ViceVersa Miami

ViceVersa Bar and Restaurant Opens in Downtown Miami, Florida | Eater Miami

Debuting tonight from bartender Valentino Longo, ViceVersa is an Italian aperitivo bar offering modern takes on classic Italian cocktails paired with small plates and neo‑Neapolitan pizzas. The 14‑drink cocktail menu — developed with help from the founders of nearby Jaguar Sun — is organized into The Negroni Family, Martinis, and Signature Cocktails, and highlights the MI‑TO blend, a Dolce amaro base used in drinks like a carbonated Americano, a Negroni Punch, martini variations such as the Avanguardia and the Affogato Martini, and creative signatures like the Italian‑VICE and Brucio in Bocca. Jaguar Sun chefs Carey Hynes and Justin Flit created the food program, which includes a raw bar (Treasure Coast oysters with citrus mignonette, Royal Red Shrimp with cherry bomb relish, and tuna tartare with pistachio and green olive), appetizers (wood‑fired flatbread with chicken fat, chives, and cultured butter; house‑made culatello and coppa; Caesar with Cantabrian anchovy and aged parmesan), and standout neo‑Neapolitan pizzas (clam pizza with white sauce, middleneck clams, lemon and scallion; the “Bad First Date” with tomato sauce, taleggio and pepperoncini; and sopressata with tomato sauce, Thai chili and hot honey), finished with housemade gelato and sorbet. Longo brings over 20 years of hospitality experience — from Hotel de Russie’s Stravinskij Bar in Rome to London hotels including the Corinthia and the Ritz, back to Rome to develop La Moderna, then to Miami as opening head bartender of the Champagne Bar at the Four Seasons at The Surf Club — and was named Bombay Sapphire’s Most Imaginative Bartender in 2020; he says the bar honors his Italian upbringing, his life in Miami, and his love for aperitivi. Designed with nods to Italian futurist artists, the 60‑seat space features an emerald green tiled bar, slate green walls, marble tables, bronze palm frond sconces and modern art by Jean Vaquier (aka Folzer); ViceVersa is open Tuesday through Saturday from 5 p.m. to midnight at 398 NE 5th St, Miami, FL 33132 (adjoining the Elser Hotel), with most seating first‑come, first‑served and limited reservations via Resy. - Olee Fowler