Macchialina Taverna Rustica

If you’re in Miami, you HAVE to eat here. The food is to die for. Very sweet, romantic vibe. I wanted more of everything! The food was fresh and authentic, what more could you want?! Service was great, as well.

High 4, approx. 4.30. Based off single visit for dinner 6÷9÷16. I come here often, definitely a place I would come back to, or recommend.
Weather was perfect after earlier rains, dined outside. Something I tend to shy away from in Chicago b/​c of winds, but no issue whatsoever on a June evening in Miami. Party of 3, my friend who is a regular ordered for the table:
— Polpettine (meatball) w/​grilled bread: Good. I decided this would be an exception to eating meat/​dairy free going in. This was alright, texture of the meatball was fine, good bread.
— Octopus: My buddy put in 2 orders knowing it was solid, and it was. Unique texture in that it was not seared or charry, nor breaded. It had a baked look and feel, which ended up being perfectly tender, no rubbery feel or other common octopus prep error. Good flavor as well.
— Tagliolini al Funghi: Possibly my favorite. Excellent light (emphasis added) cream sauce w/​quality sliced mushrooms. Texture and flavor were on point. Lesson in addition by subtraction, not every pasta should have umpteen ingredients, profiles, textures etc. going on.
— Cavatelli: Solid, especially the meat sauce. No chunkiness to the meat, smoothly mixed in, proper degree of al dente on the cavatelli.
— Beet Mezzaluna: Nice take on ravioli that I don’t see enough of. Preferable to the over-​sized 2-​to-​the-​order type, and nice use of hazelnuts for texture. The flavor itself had a little tartness, which makes sense w/​beets, but atypical for the ravoli in butter-​sauce genre.
Good experience. I will return. Decent price on the red wine and food overall. Excellent value for the area!

A group of girls and I on a bachelorette trip to South Beach came in for dinner on Friday night last week. From the second we arrived to the smaller, more intimate restaurant, we were taken care of and catered to. The bartender was awesome and server Nick, was fantastic.
We shared a few plates and were happy with everything we ordered. The mushroom pasta thoughhhhhh. so damn good. Haha.
Definitely try this place. A gem of sorts.

We love this place, and have been several times. Each time, we have had great experiences with the hostesses and servers, and the food has been consistently outstanding.
The dark, tightly packed interior has something of a NY feel to it, and the dishes tend to have a creative twist. The desserts are a surprise standout, and the tiramisu remains the best we have had anywhere. I’m not a huge fan of the outdoor seats as they face busy Alton road, but they fill up quick, so specify in your reservation where you would like to sit.
All in all, Macchialina is a solid choice for well-​executed food in a lively atmosphere. It may not come cheap, but it really is much better quality than the average Italian joint.
Pro tip: the privately owned parking lot next door is exorbitantly priced. If you’re driving, I recommend parking in the municipal garage at 5^th and Alton and walking 5 minutes to the restaurant.

