Baron G.
Yelp
As the day deceased, we trekked into Osteria Del Teatro to mark our night with something we hoped would be special. You see, my fiancé and I came to Miami for a marriage retreat and we had spent all of our Saturday in the grace of the church and God. That said, we weren't expecting to stumble upon a restaurant that was truly ELITE.
Walking in, we were greeted by the owner, Gilbert. He promptly sat us and made us feel welcome. Our server, Juan Francisco, laid out the ins and outs of the menu. He was very professional, attentive and kind. He repeated things whenever we asked and made sure to provide the best experience that he could. I had even spilled some of my drink and the staff rallied around me to fix it and make sure our experience was still top class. After a quick gulp of my espresso martini, which was an easy top 5 espresso martini, I decided to ask the owner what the staples of the restaurant were. Good Old Gil made it easy, he was calmly seating people whilst checking on guests with the regularity and charm that you would come to expect of a family member hosting a great party. You could tell that he enjoyed what he did. He quickly laid out what the crowd favorites were, made some jokes and returned to the front of house. Determined to be like OJ, we took a stab at the crowd favorites. We ordered Lobster Salad, Ravioli Di Zucca and Pollo Alla Champagne.
Starting with the Lobster Salad: This dish slapped me in the mouth. Words cannot accurately describe the feelings I have for this dish nor can anything I do convey what my fiance was going through when she tried it. This is one of the greatest dishes we have ever ordered from anywhere, period. My fiance said "this salad alone makes the whole trip down here worth it"
My fiance ordered the Ravioli Di Zucca: creamy, soft and delicious. Savory and sweet. I was only allowed a mere bite. That's how good it was. She was like Adebayo on defense, keeping me away from the Ravioli.
I ordered the Pollo Alla Champagne: absolutely sublime. Creamy, decadent but elegant and airy. It packed a punch in flavor. Texture was on point and the sundried tomatoes took the dish the distance. I had to take the chicken home because I had gotten full off of wicking the sauce up with bread. But absolutely amazing. I'm actually finishing it while I type this up.
Again, I cannot compliment the service enough. The owner checked up on us a couple more times. Not too much But enough that it reminded you of what a family owned restaurant was before social media and phones took over. There were a couple other servers that checked up on us even though we weren't "theirs". The server was even kind enough to remind me that there was a gratuity included in the final bill. But when the service is great on multiple fronts you tip. I've worked in this industry and the norm for me is 20% for great service. The gratuity was 18% and I was going to make sure they got the 20%. Not much, I know, but enough to give the notion of an excellent experience.
You know, personally I don't like Miami. For a metropolis, it's awfully dark at night. And the cost of food at most restaurants is crazy. Don't even get me started on the people. I am not a fan of - I digress. South Florida is just not for me and I cannot wait to never come to it again. That said, I may go out of my way to come back to Osteria Del Teatro because that's how thoroughly impressed we were. My fiance and I have been blessed to eat all over the place. We just moved back to Florida after living in Philadelphia for the last two years. We were blessed to eat at some amazing places up north. Philly is a fat kid's heaven, it's full of incredible places. Places we thought were going to be hard to beat before we stumbled upon the Michael Jordan of the restaurant scene.
Osteria is top tier. It's one of the best, if not the best, dining experience we have ever shared.
The food was amazing, the staff were excellent and the drinks were killer. To top it off, the price of everything was competitive. We walked out blown away.
Osteria Del Teatro deserves to reign as the best Italian restaurant in the state for as long as they can remain consistent. It's giving ELITE. In service, food and drink it is unrivaled. It's the type of restaurant where you would expect to book reservations a month or two in advance - and yet you don't have to. I'm not just saying that.
Stellar job.
- BG