Alba Seaside Italian

Let me start by saying the food was spectacular! From the roasted eggplant served with the bread — Try it you will never believe it is eggplant. I wanted to take some home it was so good! — To the Bacon Wrapped Dates (out of this world they were so good) and the Stone Crab Chowder that was full of flavor and very fresh Oysters on the half shell.
Dinner was Lobster Francese and Mahi a la Oscar with asparagus. For side dish we had Spinach Rockefeller. There was not a single morsel left, I was full but I had to finish it all, it was that good!
Desert was Chocolate Ganache Cake (gluten free!). Delicious and very rich, we split it.
Staff was very friendly and personable and the service was good. Restaurant décor was very nice and I would like to go back when it is light outside and sit on the balcony overlooking the ocean.
Now for the rest. I asked for flat water and got sparkling which was really no big deal until I saw it was $ 7 on my bill. Then to valet it was $ 5 for EACH person and was charged on the restaurant bill! Lastly, they put an 18% gratuity on the bill for the two of us (not a group) and didn’t mention that either. I did not notice any of this until the next morning when I looked at the receipt, as my husband had paid the bill. Guess he didn’t notice either!
Would I go back? Yes! The food was the main reason we went and it fully lived up to my expectations, with very good service. I now know about the water charge and that the tip is already included in the bill. The valet charge on the bill just leaves me baffled though and I will have to ask about that the next time that I go.
All in all, it was a very good experience, just review your bill before you pay!

Their brunch they offer online is not really offered. We paid to valet Park, to get to the restaurant, and their menu breakfast sucks. Do not bother.

I love the food, even though it supposed to be italian the whole menu was middle eastern, didn’t expect that. But, the food was great, I loved it, great surprise. The bartender who was also the server was very nice and profesional, but the as/^&*le they have for manager if horrible, perversely bad for their business, rude and unprofessional. She is definitely the rotten apple of the place. We saw how she treated the emoyees, and even worse, she treated us and looked at us with disdain. Just plain awful and if this review was because of her, it would have a minus 5 star. I asked her something about my drink and she just dumped it. Didn’t even tried to fix it. And left… so bad. I hope I could order take outs, their food was excellent, the zaganaki was pure yumminess, their falafel so unique and flavorful. So bad they don’t have a good management.

I cannot say enough about this place… not only is the food amazing but the atmosphere, the speciality cocktails and their outstanding staff, make this a destination that everyone needs to come to. If you haven’t been here, get here now! It’s worth the trip from any of the three counties… and then stay the night at Sole’

Alba is amazing! We get treated like royalty by Chef Pagano and his staff. There is nothing they will say no to. The food is delicious and now they have a Lebanese pop-​up on Thursday-​Saturday, with shows and live music. We just celebrated my boyfriend’s birthday with our friends there Friday and we had a blast!

Had a great time on a wed night with my girl. Ladies drank free and i ate some apps. so yummy the deviled eggs. Such an amazing view looking at the ocean at sunset. The dj played some great lounge house music. def will be coming back here. great lobster dinner for a great price. luv it

Yesterday I made reservations on open table for 4 people at 6pm. I even got a confirmation table confirming the reservation! When I get there the doorman tells me that they are CLOSED!!! We asked if they were permanently closed and he didn’t know. He said that they have been closed for the past two days. Would have loved to have been told this before going out of my way to go there. Waste of time.

So aggravated. Made reservations for Alba Seaside Italian. We were seated and then informed they «changed the menu for summer» and handed us a menu for A&B BBQ, Seafood and Oysters. So assume they changed the name and logo for summer too? Please. It’s obvious the restaurant is closed and the bar & grill took over. The people next to us said the same thing happened to them, only they looked up the Alba menu online TODAY and it was not the one we were presented with. Shame on you, Solé. Your patrons deserve better. You don’t bait and switch pasta for BBQ.

Do not waste your money and precious time. This place is an overpriced cafeteria maybe even worst. The food is bad and the service is alike.

We had two days of management meetings at Sole and the food they brought in from Alba was extraordinary — everyone LOVED it. I had to come back a couple days later for a FedEx and decided to go back and eat at the bar — great decision Greg! Staff all very friendly and accommodating, all the way up to owner Tom. Highly recommend.

