Il Sole

excellent customer service and good food, small portion though, but it’s a high-​end restaurant, i wouldn’t expect more than that, the price is steep, but you dine at Versace Mansion :)
Very beautiful restaurant, highly recommend if you are in South beach.

Speechless. If I had to pick one word to describe my dining experience at the Versace mansion, it would be that. I still cannot fathom the fact that everything was perfect. From the moment you walk in the mansion, it just takes your breath away. Everything from the design and architect is built with character and it’s like stepping into Gianni Versace’s creative mind. As a lover of food and fashion, this restaurant was definitely on my «foodie» bucket list. The moment you walk up the stairs to enter the gates of a highly-​profiled designer’s home, you can’t help but feel a bit dark and wonder what really happened the day of his death (I know, a bit unappetizing to read, but I love the story of Gianni Versace). You get an instant feeling of elegance, class, luxury and a bit of romance. Overall, you are in South Beach!
The mansion truly deserves its own review. It is an amazing historical location that many people view one as one of the most expensive homes in the world. The entry is with lined with stone floors leading to one of Gianni’s fountains. Every inch of space is detailed with just creativity. Some of the floors were made with real gold, the throw pillows inside the lounge were detailed with the infamous Medusa head. It is very intricately designed and decorated to make the atmosphere even more breathtaking. Truly one of the best experiences I have ever had!
The restaurant:
In Miami to celebrate my birthday, I had to eat here for my birthday! I did not make reservations until the day of, but luckily enough, there was one more space available to dine. Il Sole is the name of the restaurant inside the Versace Mansion. The restaurant is outside facing the pool area. The only downside is the humidity. I know we cannot help that, but the breeze from the beach did make it feel better. Despite the humidity, everything else was amazing. My party and I were sat next to the pool. The lighting, the ambiance, the seating was just perfect. The staff was very friendly, fast and very elegant with the way they handled the food. I had the scallop antipasti and bone marrow antipasti to start off. Wow. The freshness of the scallops and the intricacy of the different flavors they added was incredible. The bone marrow also had an array of different sauce to try. One of the best bone marrow dishes I had ever tried. For my main course, I had the Florida snapper. I love seafood especially when it is fresh. It was a very simple dish, but the flavors of the fish was the main show. It was such an incredible experience I did not want to end. I did not have dessert, but I did have wine (even better)! The dessert menu looked amazing, but I did not have enough room to try anything. The price range of the meal was not as bad as I thought it would be. I am from Las Vegas, so I am used to the prices on the Strip and you would pay about the same, if not more, for a great Mediterranean restaurant.
Overall, this dining experience is definitely one for the books. Two months later, I am still speechless at how amazing everything was. Truly amazing.

Spectacular! My beat friend and I went to Miami for her birthday, so we made reservations at II Sole for dinner. They asked us to wait at the bar until our table was ready because we were a few minutes early. Drinks were good and it did not take long to be seated. Our server was very attentive and helpful, even offered to take our photos with the Versace fountain in the back. The check will be pricey but worth every penny. Highly recommend it.

What the hell does «love in the air» mean anyway? Is what I always used to wonder until I fell in love. Trust me, boys and girls, at the restaurant inside the Versace mansion, you will fall in love. It is THE most romantic place I’ve ever had dinner with someone I wanted to feed. The air. The stone. The marble. The rooms. The sky. The service. The food. All working in unison to create for you the most beautiful and romantic evening you could possibly imagine. I ended my night more in love than I have ever been and I was happy that I had shared it with the perfect person.
So naturally when you make reservations to a place like this, you do it for the novelty of it. You get excited that you’re having dinner at the Versace mansion. It’s cool. You’re looking forward to it but know (or think you know) in the back of your mind that the food will probably be okay. You’re happy if it’s edible. Just to say you had dinner at the multi-​million dollar mansion.
Then you sit at the table in a room that was built from tile and marble from Italy and you proceed to order: the $ 200 ounce of caviar, the grilled octopus, the butter poached lobster, and the crusted lamp chops. Nothing out of the ordinary for a night out. Oh, wait! Don’t forget the squid ink pasta. Gotta try the black pasta!
And then you eat. Every bite was a taste of heaven. Ordinary food with an extraordinary impact on your senses! The food was outstanding. The atmosphere was intoxicating. And the love of my life was hypnotic. I would eat this again and again. And I would do this over and over again. It’s a night I wouldn’t trade.
But it’s not just the food. It’s the courtyard. The pool. The sound of the fountain. Enjoy it. Walk around and smell it. Hold your lover’s hand. Look into her eyes and tell her what she means to you. This is the place for that.

