Rao's Italian Restaurant in Miami Beach

I was fortunate enough to snag a reservation to Rao's Italian Restaurant in Miami Beach, located within the Loews Hotel.  For a hotel to have such a restaurant is quite a treat for its guests. The reservations are nearly if not completely impossible to obtain for the NYC location but outside is much easier. During my night of dining, the restaurant was about half full but the reservations list itself was full anyways. The bar area was the busiest filled mostly with hotel guests and obvious tourists.

The restaurant seems to generate somewhat of a controversial reputation due to how difficult it is to get a reservation, This creates high expectations for transformational food rather than the solid comfort food the restaurant delivers. There are no layers of truffle, caviar and foam in a truille or creative combinations of esoteric ingredients. Here you will receive comfort from a warm and hearty plate of pasta set in an elegant setting with good service.

If you happen to arrive early and are waiting for your reservation, you can sit in the bar itself, or in the bar across the way from the fountain in the hotel's bar.

Outside

Interior

An elegant warm interior that sports two dining rooms separated by a bar in the middle. The bar seats about 6 people and is a great place to camp out until it gets too busy.

Complementary Bread

Probably my least favorite of anything I had was the bread as it was a little cold and hard. The taste was good just the texture and temperature was off for me. It was a minor gripe and of all the things to not like, fortune would be on your side to only dislike the bread.

Antipasti - Appetizers

My favorite appetizers in order form least to most favorite. The Burrata, the Baked Clams, the Shrimp Scampi and the Meatballs. The meatballs were solid and tasty. The Shrimp Scampi was surprisingly more delicious than I expected. The clams were ok, a little salty for my taste and the Burrata was ok. The presentation of it was good as the deliver it in a perfect ball that is then sliced open to reveal the creamy center in an otherwise soft shell.

• Roasted Red Peppers and Burrata - Italian Parsley, Golden Raisins, Pine Nuts, extra virgin olive oil
• Baked Clams - Little Neck Clams, Oregano Bread Crumb Stuffing
• Sauteed Shrimp Scampi - Lemon, Butter, Garlic & White Wine Sauce
• Rao's Traditional Meatballs - Ground Beef, Italian Breadcrumbs & Seasoning, Marinara
  

Primi - Pasta Entrees

Of the Pastas I sampled, I really liked the flavor of the carbonara more so than the Primarvera Risotto. I am a sucker for risotto and will always order it. This one was good but I liked the carbonara much more.

• Linguini Carbonara - Pancetta, Cracked Black Pepper, Cream, Egg, Pecorino Romano
• Primarvera Risotto - Asparagus, Red Bell Peppers, Zucchini, Yellow Squash

Main Dish

Dessert

Conclusion

A solid restaurant and not to be snubbed. I do think that the expectations tend to be high purely based on perceived difficulty of obtaining reservations but I think it will be easier to obtain as time goes by.