Italica Midtown Opens in Midtown Miami | Eater Miami

"From the team behind Negroni Bistro & Sushi Bar comes their latest restaurant creation: Italica Midtown, an expansive 3,500-square-foot spot where I found a colorful twist on traditional Italian cuisine and the brand’s first U.S. outpost (Italica began in Argentina in 2019). Helmed by executive chef Pablo Latif, it serves lunch, dinner, and weekend brunch and offers a menu that encourages starting the meal with roasted cauliflower with bagna cauda or fritto de mare before moving on to pasta highlights like the gnocchi ragu with braised boneless beef short ribs and the risotto e seppie made with squid ink risotto, seared cuttlefish, and saffron aioli. The extensive pizza menu includes pies such as the mortadella e carciofi (roasted artichokes, mortadella, pistachios, and pesto), the Cipolla (marinated onions, mozzarella, and Kalamata olives), and the prosciutto and stracciatella topped with prosciutto di Parma, marinated cherry tomatoes, and arugula. The piece de resistance, however, is the Aperol Spritz bar, where spritzes start at $16 and include creations like the Giovanni Meet Oaxaca (mezcal with a torched orange), the Better than Sweet (Luxardo Bitter Bianco, Italicus, grapefruit, and sparkling water), the Fruttato (rum, passion fruit, pineapple, and Pinot Grigio), and the Il Floreale (sake, St-Germain, and prosecco); there’s also a full vermouth bar with pours such as Cinzano 1757, Carpano Punt e Mes, and Carpano Antica Formula. Housed near its sister restaurant in Midtown Miami, Italica features a 165-seat dining room anchored by a mosaic-tiled bar surrounding large pizza ovens, a 40-seat pet-friendly patio, wooden accent benches and tables, plenty of greenery, and is located at 3201 NE First Avenue in Midtown Miami; it’s open Monday–Friday noon–midnight and Saturday–Sunday 11 a.m.–midnight." - Olee Fowler