New York Italian Restaurant Serafina Debuts in Aventura | Eater Miami

"I noticed Serafina has returned to Florida after its Dream Hotel South Beach location closed in late 2013, opening inside Aventura Mall at 19565 Biscayne Boulevard. Owned by Benny Shabtai, Stacey Shabtai, Samantha Cooper and Mike Baccaro alongside founders Vittorio Assaf and Fabio Granato, the celebrity-favored, New York City–launched Italian eatery now has more than 30 locations worldwide and offers Italian cuisine in a lively atmosphere with monthly live music. Executive chef Dustin Ward (formerly at Trump Doral’s BLT Prime) has created a menu that combines the restaurant’s best-known dishes with new Miami additions, including pastas, salads, pizzas, a filet mignon burger, sea bass and the popular black truffle-topped pizza; drinks come from the Cocktail Cartel or a large wine list. The 220-seat space—designed in-house by the owners—features indoor and outdoor dining, copper lighting, large wood tables and a 12-foot-tall moveable "living" plant wall that can section the space for private events, plus Instagram-ready art installations such as a Neon Angel Wing sign and an arched star-lit infinity bathroom hallway. It is open daily from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.; call 786-920-0989 for more information." - Olee Fowler