"Fiola is a fine dining Italian restaurant in Coral Gables that either hits home runs or strikes out. When they’re paying attention, it can be one of the best dining experiences in Miami. But it’s just too inconsistent to recommend for a special occasion—especially with this much money on the line. We’re not saying the food is bad. In fact, even our least favorite dishes here are still much better than average. And the porcini cappuccino soup is downright amazing—every time. But important components listed on the menu are often completely missing from the dishes that hit the table. When paying $65 for a crudo dish with sea urchin, hamachi, yellowfin tuna, and Oishii shrimp—the sea urchin (arguably the most expensive component) should be on that plate. Same with the salsa verde that’s listed as an accompaniment to the $45 octopus. Menu inconsistency aside, the service here is always attentive. But so many of Fiola’s mistakes could be easily prevented by simple things—like reprinting menus or paying attention at the expo line. Instead, Fiola fails to be the most important thing a restaurant of its caliber should be: consistent. A lot of people save up to dine here—it’s not somewhere you visit every week, or every month. And even though it can be amazing when everything goes right, it would be a shame if someone who went through great lengths to celebrate an anniversary or birthday caught them on a day when their heads just weren’t in the game. " - Virginia Otazo