I was invited by some business colleagues to this restaurant recently. I looked up the restaurant online and was excited to experience this place, based on their website and online reviews.
The location, if memory serves me correctly is where the old Sicily restaurant on Alton road used to be. Getting to the restaurant I was greeted quickly, met my colleagues and was brought to our table. Our server was gracious and offered a few suggestions. I’ll rate this restaurant as I have with many others, going over the food, the service and any other important items of mention.
First let me say, that for the most part (not entirely), this is NOT authentic Italian food. You would be hard pressed to find these dishes throughout Italy and Sicily. If your expectations of Italian food are those from the Northeast like Philly, NYC or Boston, then you may be disappointed as well.
Food:
Meat and Cheese Board — We were convinced by our server that this dish would be good for the 3 of us so we selected it. What came out was a paltry and poorly represented interpretation of a nice Charcuterie platter. Such small portions that there was barely enough meat and cheese for one simple taste. Items that were presented were nothing to write home about. No great salumi, soppressata, bresaola, burrata or percorinos. Really a sad dish crying out to be created as something more substantial.
Mediterranean Octopus — Honestly this was the best thing we had for the entire meal (though not an Italian version), more a version from Croatia/​Bosnia. It was cooked excellent and flavorful. If you do venture here, I recommend getting an order. It might just put a smile on your face.
Veal Saltimbocca — Unfortunately a poor dish. The flavors were so off and overly salty. This dish was «Moo-​ing» for approval but every bite had us shaking our heads.
The NY Strip — I am generally not a fan of this cut of beef. Again this dish produced question marks ??? above our heads. It’s not that difficult to make a great steak.
Wine and Cocktails —
Thankfully, these were executed well. They have a few nice signature cocktails and their wine selection is decent, not great, but decent.
Dessert —
Cannoli — Just don’t do it! We were actually pretty SHOCKED how bad these were. With both Chefs hailing from the Northeast, they should know what makes a great cannoli… and these were begging to be thrown away. These are smack in the face for anyone who has tasted authentic cannoli.
Tiramisu — This dish had us chuckling and saying «What were they thinking?».
One bite of each of these was enough for us to stop eating altogether.
Macchialina is unfortunately just another one-​of-​many foo foo Italian-​esque eateries here in South Florida. It doesn’t stand on it’s own. What we do need in South Florida is «REAL, TRADITIONAL, AUTHENTIC ITALIAN COOKING!»
BIG TIP: Upon leaving the restaurant, we noticed a few groups of people standing around the parking lot in what appeared to be in panic. It seems that the adjacent parking lot is private, not public parking. Even though it has all the signs and ticket machines that mimic a city lot. So all these people had their vehicles towed to the famous Tremont Towing. One restaurant patron stated that the tow driver told him that he was 10 minutes past the deadline on his ticket and it would cost $ 240.00 to get the vehicle back. This is a BIG DEAL! Whatever good experience these patrons had from visiting the restaurant, were now diminished. Given this, Macchialina should have this fact posted on their website and their servers should also mention it.
I’m on the fence about coming back. Time will tell.

James provided us wth great recommendations and we enjoyed every bite of it… the warm sweet potato salad was one item I wouldn’t have personally ordered and it turned out to be my fav dish… finger licking good!

I have to give three stars here, although the place is really neat, and the food excellent. Very small portions though, so order an appetizer! It’s a small and comfy Italian place, which has a lot of charm.
I’m giving three instead of four stars because of how they deal with large groups. After a nice evening spending more than usual on this excellent food the last thing I wanted to do is figure out who had what and split the check myself. Nowadays even small cheap places come along with their iPad and card reader and take care of all of that. It’s not the 19^th century any more and from a classy place deducting gratuity fixed I just expect that. With all the Italian wine and food names that may sound very similar at times really a pain in the b*. Took forever, and in the end there were errors splitting it so we had to hand in some cards again. I felt sorry for my guests and the waiter.

Delicious but small portioned. Touted as a local’s favorite, my boyfriend and I made our way in on a Wednesday night. Service was prompt and attentive. The food was just delicious, every plate we ordered was unbelievable. Started with burrata & prosciutto — this is when the shock of the portion sizes hit us — it was a single spoon dollop of burrata with ONE slice of prosciutto — for $ 20. Ridiculous. Got the pasta with clams, again amazing but no more than a single pasta ladle worth of noodles. BF got the short rib lasagna and it was literally the best and most original tasting lasagna I’ve ever tasted — but again a very small portion. Although the food was delicious, and we did leave perfectly full but not stuffed, I can’t warrant a second visit knowing the price to portion ratio is so whack.