This restaurant is located in the Versace mansion and as you can imagine, it is exquisite and opulent. I took my mother and we both loved it. The food was fantastic and the service was excellent. The mansion is absolutely gorgeous on the inside and the dining room is stunning. The mosaic walls and floors, painted ceilings, gold plates, sterling silver flatware, and stained glass windows make for an over the top, luxurious experience. I would highly recommend this place to anyone who is looking to indulge and be treated like royalty. Fantastic! :) Reservations are required.

I’ve been here twice & my experiences were completely different both times. The first time we absolutely loved the place, the food was amazing, the drinks were good & we had a lovely time.
However, the second time our server was awful, we literally had to walk around to find him for confinements & stuff & he charged us $ 25 for a Long Island! The first time we went the Long Island was $ 9 & the second time it was $ 25. What a rip off! I like consistency when going out to places & I was extremely disappointed in my experience here.

What a marvelous experience. This place is well worth the hype and the food and service speaks volumes of elegance and luxury. Every bite was to die for and the atmosphere was lovely and the wait staff very attentive, friendly, and genuinely nice — not too pretentious at all. The prices reflect a very upscale well designed plate and if you’re not into paying for that, move on — do not visit this establishment.
We started with the Lobster, Beet and Burrata salad — bursting with several flavors of arugula, chicory, lemon, basil oil, and more! I cannot even describe how lovely this salad tasted — so fresh and amazing. We also had the tartare — so excellent and the marrow. The marrow arrived in 4 huge bones that was almost too much! The portions were perfect here, we did not leave hungry at all. There was a lovely bread course that arrived with European style creamy white butter sprinkled with 2 different salts — I could have eaten an entire loaf with that butter. Don’t skip it when it comes around!
For entrees, we had the lamb — so tasty and generous portions, cooked perfectly. The branzino, garnished with smooth potato purée, pomegranates, lentils and capers and balsamic reduction — the flavors lend themselves to a dance in your mouth! Seriously! My daughter had the lamb papardelle — yes, this pasta is elegant smooth, thin, homemade ribbons of pasta that were delicately smothered with tomato lamb sauce.
On to the atmosphere, I loved the 70s music mixes in the background, not too loud, but pleasant. The mansion is over the top opulent and looks like an Italian villa in the middle of south beach. The pool was beautiful at night with lights and foliage and tiny colorful mosaics everywhere. A lot of fun just to see this place, and the icing on the cake was the food. We will be back.

The positives:
— Amazing setting
— Despite some of the reviews I’ve read, the staff were great and the service was definitely on point.
— The food was good, not mind-​blowing, but good. Another nod to the waitering staff was when I mentioned our dissatisfaction with the dessert, he was very apologetic and insisted on providing a round of drinks on the house, even after I said we were only wanting to provide constructive criticism.
Just one negative:
This is not just an incredibly special setting, it represents an extremely luxurious and extravagant brand. So where with most special restaurants you may come with certain expectation of the experience, with where IL Sole is located, one can expect a lot more. I think IL Sole has done a good job except for one detail which really affected the ambience: the music. Someone thought it was acceptable to stick on a playlist of chart/​pop hits and when Dido came on it was the final nail in the coffin for me.
It’s not that I was expecting a string quartet to be playing in the courtyard, but they seriously need to consider what this place represents and consider the right music, I would have preferred not to have even noticed the music than hear bloody Dido in the Verssace mansion!

I was surprised to see how easy it was to get a reservation in this oh so famous spot, yet I was glad it was. I asked for a poolside table and was told– «sure if you get champagne bottle service». I politely declined but happily bought drinks at the cute bar– which doesn’t require a reservation to enter. Maybe it was being happy to order drinks at the bar or just dumb luck, but the hostess returned to retrieve the 4 of us and seated us at what seemed to be the best poolside table in the joint. I tipped her and couldn’t be happier!
The food is expensive yet fairly priced for the location. Everyone’s dish was prepared well (lobster entrée, scallops app, steak entrée) and portion size was good, EXCEPT MINE!!! I paid over $ 55 for two smallish lamb chops on some couscous. It was an insult. I stared at the dude next to me’s steak all night– same price and giant! I think they were running out of lamb chops and tried to extend the entrée before needing to «86» it but they took it out on me which was so frustrating. I HAD TO GET FOOD ELSEWHERE AFTER MY MEAL.
Also our server rushed us to order, unprofessionally, and when we passed on coffee and dessert because he acted like he needed the table, he seemed disappointed– jerk! This was a fun experience but two lamb chops for about $ 75 (w/​tax & tip) is outrageous.

