfully acclaimed and groundbreaking Miami chef Brad Kilgore (Ember, Alter). Oise promises “a tantalizing fusion of ingredients” drawing from the two beloved cuisines, resulting in dishes like fettuccine pomodoro with ichimi chili flake and yuzu butter.
Otto & Pepe—“Mean Pasta and Natty Wine.” That’s the attention-grabbing tagline for Wynwood newcomer Otto & Pepe, a restaurant with a pasta bar, outdoor patio, and an enoteca with wines for take-away or on-site consumption. [Read more about Otto & Pepe on Appetito.]
Pasta—Peruvian chef-couple Juan Manuel Umbert and Janice Buraschi recently opened an Italian restaurant simply called Pasta in Wynwood. It’s the second location of their Lima, Peru-based concept, featuring a strong lineup of house-made fresh pasta dishes, inventive starters, and desserts by Buraschi, a pastry chef who blends Italian and Latin ideas—and makes fresh gelato.
Design District/Little Haiti/Little River
Boia De—Boia De showcases a side of Miami that gives the city considerable depth. Miles from the beaches, NYC expat chefs Luciana Giangrandi and Alex Meyer have created a romantic, charming space in Little Haiti where they serve inventive Italian dishes that bridge tradition and modernity. Pappardelle laced with strands of Florida rabbit, rosemary, and tomato is among several highlights from the pasta section, while appetizers, wines, and desserts, have made this opened-in-2019 spot an instant classic.
Mother Wolf—What happens when you bring pasta savant Evan Funke’s elegant love letter to Rome, Mother Wolf, to Miami’s uber-luxe Design District neighborhood? We’ll soon find out, as diners begin to react to the just-opened branch, which joins predecessors in Funke’s Los Angeles home base and in Las Vegas. The Mother Wolf menu explores contemporary Roman cuisine, including versions of its famed pastas, and a wide range of appetizers, mains, desserts, Italian wine, cocktails, and amari.
La Natural—Imagine taking a Brooklyn pizza restaurant like the late, legendary Franny’s, with its seasonal ingredients and natural wine list and curated music playlist, and planting it in the corner of an unassuming shopping center in Miami’s Little River neighborhood (near Little Haiti), and you have La Natural. Casual and cool, the restaurant turns out farmers market-inspired salads and starters, then gets into the serious business of Javier Ramirez’s wood-fired pizza, with its perfect chew and char, topped with red or white sauce and an array of toppings spiced, earthy, or both.
Walrus Rodeo—Drawing on the success of Boia De (just steps away), chefs Luciana Giangrandi and Alex Meyer have created a pizzeria with wood-fired cuisine that The New York Times anointed one of the 50 most exciting spots of 2024. Hits include the “Duck Duck Za,” a pizza topped with duck prosciutto, goat taleggio, and pear conserva. Mains range from mustard green lasagna to steak au poivre with parmesan fonduta.