Went to Macchialina on a Thursday evening for dinner. For an appetizer we ordered the Local Burrata and the Polpettine. As our meal since they were doing a special we ordered two of the pasta dishes the Shortrib Lasagna and the Beet Mezzaluna.
Quality
To start I must say I was very close to ordering the chef’s tasting menu as it seemed to have a tremendous amount of delicious items, but because they had a special pasta menu we steered in that direction. However I do feel like there are quite a few other solid items worth trying on the menu. That said the Local Burrata was very good as was the bread it was served with. I do feel like more could have been done with the vegetable medley it was served with as the tomatoes did not seem too fresh. The Polpettine, the veal cheek and pork meatballs were incredible. They were melt in your mouth good and the sauce was tremendous. I was a big fan of the Shortrib Lasagna as the shortrib adds such a rich and savory flavor to the dish. Although it was good I felt like the Beet Mezzaluna lacked the same complexity as the ricotta was either too little or not strong enough to carry the beet. I am being picky though, everything was very solid.
Quantity
All the dishes were a bit smaller than I would have expected. They said the pasta would be the same size as normal even though they were discounted, which definitely made me feel like full priced it would be a bit expensive. Sharing what I ordered I definitely left still a little hungry.
Value
On another night I feel like the Chef’s Tasting Menu for $ 55 would be the best route to take, not only to try a wide variety of dishes, but to maximize value. However, on Thursdays all the pasta dishes are $ 10, which is a great deal as they are more than half off. I was not aware of this beforehand, but it was a very nice surprise.
Ambiance
Macchialina is towards the south end of Alton Road. It is a bit easy to miss if you are not looking for it. The restaurant has a good amount of indoor seating and is in the style of a classic Italian restaurant. There is a small bar and the inside has a very upscale feel. It was a beautiful evening so we ended up sitting outside, which ended up being in high demand as many people came with their dogs. Outside was a bit of a mixed bag as it was nice out, but you are very close to the road and the sidewalk is not big so you constantly have people walking and biking right by your table. It seemed like different music was playing inside and outside with more classical Italian inside and a mix of indie rock and old school hip-​hop outside. It felt like two different restaurant feels, which depending on your mood could be a very good thing.
Crowd
The restaurant was packed both inside and outside, which was a bit surprising for a weekday night, but others may have been more in the know about the specials. It definitely felt like a lot of locals and regulars as many people seemed to have a rapport with the staff. Some people were dressed formally, but even more were wearing shorts so it seems hard to define, as it is with many places on the Beach.
Service
Our waitress was very nice and offered solid selections. It was definitely a little overwhelming when you get handed four menus at once, but she went through everything with us. Also, even though it was clear that towards the end of our meal other waiting patrons were eyeing us the staff never made us feel rushed at all. It was a great experience.
Parking
There is street parking around the area, but with the construction it is not easy to find a spot. There is also a private lot adjacent to the restaurant, but as they will warn you, and as I witnessed, they are quick to tow.
Extra
Definitely a very solid Italian restaurant with an interesting mix of classics with new unique twists. It may not appeal to everyone especially someone expecting a more cookie cutter sampling of Italian food, but it definitely is worth a try. With the Thursday pasta deal there really is no reason not to try it.

Delicious food! We tried the Local Burrata, Broccolini al Cesare, and the Tortino di Melanzane (eggplant parmigiana). All 3 were great. For my entrée I got the short rib lasagna– it looked small, but it was more than enough for one person. The dish looked a little lonely without any sides, though.
My only compliant was that the lights were turned too low– we saw a bunch of people pulling out their flashlights to read the menu.

I came here for dinner with a group of 4, and luckily had made a reservation the night prior. The restaurant was packed and buzzing with energy. Our party of 4 was seated quickly and the wait staff was attentive throughout the entire meal. Parking is available on the street or in a small parking lot off the side of the restaurant. It was difficult to hear what everyone at my table was saying, as the restaurant was pretty loud.
The food was pretty good, though. We started with the burrata and eggplant appetizers — both very tasty, but the eggplant was hard to share between 4 people. For our entrée, 3 of us ordered the Beet Filled Mezzaluna (highly recommended by our waitress), and one ordered the Tagliolini Ai Funghi. The mezzaluna was a delicious balance between sweet and savory, and not too oily.
Overall, I would recommend this restaurant to anyone around the Miami Beach area for the delicious food!