5 stars solely for the service we received from Antonio. Food was good, nothing above ordinary. I ordered the Branzino, it was amazing. However, the snapper was extremely dry and bland. If you’re an out of towner, like myself, you should visit il sole and ask for Antonio to be your waiter.

Such a letdown!!! You are paying to eat in Versace mansion with a cool ambiance. That’s where the good part ends. The service here could not be worse!!! Waiter never came to ask if everything was prepared well. Food was ok. One highlight would be the lamb papardelle. The octopus was rubbery. Branzino entrée had good flavor but it was a small portion and was not served hot. The signature drinks were a waste of money. I would definitely recommend finding somewhere else to dine.

In a town of GREAT food this stands as one of the highest pillars of mediocrity. I can’t say I mind paying big big bucks for excellent food, but this was an insult. It isn’t just the food, though, it was the pretentious air of the staff that is completely unwarranted. Tried to charge us $ 12 for water, extremely slow service, cold food. I couldn’t complain to THEM, the waiter was barely present. Had to ask for our tab 3 times from 3 different people. There is a dress code, which would have been fine if it was a fine dining experience. This struggled to compete with McDonald’s. Our evening was basically ruined by this experience, don’t let it happen to you.

I went here for my birthday with my boyfriend and boy it was a great choice. It felt very intimate. I literally felt like I was at someones home for dinner. The craziness of Ocean Drive was not inside this place.
The drinks were really good! That is mixology level drinks.
I’m not sure why that vegetarian lady is complaining. If you are a vegetarian, shouldn’t you check the menu first? I don’t think I have every walked into a restaurant without doing my research so I know what cuisine type, pricing, choices in meat and fish, sides. Just because a place has a reputation, doesn’t mean I should walk in there like they will have everything I want. Vegetarians like that are annoying is what I am trying to say :)
I like that the menu, it is simple. I felt like the chef can actually perfect that meal rather than saturating the menu with too many choice. It took some time to get our food out but it was well worth. It was perfect. The chocolate bread pudding was good, like really good!
Oh and the bread with the cheese… I will forever crave that!!!
I will definitely be returning for a lunch date with the girls!

Outstanding, this place is extremely elegant. It is fine dining at its best. The décor leaves you speechless as you enter. The staff members are great, extremely friendly and professional. Our waiter, Antonio was the best server I have ever had had at any restaurant. To top it all off, the food was spectacular. It was an outstanding time. I could of stayed there all day, it feels so peaceful inside, it was a nice change from the loud chaos of the other restaurants in the area. I can not wait to return the next time I am in Miami

We had 7:00 reservations. We. Got a call reminding us to be there by 7. We showed up at 6:45 for a drink and told they did not open until 7. WTF? Once we got in after 7 we were not allowed in the bar because it was full from a group from a wedding. 150 people (more on this in a minute).
Once we were seated the server seemed confused 2 c kept come over and we repeated our order several times. After we begun ordering one sever insisted we order everything at once. We agreed and place the order.
We got our appetizers and then the long wait begun. The manager came by all the tables and apologize for the wait. He explained they had a 150 people wedding and the kitchen was backed up. He acted like the wedding was a surprise to them. Oh, we had 150 just dropped by unexpectedly? POOR PLANNING.
Long story short, after 2 hours we had not received the entrée and asked for the check. The servers seems very upset and we were charged for several things we did not order about $ 75 overcharge. (Are they on commission?) Since my wife was upset I did not look at the itemized bill until we got back to the hotel.
Good luck to all that want to dine there. We will not even the K of going back or to any of the BentlyG resturants.

Celebrated my birthday at Il Sole and our experience couldn’t have been any better!
The staff and service were EXCELLENT!!! Our servers Shane, Michael and Jaime provided us great service.
The food was amazing and the manager made sure we had a great experience. If you are thinking about going to Il Sole don’t think twice! Amazing experience.

Went there with colleagues and the food was phenomenal. All the south beach restaurants are unnecessarily pricey, but I think il sole pulls its weight. We got the hamachi crudo and bone marrow started – both delicious. Everybody got seafood for dinner which was good actoss the board. The desserts are a must as well, we had the cheesecake and key lime custard-​like item. They were great! The baklava was «deconstructed» and not very good.
Forewarning most couples are there on very romantic dates and if there are guests in the hotel you can’t walk around the property much.

