scarpetta

credit card policy!. about 6 wks ago, 11 of us ran up a tab of $1800, but the waiter and manager refused to accept individual credit cards. there was nothing on the menu stating a maximum number of cards (which the manager said was 6) and they refused to split the food and liquor bills and then use 6 and 5 cards for payment. they expected us to be walking around with at least $200 cash and were notniceabout trying to settle the problem. although the food and service were excellent, the waiter was a bit pushy, suggesting more food than was necessary - however, because of the manager's attitude and refusal to accept more than 6 credit cards for payment, none of us plan to ever come back (we are physicians and 3 of us live in miami or miami beach). furthermore we have told our colleagues about what happened, discouraging them from bringing any groups to the restaurant.

our first day in miami, which also happens to be my girlfriends birthday! i was looking for something local but special and i think i found one! firstly, they have a dedicated vegetarian menu - so that was a winner to start with. upon arrival, i was impressed with the setting of the restaurant. you wouldn't normally rate a hotel restaurant that much but this delivered.
service - the wait staff were attentive and catered very well to our needs. i informed them that it was my gf's birthday and they delivered by wishing her a happy birthday on arrival and a candle on the dessert!nicetouch!!
food - we had the lentils, yellowtail tartare for starters, risotto and the pork chop for mains and chocolate cake with nutella centre and gelato for dessert! the food tastes delicious and amazing!!!
overall, great service! great wine selection! great food!

last month, after an amazing caribbean cruise, we headed back to miami south beach for a few days before heading back to vancouver. and although i've tried scarpetta in toronto , i wanted to see how it would play out in the usa. the meal started off shocking similar, with a bread basket complete with stromboli with a side of olive oil, marinar and butter with salt. even the presentation is the same. but armed with the knowledge that stromboli lays at the bottom, i moved a bunch of the other "meatless" breads to the side and beelined it for the meaty goodness. the basket doesn't disappoint, but you have to prioritize!!    we tried the swordfish carpaccio to start which is quite similar in description to the yellowtail primi that we didn't actually try. the fennel is anicetouch, adding some crunch to the creaminess of the swordfish. the next appetizer we got was the beef short ribs. i had ordered the same thing in toronto, but the portion size here was decidedly small. see for yours

it's not at the top of my list, but a reallynicerestaurant. perfect appetizer of creamy polenta with wild mushrooms on the side (i want to make it for breakfast now). good, well-seasoned gnocchi with clams. desserts were a little underwhelming, but overall aniceexperience.

not like the one in new york.. if we hadn't been expecting top-notch service and food like the scarpetta in new york, this place may have been fabulous. but when you expect the level of service and quality of ingredients you've had at the new york outpost, this place is a little disappointing. however, if you don't expect much, i'm sure it's not that bad.

we sat at the bar, which hadn't been cleaned properly and wasn't up to the standards of anicerestaurant. service was distracted and slow. food was average.