We were looking for a great place to eat last night while in Miami, so decided to consult Eater… luckily, we made our way to Macchialina for an amazing dinner! The atmosphere transported me to NYC with the exposed brick and leather seating. The hostess was so welcoming and our server was amazing — great to make recommendations and take care of everything we needed. The food was truly amazing — we started with a meat/​cheese board, eggplant parm (so amazing), a margherita pizza, and the creamy polenta (this stuff is so good, it should be illegal — seriously!). For our entrees, we tried the beet mezzaluna, whole fish, mushroom pasta, duck tagliatelle, lasagna and the meat pasta — all ridiculously good! We rounded out our dinner with the highly recommended and not at all disappointing tiramisu and the zeppoli — so yummy!
So, why not 5 stars? Really the music didn’t fit the setting and was a bit loud. Although, this place truly is a solid 4.5 stars — really very good!

Foos is excelent! The short rib lasagna is completely out of this world!
We had the snapper and the burrata with tomatoes, very fresh :)
The downside of this place is the lack of training with waiters; the success is an in the little details. They have no idea how to serve and remove your plates from the table. Hope they do something about this.
The pannacotta is ok, nothing out of this world.

As of today there are 2 other Unilocal reviews of Macchialina’s Miami Spice 2015, both of them 3-​star, and if I had the experience of sharing the main course and small portions, I’d be upset too. But Macchialina is not running the Miami Spice menu on 2 nights: Sunday (when they have a different $ 39 deal) and Thursday (when they have a promotion on their pastas) — Thursday is the subject of this review.
$ 10 for a plate of fresh pasta is enough to get me to drive down to SoBe on a Thursday night, and although the traffic on this stretch of Alton road is so nightmarish that neighboring Soho Bay actually closed temporarily, I had no problem taking 395 East, and parking in the garage on the SE corner of Alton and 7^th street (had to make a U-​turn after exiting onto Alton).
I’d never been here before, so I went with a group to sample many different varieties. We had the 5 plates of pasta in my photo, and everybody had a different favorite (so ordering family style worked well). I left very full, so 1 pasta/​person would probably be sufficient. The beet filled pasta (mezzaluna) was really enjoyable and the most distinct from the rest, so I’d include that in any visit that includes other pastas. The lasagna was also a stand-​out, but when it comes to fresh house-​made pastas, you really can’t go very wrong at all.
So while I would defer to the other reviews of Miami Spice on the other days of the week, I have no problem endorsing a Thursday visit to Macchialina — just call ahead to see if the promo is running, as it may end when Miami Spice ends on September 30.
PS: returning to my car I found out that 0 – 2 hours is free parking, so bonus! (can even do a little shopping in the Publix in the same building as the parking garage before heading home).

Yummo! Visiting my co-​workers in Miami for a full day of fun, this was our last stop of the day. A nice celebratory dinner for all the hard work we did during the day (which included a lot of visiting awesome places and eating delicious food).
Exposed brick and woods — reminds you of a NY italian restaurant. The bathroom was tiny — but had some really cool photos in there decorating the walls. Take a look — even if it’s just to wash your hands.
We shared a ton of things… this is why I love my co-​workers.
Local burrata — delicious! Comes with tomatoes and arugula. Stack some of each on the toasted bread it comes with and prepare for heaven.
Short rib lasagna — amazing! This was maybe my favorite. Stacked to perfection.
Tagliolini al funghi — I’m a sucker for mushrooms. I’m a sucker for pasta. This one is a winner.
Polenta — delicious! Creamy and flavorful!
Beet pasta — these little pillows of pasta were perfection. Interesting combo of flavors with hazelnuts!
Panna cotta — for me panna cotta is something I’m never crazy about — but this one was super solid.
Zeppole — Fried balls of dough? Yes please! This was the sweet winner for me.
Awesome service! We had an australian dude, who had charisma for days! He was prompt, friendly and chimed in with some great convo from time to time.
Overall it was an incredible dinner and I look forward to coming back.