In a word: amazing!
This was probably one of the most unique and elegant dining experiences I’ve had in a while. Il Sole is in the former Versace Mansion, I hear it’s tough to get a reservation, but our friend got us in. They are adamant about their dress code and when they confirm your reservation, they remind you that flip flops are not allowed. A refreshing change from the terribly too casual dress code of Miami Beach.
We received a friendly greeting and our waiter was entertaining the entire night. The bottle of wine we ordered was fantastic. Every single thing we ate, including the amuse-​bouche, was heavenly. I have not tasted such a fantastic meal, put together so well, with flavors that transcend ordinary ingredients, portions that are filling, and a wonderful presentation to boot.
Lobster, beets and burrata – OMG!
Roasted sea bass – OMG!
Butter poached lobster – OMG!
Lamb tagine – OMG!
Dessert was also amazing.
We felt like royalty and how could you not when you’re sitting in a room that is glittering in amazing mosaics made out of gold and who knows what else! And served on hand and foot. My only complaint is that service slowed down throughout our meal and it took rather long for each course to come out, and by the end, we were just itching to get out of our seats, it seemed like the dinner dragged on for an hour too long. We had to ask for our check several times before we actually got it, so that got a little irritating.
After dinner, we were given a little tour of the mansion downstairs, including the beautiful garden and mosaic pool lined with 24-​carat gold. If we had it to do again, I would’ve chosen to sit outside since the inside, although beautiful, felt a little dark and claustrophobic and over air conditioned. One of the waiters even gave me a little extra sneak peek when I asked where the restroom was. Instead of pointing me to the main bathrooms, he showed me to Versace’s private bathroom. Yes, indeed, I used Versace’s private toilet, which is made of $ 10,000 marble and has a 24-​carat seat (well, it did, until Donatella took it after his death and replaced it with a replica). Don’t know if that was more creepy than cool, but anyway, I guess I can check that off my list. Pee in Versace’s toilet, check.
And in closing, you should definitely go here for a special occasion, if you’re ever in Miami. Well worth the price and a memorable experience.

Il Sole inside the Versace Mansion has just reopened for business.
Warm greetings when we arrived. We were advised on the phone that indeed there was a dress code. We were seated in the dining room, however I thought it would be a good idea to check the bar out first and contemplate a plan. We decided if the offerings were not great, or insanely priced we would get something small and then head out to a place on Ocean drive for a bite.
The service at the bar was mediocre at best. I kept trying to make conversation with the bartender, however he was stoic. The wait staff is the same as any in south beach. He did mention that seating by the pool on this gorgeous night would be appropriate. So we took our drinks after some chit chat to the terrace. Absolutely beautiful. I could not believe how intricately it was designed, old euro styling, cobblestone, famous 24k lined pool… sensory overload of beauty. It was redesigned by G. Versace, and I am not sure if it was again remodeled after his death (he was shot there). However, it has been preserved beautifully.
We sat right by the pool. It was a bit dark, as it was a breezy evening and the candles kept blowing out. We had about 2 waiters and one server. We ordered the Charred Calabrian Octopus, it had to be the best Octopus I have eaten. Crispy on the outside and soft and warm on the inside.
I had the Poutlet Rouge, which is chicken perfectly roasted a la planca, guanciale (Pig jowl, never had it before, gluttonous! must find it in Toronto!), caramelized cippolini onions and arribiata sauce. It was all propped up on the plate over what I believe to be a cheese Italian rice ball. It was succulent and flavorful.
I almost had to stop and take a quick breather and remember what a refined venue I was in, the food was scrumptious.
I would come back here again. The bill will set you back some, but not more than any other place. We actually went to a lesser venue and spent just as much on lesser quality food… that review up next!

This iconic mansion is filled with history as it was the former residence of the acclaimed fashion designer Gianni Versace. The mansion now has a restaurant, that was closed for about a year and it just re-​opened a couple of weeks ago, so I decided to visit it and see what it was all about.
The restaurant offers an Italian menu with a Mediterranean influence and has great presentation. The service was also great, however, my friends and I found the food to be pretty average except for the dessert it was delicious!
The highlight was the home. The mansion was gorgeous with its walls of pebble mosaics, the frescoed ceilings, the 24 karat gold lined pool and the overall impeccable detail of the house was great. The house was built in 1950 and still has most of its original décor.