Tuscan Steak

It is tragic that this place closed down! A true gem of great food & service on SoBe.

Yes, I mentioned that this place was a fav, but unfortunately this has closed as well. Not like I’m running out of great places to eat, it’s just sad to see places I love «go under». Oh well, on to the French place next door…

Closed. Surprising but true.

I went to Tuscan Steak with two other couples and my girlfriend last Sunday evening. I had heard good things about it although my girlfriend had said that it was «whatever.» I had planned to get the Miami Winter Spice menu. We ordered truffle oil garlic bread for starters, which was great. Everything went fairly downhill from there. The service was a slow, painful sort of b-​team/​junior varsity affair, even though the place was a ghost town. We constantly had to ask for water, even though the table had two fairly pricey bottles of wine on the table.
I ended up getting the Winter Spice menu. My meal consisted of the mixed salad, gnocchi with gorgonzola cream sauce, New York strip with melted parmesan on top, and bread pudding with ice cream. The salad was excellent, a chopped mixed greens with roasted red peppers and salami. The gnocchi was average-​good, a nice potato gnocchi with a salty cream sauce. The steak came out well done even though I had ordered it rare-​medium rare. I first noticed that the reduction had a skin on it which is a really really bad sign. My guess is that they did the steak first and left it under a heat lamp or in some hot place in the kitchen or some other amateur move. I sent it back and it didn’t return for fifteen minutes or so at which point I decided I didn’t want it anymore. The bread pudding was standard, decent. My date had a wild mushroom risotto which was fabulous.
It was disappointing that a pricey place on the beach would have such slow, weird, mediocre service and that a steak house would get the temperature completely wrong. The vibe was very cool and the place was really empty. In this slow season one would think that everyone would be pushing to be the best and garner some repeat business. This was not worth the money or the time. Thank god the company was excellent. A good conversation always helps. I will not be returning, nor would I recommend the place.

I will go one star up than Theo, on the grounds that I had the best lamb of my LIFE that night. Yes, the service was a little ridiculous. It took about 20 min just to get a bottle of wine delivered. The Tuscan salad was good, the Orvieto was yummy, and the lamb.perfect.
I dont really know WHOS fault it was that it was taking so long. Sometimes the kitchen totally eff’s up the server and vice versa, either way, SOME sort of explaination would have been nice. It would have salvaged his tip at least.
I’ll give it another try… but someone else is paying.

For my second trip to Tuscan Steak, it, unfortunately, left much more to be desired. As noted by other reviewers, the service was unnecessarily slow and the Gnocchi Gorgonzola was definitely on the bland side. I asked Felecia if the slow service was a result of the waiter or kitchen staff and she said it was likely a combination of both. The waiter also seemed very unapologetic throughout the entire experience.
Just to give you an idea of how long it took, we arrived at 9:30pm, had a glass of wine and were sat by 10pm. Somehow, we managed to close the place down at around 12:30? I was never able to figure out why the meal took so long.
That said, the sweet potato side and filet were delicious.

It is with sincere sadness I have to downgrade Tuscan Steak to only 2 stars after my visit last week. I’ve certainly experienced better…
The Tuscan House Salad and the Gnocchi Gorgonzola, my two favorite dishes there left much to be desired. The salad wasn’t bursting with as many of it’s delicious ingredients as I would’ve liked and it appears that they changed the gnocchi recipe. It didn’t have the usual sharpness that I’d grown accustomed to and was basically light and bland. I ordered from the Miami Spice menu, which no longer includes the Florentine T-​Bone Steak but I was still looking forward to tasting the Rib Eye advertised on
. Well they substituted the Rib Eye with a Flat Steak that was just that, nothing special.
I have celebrated my anniversary at Tuscan Steak every year since 2003. Unfortunately, with only a few weeks to go, this year I will be making a reservation somewhere else.

Tuscan Steak is owned by the same people that own China Grill so you know when you go that the portion sizes are going to be huge as they encourage sharing.
Enter me as a person dining alone so I presented some special challenges for my server from the very beginning. After first offering me the Miami Spice menu (the menu is set up for two people so I had to re-​explain that I was going to be dining alone although I did appreciate his efforts in trying to save me some money with a prix-​fixe menu that Miami restaurants are participating in right now) he then rallied to the challenge as to what items on the menu might be just perfect for me– and he did a great job.
First– I started with a tuna carpaccio which by itself would have been great but it was topped with three bruschettas which was an interesting combination. Not too big for one person to eat.
Next up– a NY strip coated in Parmesan cheese and served with a cracked peppercorn sauce. Add to that some mashed potatoes (those easily could have fed four!) and I was in heaven.
My server also sold me on a great dessert which was a blueberry torte with gelato. Mmmmm…I could only take a bite or two cuz I was so full but it was great!
The ambiance is dark inside. So dark– that I wasn’t sure it was even open when I walked up. The wine list by the bottle is quite extensive yet I thought the by the glass offerings were a little on the scant side.
Service was very attentive– from the lead server, to his food runner and bus boy– I never had an empty water glass or a plate that needed to be cleared. The manager, Mike, also stopped by to say hi which was a nice touch.
Why not 4 stars you might be asking? The answer is simple. The women’s restroom was a disaster. None of the three toilets worked. A light bulb was burned out in one of the stalls so you couldn’t even see that the toilet was going to overflow and the whole room smelled bad. Highly surprising for a restaurant of this caliber in this area of town.
And that’s what I told the manager, on my way out. Hope he’s handy with a plunger.