Went for Wednesday happy hour. $ 5 wine and some appetizers solo. Quaint little place with a small bar. The bar was full so I sat at a table in their sidewalk patio area.
Service was friendly.
Had the grilled country bread with salsa verde. A Porchetta sandwich and ricotta with giardinera. All three were tasty as was the wine.
Macchialina is great for dates and/​or foodies. And thanks to the happy hour specials great for single eaters too.

It’s not often I go out for Italian and places like Macchialina lead me to question why. After one meal here, I know I’ll be back very very soon.
Tempted by the chef’s tasting menu, it had ALMOST everything our table was looking for minus a few dishes so we decided to order individually and it all worked out perfectly. Let’s get right to it.
— Local burrata garnished with heirloom tomatoes and arugula — I was in cheesy heaven. Served atop grilled country bread, I could have ate multiple plates of this by myself.
— Broccolini al Cesare — There were bits of hard boiled egg scattered around the salad which wasn’t noted in the menu description. It’s one of my least favorite foods, but I ate around it. If you like Caesar salad, this is definitely an interesting take.
— Creamy polenta — YES! The polenta was cooked perfectly and the sausage ragu bursted with flavor. Next time, I’m ordering the polenta BOARD and hoping my dining companions are ok with me licking the plate clean.
— Shortrib & taleggio lasagna — I’m pretty sure you can add shortrib to anything and guarantee a hit, but this pasta, cheese and meat combo was out of this world. Definitely a must order.
— Beet filled mezzaluna — These sweet pasta pockets bursted wtih flavor. The ricotta provided a perfect salty component to balance out the sweet hazelnuts.
— Tagliolini al funghi — This mushroom and parmigiano pasta balanced out our other dishes nicely. The pasta was cooked perfectly and the flavors were delicate and so tasty.
For dessert, we tried the panna cotta and zeppole. I preferred the latter as I’ve never been a huge panna cotta fan. Next time, I’d definitely give the tiramisu a try!
For sips, our gracious waiter led us to a bottle of wine that suite everybody’s tastes.
For the entirety of the meal, I felt like I was in NYC rather than the side of Alton Road. They recently started offering $ 10 pasta dishes on Thursday which is an awesome deal. On Sunday, they celebrate Red Sauce Sundays with a pre-​fixe menu for $ 39.
I really can’t wait to go back. Thank goodness Macchialina lived up to the hype!

Holy delicious flavors.
Absolutely Delicious. Yes, I know I just repeated that but it’s double true. This is my favorite Italian place in Miami and quite possibly in all of the United States.
I have to quote Gabe M’s review here and I completely echo his feelings: «If you’ve ever been to Prato in Orlando, and loved it, hold on to your tits.»
Service was awesome, we had an Australian gentleman who was fantastic. Suggested some delicious wine and let us relax and take our time with each course. That was appreciated. And well, I could have listened to him read the menu over and over, I mean… Australian Accent. The décor was very relaxed and upscale/​homey at the same time. Exposed brick is always a welcome backdrop! We scored a table in the corner by the front window. Lovely.
Everything we ordered, we shared and that was the best way to experience everything because it was all absolutely full of flavor and delectable.
Local Burrata
— Heirloom tomatoes & arugula with fresh, toasted Italian bread. I could have eaten three plates of this. The cheese and tomatoes were perfection, adding the bread, even more impeccable.
Broccolini al Cesare
— Toasted garlic & parmigiano — what wasn’t noted was a hard boiled chopped egg was in here and I hate eggs. However, I did eat around it and the broccolini was very savory even tho acerbic.
Creamy Polenta
— Sausage ragu and cipollini on top of the creamiest of creamy polenta. wow. I could have slathered all of this on… ok let me not go further. Get this!
Tagliolini AI funghi
— Abalone mushrooms & parmigiano — the pasta was absolutely made in house and it was so light and was velvety on my tongue.
Beet Filled Mezzalua
— Hazelnuts, brown butter and ricotta salata. Bursting with flavor.
/​/​My Favorite /​/​
Lasagna
— Shortrib & taleggio cheese — voice inside your head «did she just write shortrib after the word lasagna?» YES. I. DID. and it was everything you would expect it to be. A trip of gustatory delights. The lasagna was topped with the perfectly cooked shortrib. It was the highlight of my meal.
An absolute divine and relaxed meal. I can’t suggest it enough and I can’t wait to return.

