Ports in Focus: Miami
Welcome to our first Ports in Focus blog post. For this series, we will look at our favorite spots to visit when we’re not on a ship. Places to explore, dine at, places simply enjoy. For our first post in this series, we profile Torno Subito in Miami.
After we disembarked from Explora II last week in Miami, we made a bee-line for something we’d been looking forward to for months: a lunch reservation at Torno Subito. The retro modern Italian restaurant is the first US spot from Massimo Bottura, the 3-Michelin-star chef who is the mastermind behind #1 restaurant in the world Osteria Francescana. There are Torno Subito locations in Singapore and Dubai, but the downtown Miami location marks Bottura’s first solo project in the US. We’ve never had a chance to make the foodie pilgrimage to OF in Modena, Italy (hopefully one day soon!), and thus needless to say we were excited for a chance to finally dine on food from one of the world’s most celebrated chefs.
Torno Subito Miami is on the rooftop of the Juila & Henry’s food hall in downtown Miami, only a couple blocks from Bayfront Park and within eyesight of the Miami cruise port. The venue itself is stunning: the décor transports you to dream-like 1960s coastal Italy, with an elegant yet playful and laid back vibe. The interior design is meticulous, with every little detail carefully curated from the yellow-tiled pizza oven and the U-shaped bar down to the window-shutter menu books and handcrafted cutlery holders. The brightly colored, joyous, funky design has a magical retro modernism that feels like La Dolce Vita Fellini filtered through Wes Anderson. We dined on the outdoor terrace on a sunny and mild December afternoon with glorious views of downtown Miami – if you’re here with good weather, definitely sit outside if you can.
We were there for the food, of course… and it didn’t disappoint one bit. The food takes “a contemporary and ironic approach” to classic Italian dishes, with handmade pastas, fresh seafood, and locally sourced Florida ingredients. We were there for the “pausa pranzo” lunch special, which is a great bargain if you happen to be there when it’s on offer. It’s a 3-course set menu, plus an amuse-bouche, for only $38/person. You begin with a trio of shared starters: a burrata-tomato salad, a Neapolitan pizza marinera, and a “modern salad,” which incorporates 14 dressings (!) and parmesan crisps. For the main course, you get to choose from a trio of pastas. We tried the cacio e pepe – which is given a Florida twist with zest from local citrus (oranges, lemons, and Keys limes) that adds a welcome brightness to the deceptively simple traditionaldish – and the South East Coast – which is a take on sea bass puttanesca with a deliciously creamy ragu. The meal ends with a selection of rich, vibrant gelatos and sorbets.
The Miami location has only been open since August – and from the looks of it, the restaurant’s still a bit of a sleeper. We were there at lunchtime on a Friday and things were very quiet. If you’re embarking/disembarking a cruise in Miami, we highly recommend that you pay a visit to Torno Subito. No doubt we’ll be back again soon… in fact, we’ve already got dinner reservations for our next trip to Miami, in mid-January!
