Dolce Italian

Best meal of my life. Feels like Italy but with great service! The chicken (?pan fried, crispy skin) topped with mushrooms, actually my favorite. Also short ribs on risotto, amazing taste. My wife loved the octopus. Cool venue, not pretentious. A real treat!

Great service and amazing food. Only downside was that the portions were a bit on the small side.

Heard good things about this spot. We stayed across the street and wanted something easy before we went to Madonna. Dolce didn’t disappoint. My husband is always searching for a great bolognese. And he was very happy w that dish. Great flavor and taste. Pasta was silky and al dente. I had the meatballs and a salad They r known For meatballs and they were awesome. I would come back here again for sure. Wait staff was attentive and the bread was good also. Loved the rustic décor.

The best mozzarella caprese. An art form. Delicious café beverages. Talented, genuine and refined service staff. Dignified yet approachable gourmet environs. Great location.
This place is about as good as it gets and a must-​try for Italian foodies.

It was raining and we decided to eat in our hotel at Dolce. We ordered the burrata for an app which was incredible. It came served on toast with Brussel sprouts and prosciutto — the way the toast and Brussel sprouts complimented each other was great!!! For my meal I had the lamb pasta which was very well prepared and paired with a smooth Malbec. Dessert we had the tiramisu which had a good ratio of cake to mousse. Sometimes tiramisu can have too much sponge cake but this was great and had a some strawberry drizzled on the side.

My family and I came here for Christmas Eve dinner out last night in Miami. I was a bit wary given that the restaurant seemed quite ritzy and was part of a hotel. However, we were pleasantly surprised by polite staff who seated us straight away. Between the four of us, we ordered two appetizers, a pizza, a panini and a pasta dish. While everything tasted fantastic, I must recommend their prosciutto, calamari, and tagliatelle dishes as those are the ones whose dishes we licked clean. While the pasta took a bit longer, I believe they were making the noodles themselves, considering the high quality of the product. The sauce was smooth and perfectly seasoned for a pesto.
Ambiance wise, the bar and seating area have a nice street view of the bustling masses on a Main Street. The interior is designed quite classically and romantically, covered in amber tones, soft lighting, and film photography. I would definitely recommend this for singles, couples, and families as the area runs the gamut from restaurant to bar to café seating. Give it a go!

Excellent food and a large beautiful space. Sophisticated menu with lots of great things, but if you can’t make up your mind, the meatballs are great, as is the hearts of romaine salad, pizzas, and lobster ravioli. Professional service, cool and energetic ambiance in a great South Beach location.

I could not have asked for a better restaurant to celebrate New Years Day with a romantic candlelit dinner on Collins Avenue in Miami! The food was to-​die-​for incredible and my spaghetti pomodoro was cooked to al dente perfection (one of the best I have had!). Also, as luck would have it, we came here while Happy Hour was still going on (great hours: 4pm-​8pm), so we indulged in 2 margherita pizzas, gnocchi pomodoro, meatballs, and several glasses of the best Chianti wine to top it off! (That’s a lot of food for just 2 people… But it was THAT good!). Only critique is that their eggplant needs less cheese (unless you love lots of cheese:) Alberto was our server who was also great and made our experience even better! We will definitely be coming here again! We look forward to making this one of our restaurants that we visit regularly in Miami! 5 stars all the way for dinner! HOWEVER, not so great for breakfast– service is slowwwww! Takes about 20 minutes just to get a refill on your coffee and another 15 minutes to get the check after you have asked for it twice. Breakfast at Dolce needs a major improvement.

Dolce Italian manifests the stereotypes & pre-​conceived notions I had about Miami Beach restaurants in the best ways possible. As to be expected, trendy & sophisticated décor and well-​dressed patrons fill the cozy space; low lights & cushiony seats put me right in my comfort zone. For the quality, location, & ambiance, the price point is surprisingly reasonable.
Foods:
– our group shared the delicious, thin-​crust San Daniele pizza ($ 17) as an appetizer.
– he ordered the Dolce Platter for two ($ 39), which is basically a charcuterie board that we all sort of picked at. Excellent parmesan.
– exquisite lobster ravioli ($ 28.) Dainty pasta, lavish amounts of buttery lobster filling, & fresh, crisp veggies. Wherever & whenever I order lobster ravioli, the sauce ratio is always off; here, the sauce was merely a drizzle.
‘Twas a lovely, exciting double date spot!

Great Italian good! Service was good we tried over 6 different dishes and all were great. You can’t go wrong here.
I have tried grilled octopus in the past at other restaurants never impressed. This place did it right. Absolutely delicious!