One of the things that I love about Miami is the way that the many cultures permeate the culinary scene, and brunch is not the exception. Last weekend, I decided to shake up my brunch routine and try Macchialina Taverna Rustica’s Italian take on it. I’ve always been a fan of their dinner menu, especially of their lasagna genovese, and was pleasantly surprised to see that their brunch fare was just as great.
Up next, my top three dishes from Macchialina’s brunch menu:
Burrata Crostino: how can you go wrong with burrata? This one is served over a two slices of crunchy, rustic bread, with heirloom tomatoes, basil and topped with a generous slice of prosciutto. A very simple dish, but the high quality ingredients make it a must try.
Eggs Macchialina: this is definitely the most popular brunch item in the menu. I kept seeing servers coming out of the kitchen with this dish, so naturally, I had to try it! As expected, it didn’t disappoint, and in fact, this is probably my favorite dish of the brunch menu, despite its simple appearance. Fluffy poached eggs over toasted bread and sweet potatoes, with a layer of fonduta cheese in the middle made the dish so tasty, that my taste buds tingled with happiness.
Italian Toast: Macchialina’s version of the French toast consists of a thin slice of panettone (a traditional Italian sweet bread), drenched in maple pecan butter and tiny bits of crunchy prosciutto. Some of you might be turned off by the thought of having meat mixed with your dessert, but I ask you to trust me on this one, as the combination works beautifully. The barely salted prosciutto complements the sweetness of the maple quite nicely, but wasn’t too strong, letting the dessert do its work.
Even though these dishes are available to order a la carte, I suggest you go for the prix fixe Chef Breakfast, which includes all three of them (as well as some other options to choose from) plus a brunch signature cocktail for only $ 35 per person.
If you find yourself stuck in a brunch rut next weekend, go the Italian way with Macchialina. You will not be disappointed!

Ask if this restaurant is good but don’t ask me how to pronounce the name lol
I love it when I find great last minute places on Unilocal!We originally had different plans, unfortunately the place we were going to didn’t have room for a group of 10, oh well.
This little gem hidden right on Alton rd won’t disappoint. The parking is a bit of a hassle but luckily there is a $ 10 valet (I think it varies though) right next to the restaurant. The décor is modern and artsy. There’s a huge mirror on the back wall that faces the bar so you get to experience the whole restaurant during your meal. It’s a small place but not cramped. The staff was wonderful, very accommodating and patient (you know how it is with groups)
Here is what I sampled:
Mediterranean Octopus– This dish was excellent! I was very pleased with the perfectly executed texture and flavors. It was rich and sweet, and well balance by the tomatoes. I loved it so much I ordered a second round!
Local Mushroom Salad– Perfect! Again, well balanced flavors! You wouldn’t think that mushrooms and apples would go so well together! The Truffle Vinaigrette was light with a hint of the truffle at the end. It complimented the sweetness of the apples. This is an amazing play on textures for your palette. This is a must try!
21 Dry Aged NY Strip– I didn’t care for this dish at all. The steak was a bit tough and too zesty. The sauce was very acidic, possible from all the tomato and peppers. I didn’t enjoy this flavor with the steak. It tasted like I was having «carne asada» I wouldn’t ordering this again.
Meat and Cheese board– good selection of meats and cheeses. The olives were amazing, I ate them all lol
Sugar snap pea salad– So light and so crispy! The sherry vinaigrette was wonderful, and the prosciutto was a perfect addition of saltiness.
Tiramisu– A nice twist on the cakey version. It was more like a mouse. I enjoyed the variation and the flavor was a little more on the coffee side, but in a good way.
Overall a great experience! I will definitely return to sample some more entrees
Enjoy!