Bar Luca Opens in Miami Beach, Florida | Eater Miami

"I visited the new neighborhood trattoria Bar Luca, recently opened in the historic Alden Hotel building in Miami Beach as a collaboration between Miami hospitality veteran Ken Ray and Boston-based Chapter One Hospitality. The kitchen is led by executive chef Santo Agnello, long-time chef at Lucali. Breakfast, served daily until 11:30 a.m., features sweet ricotta pancakes topped with whipped lemon ricotta butter and honey maple syrup and savory options like eggs purgatory—two poached eggs atop a spicy red sauce and creamy polenta, served with toast. At lunch I sampled crispy calamari with lemon garlic aioli and handhelds such as a fish filet sandwich with IPA-battered cod, pickled green tomato, lettuce, and red onion tartar sauce on a brioche bun, and a Miami-style Italian Cuban sandwich with porchetta, ham, mozzarella, pickles, mustard, and garlic aioli on Cuban bread. The bolognese grilled cheese, made with short rib bolognese, gruyere, and American cheese on brioche, is a standout. Dinner adds larger entrées like a 20oz prime bone-in ribeye and squid ink tonnarelli with mussels, calamari, shrimp, clams, and lobster in a spicy tomato seafood sauce. A daily happy hour from 4–7 p.m. offers food specials and discounted drinks. The design honors the building’s Art Deco architecture with classic Italian elements and modern touches, including a 55-seat patio overlooking Indian Creek, a 25-seat lobby, a 45-seat dining room with wooden tones, terracotta tiles, and leather and rattan accents, and an intimate bar area under a decorative wooden pergola. Bar Luca is open at 2925 Indian Creek Drive on Miami Beach from 8 a.m. until 11 p.m. Sunday–Wednesday and until midnight Thursday–Saturday." - Olee Fowler