Dolce was great in all areas… ambiance, service, food, drinks, dessert… all top notch!
We ate the Caprese appetizer (best ever), Zingara pizza, Bolognese pasta, and Nutella budino. Couldn’t have been more pleased with the service.
The only downside is that the restroom is shared with the nightclub that is also in the Gale Hotel. While it allows for some entertainment, the cleanliness and noise level went down and up, respectively.

I visited Dolce due to seeing the restaurant featured on Bravo’s Best New Restaurant tv show and it was conveniently close to our hotel when visiting Miami!
Service was friendly, our server was able to make recommendations on various dishes. We went for lunch and the main dining area was closed for a private event so where we ate was what appeared to be the lobby of the hotel, but it was part of the restaurant, but just right by the door.
I went with our servers recommendation and went with the fettuccine all bolognese. It was delicious and just the perfect portion size, I was really impressed. My husband had one of their paninis and really enjoyed it and it was a large portion.
Overall it was a really nice meal and I would have no problem returning if in the area again. It would be a nice dinner spot.

Loved the service, loved the waiter (authentic italian guy:-)), loved the food. All in all, my new fav place on Collins street.

An exceptional place to dine.
Valet to park at The Gale hotel for $ 20 instead of a parking garage at $ 26 with a three hour limit.
Our hostess was friendly and accomodating.
We sat at the bar a while prior to having dinner. Great prices for happy hour.
Our bartender was great at building rapport. We had excellent service at the bar!
First cocktail was the Apple Basil Splash, which was tangy and refreshing and smell of fresh lush basil inviting
Next cocktail, which was complimentary, was the L’Hugo. Enjoyed the Apple Basil more.
Then, the pino grigio from the happy hour menu.
We also ordered the Zingara pizza from the bar. The pizza arrived hot. It was thin and crispy crust with the perfect amount of cheese.
We sat for dinner and ordered the grilled octopus and meatballs for appetizer. The grilled octopus was wonderfully tender and melted in my mouth. The meatballs with polenta were nothing spectacular but good. They were average size meatballs at almost $ 6 per ball.
I ordered the pinot noir recommended by our waiter to accompany dinner.
For main we ordered the seafood risotto with lobster and the veal milanese. The risotto was perfectly al dente and creamy. Seafood fresh. The veal was pounded thin and presented on a huge cutting board with crisp arugula garnished with tomatoes and parmesan. The veal had delicious crunchy breading and tender.
Our service was attentive and can rival any other fine dining establishment.
The décor is dark and contemporary. The restaurant is part of the hotel and you can see guests visit the bar in pool attire so it is a casual atmosphere.
The menu is simple and food simply good!

Went to Dolce last night for my friends birthday. We were excited because they were on the Best New Restaurant and believe they won.
We ordered their specialty appetizers, meatballs and the grilled octopus. Not bad but not great. The meatball was disappointing. I was hoping the search for the «perfect» meatball was over… Unfortunately I will have to keep searching. The octopus was perfectly cooked and beautifully presented but then was bland in flavor. So we decided to leave and have a progressive dinner and have our entrée elsewhere.
The best part was the dessert they brought out for her birthday. I do not know what it was but it was amazing!

I was so excited to come here. Went with 4 people. Made reservations day of, on a Friday no problem. Everything we had was good several things were amazing!!! Highly recommend the octopus. Cooked to perfection. I mean unreal. Also recommend the risotto. Butter, cream, spicy seafood. Delicious and lastly you have to try the Panna cotta, if you are a fan on any level. Best Ive ever had.
Tried alot of things those were the standouts. Service is decent. Dressy but relaxed atmosphere.

Heard about this place from seeing it on «Best New Restaurant» on Bravo, and was going to seek it out just to get a glimpse of it. Had no idea where it was located, but honestly just stumbled upon it walking down Collins Ave one afternoon (and with the prices being very reasonable for lunch in Miami Beach, we decided to come back). Just sat back enough from the sidewalk to give it a bit of privacy from all the traffic, the outdoor patio space was nice, with umbrellas protecting you from the blazing sun. While the inside was cool and modern looking, we opted to sit outside for lunch.
Our server sat us outside immediately, and he was very attentive during the entire meal. We ordered a peach bellini that was good, but not outstanding, and an ice cold Peroni beer served in a bottle with a glass. For lunch, we opted for a prosciutto pizza with mozzarella and fettuccine bolognese. The pizza was larger than I thought it was going to be, and could definitely feed one person with more to spare. The crust was thin, the sauce was delicious, with just enough mozzarella as to not overwhelm it, and the prosciutto covered the entire pie so every slice had a good serving of it. Not greasy at all, and I couldn’t get enough of it. The fettuccine was also a healthy sized portion for lunch, and the pasta was perfectly cooked with a very hearty meat sauce.
Overall, for a quick lunch outside with good people watching, and even better food, you should hit this place up. I was surprised that it wasn’t more packed given that we did lunch on a Saturday afternoon (right around noon/​1pm), but maybe it’s more crowded at dinner time. You won’t be disappointed.