My husband and I went to Alba’s twice. The first time, the owner, Ralph Pagano greeted us and waited on us! He was wonderful to talk to and get to know. He was very kind in comping us a glass of wine and the meal was simply amazing. The food was fresh and even the eggplant mixture that is served with the homemade bread was worth going back for. We couldn’t wait to go back.
We were extremely disappointed the second time we went back. We are locals to the neighborhood and we really hoped this would be regular place we could frequent since we eat out most nights of our week. Unfortunately, all though the food was still amazing, the bill knocked us over! The waitress brought us the check but then retrieved it because enough had not been added to the bill! They added the parking fees (not added on our first trip) and a Gratuity. Usually we leave 20% so that was not a huge problem except that we had heard that the restaurants are not allowed to do this anymore. By the end, we were paying $ 80.00 for one salad, one pasta dish and one glass of wine. And that was on top of having a local dines coupon!
Also, the wonderful Ralph Pagano was no where to be seen on our second visit which was a Saturday evening.
Too bad that they became so greedy! We will not be going back. Who needs it with all the wonderful restaurants in the area?

I came here a couple months back for a work lunch. It proved to be hard to get away from this place after we were done with our meal.
The thing that stands out the most here is the décor/​ambience. You’re literally right on the water. It was a beautiful day and we chose to sit outside. Even though it was awkward because our party was so large (I believe we were 7 or 8) they very graciously accommodated us exactly where we wanted to be. The restaurant sits on the second floor of the SOLE hotel. The hotel is gorgeous, but nothing compared to the views of the sandy beach and ocean down below.
The food was also very good. The meal started out great — they bring you bread with some sort of pickled eggplant that was AMAZING. We probably asked for about 3 helpings of this. As a table we managed to share quite a few things. I tried the chicken parm, and the asparagus, spinach, spaghetti, and eggplant parm sides. I loved everything save for the spinach. Even though it had a ton of garlic I felt it was lacking flavor; I would skip this. I think the prices are fair considering both a) food quality and b) the fact that you’re dining right by the ocean. I think we ended up paying about $ 30/​person sans drinks and all left stuffed.
The one bummer about this place is that your only parking option is valet at the hotel and to drive up was a nightmare. This is the tiniest, steepest strip of pavement I’ve ever seen in a 1^st world country. We all thought we were going to end up as bumper cars in there. Make sure you bring your smallest car, or have a cab drop you off at the bottom of the hill.

DO NOT GO. There is a Dennys nearby that will be calories and $$ better spent. This place prompted me to write my first ever review of anything ever.
Food = Frozen garbage. The bacon wrapped dates were actually good but everything else sucked. Amys frozen food would be a huge upgrade.
Service = Awful. The worst I have ever seen. I do not make things up, these are actual quotes:
«Sorry your food is taking so long. The kitchen is busy preparing for a party we are hosting tomorrow night»
«We cant make the makers and ginger ale because the ginger looks strange»
«we forgot to put in your side dish orders, do you still want them (after entrees)».

Had a Mimosa time with the girls on a Sunday morning! We sat outside on the balcony and enjoyed the beach view. So relaxing!

A nice place to hang out with a gorgeous view of the beach, but the food is ridiculously overpriced. A (very small) arugula salad with cherries, pistachios and goat cheese cost me $ 12.
Come here for the bar and the view, but I suggest eating somewhere else.

AWESOME AWESOME AWESOME! Great view, wonderful service and better yet, incredible food. We were looking for a Spice restaurant and realized there was one within walking distance. The spice menu was incredible and we even ordered the bacon wrapped dates to start because let’s face it, they just sounded scrumptious (they tasted even better!!). Our server’s name was Sean and there were also 2 other servers who made the whole experience wonderful, Arturo and Fabian. They do spice here a little different allowing the customer to choose any 3 dishes they desire (rather than strictly 1 app, 1 dinner, 1 dessert). I usually go home from spice meals feeling less than full. Here we ended up taking a lot of food home because of the substantial portions! I can’t wait to eat my leftovers again tonight.
By the way, the view is to die for!

