I wanted to love this restaurant, considering the number of people waiting for a table at 7 PM on a…read moreSunday and the packed restaurant that 4 of us walked into. I swear it was the busiest place in Aventura Mall at the time, with its dining activity extending far after hours when all of the other shops have closed. Plus, from March 16-29, they had a $26 2-course offering of appetizer + entree from a select menu. The walk through Eataly's market and the counter cafe restaurant is charming due to the high quality and prices of the items being sold. Seeing so much fresh produce, pasta, meats and baked goods makes you excited to dine at the restaurant inside. Our assigned table server was so busy that after we waited for 20 minutes to be addressed other than water orders, a manager came over "to take your orders since the gentleman is a little busy right now." He looked condescendingly at us as I tried to properly pronounce my orders and we pointed to the menu items we were ordering. I was very reminded that we are 4 of many, many patrons the restaurant had to serve and to not expect any personal touches.
It turn out the $26 2-course menu, while a good value for the amount of food you get, was aggressively vegetarian. Bruschetta, minestrone (which they were out of), Tuscan kale salad and arancino were included in the appetizer options, and various pastas, either filled with beets or sauteed with butternut squash, mushrooms or just cheese, along with a margherita pizza, were included in the entree options. So the menu was a dream for vegetarians and somewhat lacking for omnivores. My friend ordered the Calamari Fritti e Zucchine ($24) "for the protein" and remarked when it arrived that "this is mostly zucchini." It had shoestring frittered zucchini for a nice fry like crunch and 2 pieces each of calamari belly and tentacles, albeit well battered so that the batter did not fall off at all.
The 2-course version of the Arancino 'Milano-Cortina' (a la carte version is $16.50) was one arancini that was cheesy on the inside and sitting and filling up a tiny dish with a bath of mysterious white sauce. It relied heavily on the cheesy inside and the breading on the outside, but the risotto inside was too cooked to have any texture.
The Bruschetta was a towering thick slice of toasted sourdough layered with pureed butternut squash, whipped ricotta and black truffle honey. It was impressive in appearance and definitely large enough to share but was too sweet to call bruschetta, much less an appetizer. There was no savory to the supposed sweet-savory idea of the dish.
The Insalata di Cavolo Nero was a great dish to share as it was plentiful and well dressed. The Tuscan kale was tender, the golden raisins plump and the pecorino dressing flavorful and citrusy without being overpowering.
The entrees had their strengths and weaknesses as well. The Spaghetti Cacio e Pepe had great al dente texture and was lovingly cheesy thanks to the server grating cheese on the dishes tableside. But it quickly became dry to the point where it was sticking to your mouth when you put a bite in.
The Tagliatella Verde al Funghi was so promising in its description ("Housemade Spinach Taglialtelle, Mixed Mushroom Ragù, Grana Padano DOP") that I was excited to try it. Also, I just copied and pasted that description from the restaurant menu---is "Taglialtelle" misspelled? It turns out the mushroom ragu is just a bland milky sauce that did not bring much mushroom flavor out. It relied on the plentiful Grana Padano shavings on top for flavor. There were plenty of roughly chopped mushrooms in the sauce for texture, but they were button mushrooms which frankly don't contribute much flavor. The tagliatelle was also overcooked, coming off mildly mushy. There was not too much of a contrast in texture with the pasta vs. the mushrooms. I was very full with the other previous dishes, so I took 80% of it home. They gave us boxes and left us to put the food in ourselves.
Then at home, I sauteed eggplant, kale and Canadian bacon in truffle oil and added the tagliatelle, and frankly, the dish turned out so much better. I shouldn't be able to transform a restaurant dish into a better one at home.
The Diavola Dolce pizza that my friend ordered a la carte may have been the best entree out of our selections. The pizza dough had a nice flour flavor and created a bready crust, but it was spread thin enough to enjoy the toppings together. The Ferrarini spicy salami was so different in flavor, almost mortadella like, that it made the pie stand out. There was just enough hot honey drizzled to give you slight sweetness without taking over the pizza.
The 2-course menu is a great incentive to come try this restaurant. All the entrees on it ranged from $21-28.50 alone a la carte. But the menu promotion is over and regardless, I cannot recommend that you come here based on this visit. You may be better served buying Eataly's fresh pasta and sauces and making dishes yourself.