I was following «Best New Restaurant» so when my husband and I visited Miami I had to try Dolce. It did not disappoint!
The service was on point, the food was so good!
We tried these dishes:
Grilled octapus — Perfectly charred and tender.
Meatballs and polenta (divine!)
Tricolore salad
Broccoli rabe and sausage pizza
Shortrib tortellini
We devoured each dish until we didn’t have room to finish the pizza. We enjoyed the left overs the next day and they were just as good.
I appreciate a place with solid food, non-​pretentious service and a great wine list!

Ducked in to meet Andrea and Nicole. They were visiting from parts West to celebrate Andrea’s birthday and do some Miami-​style celebratory up-​turnin’ and they called me. Sigh.
It was a fine experience, here’s why:
* Cool décor
* Small and cozy
* Excellent service from Ennio who appears to be authentically Italian from the accent
A good cross section of eats and drinks were ordered:
* Dolce Panini $ 16
* Ketel One Dirty $ 17
* Caprese Salad $ 14
* Smoked Old Fashioned Cocktail $ 17
* Spicy Raspberry Vodka Drink $ 13
Good stuff,
Cabeza OUT!

A disappointing dinner after a great first time.
I attended a Unilocal event last year that left me raving about my experience to everyone. I finally made it back to Dolce and I have to say, I was not impressed.
I love the location and potential to do so much in the one spot (important given just what a pain parking can be on the beach). You can dine here, then have after dinner cocktails at The Regent, and end the night at Rec Room.
Elevated several steps above the small bar (pseudo-​lobby), Dolce sits pretty with its dark interiors and upbeat ambience. Our party of six had the semi-​private back room and I was ready to dig in.
Unfortunately, our food was mostly just OK. Nothing was memorable. Nothing is calling me back, and I have no reason to ever return. That is just so sad given how long I had been waiting to come back to Dolce.
We had the following…
CAPRICCIOSA PIZZA, looked great but despite having ingredients that should have bursted with flavor (ham, artichokes, and olives) it was still bland.

GRILLED OCTOPUS gummy
DOLCE MEATBALLS the accompanying polenta was great, the actual meatball inside was dry.
PAN SEARED BRANZINO this was actually very nice this second time around (and the one item I had not liked at the event I had last attended). Go figure.
MUSHROOM RISOTTO not well rested, extremely hot, just OK.
FETTUCCINE ALLA BOLOGNESE did not try this one. My friend did say it was «good»
LOBSTER RISOTTO (forgot the official name) just OK
SPAGHETTI AL POMODORO this was my main dish. The first time I had it, I thought it was great. I wanted to compare it against the best simple plate of spaghetti I have ever had (time and time again) at Scarpetta. I knew the second it was served it would be different. Different than the first time at the Unilocal event and different than Scarpetta’s. Did they perhaps change chefs? I don’t know. Although the menu claims to use San Marzano tomatoes (my favorite!), the pasta (which was overcooked) was overly sauced and just overkill. The dish tasted just like any other plain plate of spaghetti out there.
CHOCOLATE MOUSSE not what I expect from this supposed high end restaurant
RICOTTA CHEESECAKE same as I wrote above
Overall, had this dinner been in some random location in Westchester and about half the price, it would have been worth it. At this point, I am going with this theory: overpriced and overhyped because of the location. Sad to say, but for the same price I can have an exceptional dinner elsewhere on the beach.
With the exception of our waiter not wanting to shred additional cheese ON THE SIDE (instead of ON my pasta) for me and giving me a random excuse («Miami humidity does not allow cheese to sit well in a bowl” — que?), he was attentive and professional all night.
Sorry Dolce. That’s all she wrote. There won’t be a third time for me.
UPDATED March 2015: Congratulations to DOLCE on your sweet win as Best New Restaurant. Everything you cooked in the finale looked AMAZING (and nothing compared to what I had while there). My review here stands for now because it’s, after all, what I experienced. That said, I promise to return (even though I said I wouldn’t) and see if the magic you showed on TV truly shines in person during a third visit. Any chance you are adding the duck & foie gras agnolotti to the menu? ;)