Ok I’m giving this 5 stars for several reasons. It’s a beautiful restaurant on the water with great views while dinning. Great bar and owner Ralph Pagano is great in many respects.
We started off at the bar with a few Martinis but first let me back up a bit, the night before we were Yollo’s and had an amazing meal and decided to stop by Alba for a night cap. Our friends who we were dinning with said that this new place Alba was great. So we went and had some port and met Olga and Ralph while we were at the bar. I got a really good feeling and when our other friends said that they wanted to go somewhere they can watch the game while dinningl I remembered screens at Alba and suggested we change our plans and go to Alba.
Boy was everybody glad we did. At the bar we ordered the tuna tartar, outstanding, then the deviled eggs with truffle oil, equally as good, then meatballs, very good, needed a little more sauce in my opinion and then Olga said you didn’t try the dates.
OMG one of the best things I ever put in my mouth. Truly a prize winning dish.
I ordered a second round!
Then we happened to meet our other friends who we were at Yollo’s with the night before and introduced them to our other friends and we all went to a big round table to eat and watch the game. I had the Veal Parm, it was so huge and delicious I had to give some to my friend and almost was able to finished the rest. It truly was enough for 4 people. Lamb chops are as good as you will get in the best of greek restaurants. I know a good lamb chop when I eat one. Whole Yellow Tail Snapper was terrific, The Seafood and pasta fra diavlo was excellent, too spicy for me but our friends devoured it and let me say unlike most other places where you get 90% pasta and 10% fish this was the other way around and there was a whole lobster tail in the mix!
Then we said we were so full no desert and Ralph sends out this desert platter for 20 people, we all said well we at least have to try it to be polite. Well after taking one little bite the 6 of us almost finished the entire thing it was so good.
Then Ralph sends out his flourless chocolate cake. No words do it justice.
So all in all I wish Ralph and everyone at Alba the best of luck, we need a really good local place to come to and enjoy good seaside dinning. Yes the entrance and valet is a little awkward but don’t let that stop you from enjoying a great meal at a great restaurant. Also walking up the steps is good for you, after you’re done eating here you can use any and all calorie burning activities you can get.
I will be back with friends, lots of them.

3.5 because it was a bit of a hit or miss.
Let me first say that the view while dining at Alba is amazeballs, beautiful at night or during the day.
While staying at Sole On the Ocean, I was given breakfast vouchers for Alba. At first I was thinking, ooh continental breakfast, coool! One meal I won’t have to spend on. I was the only person who walked into Alba that morning and was promptly greeted and tended to. To my surprise, it wasn’t for just any lame old continental breakfast, it was basically a $ 10 voucher for anything on the breakfast menu. Score!!! I didn’t go batshit crazy though since I would need to fit myself into a bikini not long after breakfast.
I got the south beach omelette with egg whites and added their fennel sausage. The breakfast polenta was cheesy and comforting. Wasn’t so fond of my omelette, it was rather dull and tasteless. But the sausage made up for that. It was delicious. Coffee was filled as needed and I was quite satisfied.
Now the second time I had Alba’s food, I was in the pool area and craving for something fattening, but it was late so I didn’t want to get too full. I ordered a mango mojito (wow they were generous with the booze!) and bacon wrapped dates with gorgonzola I think. (or maybe bleu cheese), drizzled in honey. WOW that was a happy skewer of bacony goodness. Ate that in about 3 seconds. Maybe 2.
My third time at Alba, I ordered the vanilla pancakes iwth a side of bacon, and my huns ordered the bacon, egg, cheese croissant, with added avocado. Now maybe it was moreso due to ambiance and company, but we both thoroughly enjoyed our breakfasts. The pancakes, although could have been fluffier, were still very vanilla-​tasting. The bacon I was MEH about, I would have rather had more sausage. Now that croissant, let me tell you, the ratio of bread to fillings was unlike most places. It was overflowing with egg/​cheese/​bacon/​avocado. It was a delight to eat. I wouldn’t have minded having that every day, although my bikinis wouldn’t have agreed.
PS it does take a while for you to get the bill, which happened on two occasions.
Overall, notably good experence at Alba. Attentive service. Beautiful ambiance. Delicious food.

I hate to bash this place, because I really want it to make it. The experience falls short at arrival. The valet parking is really weird. Very small space for a large hotel and restaurant. It takes a while to get your car on exit. The restaurant is up the steps on the second floor. You enter through the bar — which is very nice, as is the decoration of the entire place. They definitely spent it. The bar is big, but the bartenders are not very experienced.
Bad:
meatball sliders cold — but had potential
eggplant way to cheesy — little eggplant
mussels — not hot enough — a bit creamy
valet parking — bad driveway
Good:
the bar and creative drinks
location — convenient, but out of the way
bread — fresh and tasty
arugula salad is solid
homemade pasta was OK — nothing crazy
Overall, I’d be concerned. The location is tucked away in a hotel. It is annoying to valet and the food needs some TLC. I will try it again and really hope for the best.
Some famous Hell’s Kitchen finalist runs this place. I saw him working his ass off. Maybe I will try again just because he is really trying.

For a Sunny Isles lounge, doesn’t get better than this. The view is unbelievable, with panoramic views of the Florida Riviera.
The interior design is very modern, white, with touches of East Asia. Drinks are OK, but its totally worth it for the view. The service is very friendly.
One thing I noticed is that on this Friday early evening, it wasn’t very busy. I imagine that, over time as people start to discover this place more and more, the traffic will pick up.
Escape from Downtown and SoBe. Enjoy Sunny Isles!