Ok, I’m not really sure what’s going on with this restaurant. I liked it, but I gotta say I kinda feel like this place is having an identity crisis. Let me try to explain.
First off, I’ve never been to an «Italian steakhouse». Don’t get me wrong, I’ve been to plenty of Italian restaurants, and I’ve been to steakhouses. I’ve even been to Italian restaurants and had steak. But and Italian steakhouse? Never heard of one. But hey, this is Miami, right? This city takes all sorts of cultures and trends and mashes them together to come up with some unique ideas. Let’s give this thing a try!
We had reservations at 7pm for a party of 12. We were there to celebrate a friend’s 30^th birthday. While we were waiting for everyone to arrive, we saddled up to the bar and had a few drinks. The bartenders were incredibly friendly and accommodating. The bar itself was impressive. I’m not a drinker, but the amount of bottles I saw on the shelves would put most other bars to shame. Not to mention that there were shelves all around the restaurant filled with wine bottles. If you like to drink, this place is well stocked!
When most of the group had arrived, we went to our table. We did a mixture of family style dining and individual dishes. We tried a little bit of everything, and nothing disappointed. What I liked most about the food here was that the dishes had flavor. You know how you go to some restaurants and you order the chicken, and it tastes like, well… chicken? At Tuscan Steak, somebody in the kitchen knows how to use herbs and spices to great effect. Dishes «popped» unexpectedly. The calamari appetizer was spicy, and I could still taste the spice long after I had finished eating the calamari. It just sort of lingered. That was neat! And then the T-​bone steak was punched up with pesto. Zing! These were bold flavors that kind of just came out and slapped your taste buds. Nothing too overpowering, but enough to make you notice that you don’t normally eat these sorts of dishes.
One ingredient that I did notice was in heavy use was the White Truffle oil. It was drizzled on the garlic bread. I think it was in the mashed potatoes and also on the steak. Heck, you could even order a 1oz shot of the stuff. It’s listed right there in the side dishes!
Even though we did family style, there was plenty of room for dessert. (This was a 30^th birthday celebration, after all!) We made sure that our waitress knew early on that we had a birthday girl with us, and so she received her dessert with a sparkler and «Happy Birthday!» written on her dish. Nothing too crazy; just enough to underline the main reason we had all gathered in Miami in the first place!
Ok, now let’s bring up some challenges for Tuscan Steak and see if they can improve on what is already a pretty good restaurant.
First off, it’s loud in there! There’s absolutely no way I could have a conversation with someone at the other end of our table without yelling. So while groups are welcome, be prepared to spend most of the night talking to the people closest to you. There is a private dining area at the far end of the bar, but there is so much noise that even this separate room is affected by the main dining area’s noise level.
Next, it’s a tight fit between tables! If you get up to excuse yourself from the table, you will invariably push your chair back into someone else’s chair behind you. Don’t get me wrong, this is not a small restaurant by any means. But the tables seem to be too close together. It even makes it hard for the servers to get around when the main dining area is at capacity. I only mention this because I have never seen this happen in any other restaurant of this size.
Finally, back to this place’s identity crisis. It’s supposed to be an Italian steakhouse, right? Ok, so, I’m thinking Sinatra, Martin, any number of jazz artists, right? WRONG. We were entertained with songs like The Commodores «Brick House», The Trammps «Disco Inferno», and a plethora of 80s pop music. What the??? Was I at the club? Should I speak Italian? Steakhouse??? I’m so confuuuuuused!
Well, all in all, we dined for three hours and had a great time. Everyone in our party loved the food and would definitely come back for another meal. And that, ladies and gentlemen, is the bottom line of any good restaurant!

One of the best steak’s I’ve had. Family style should not be confused with family atmosphere. The place is dark and trendy South Beach, not Bucca di Beppo or Olive Garden.
The food was exceptional. We had the risotto, and split an 8oz filet, the choice between that an 16. It was one of the best steaks that I’ve ever had.
Dessert was delicious, but the banana-​chocolate thing was about a 4 on the presentation scale, showing up in a rather homely ceramic blue-​and-​white bowl that did not do the wonderfully bananaish stuff inside any justice whatsoever.
The service was also top-​drawer. They, like all restaurants down here have gone to the 18% mandatory tip. Why they just don’t raise the prices and say tipping is included is beyond me. For something that is supposed to be a reward for good service, they already assume that the service is going to be uniformly good, which is presumptuous, even at the best restaurants.
A few things hit the ohmygod-​o-​meter for price. The $ 13.95 garlic bread is delicious, but not worth $ 13.95, and the $ 15.00 valet fee from the Two-​Guys-​Named-​Cheech service in the front of the little strip of restaurants on the block would, for the money, be better done dressed as the 17^th century highwaymen that they are. There is no easy parking nearby, save a few garages several blocks away, so they have you over the proverbial barrel and they know it. Tuscan Steak, if you’re reading, you might want to do something about this. It would make me think again about coming back, even though the food and service were that good.

Definately best for groups as the food is served family style. The satisfying and filling Tuscan House Salad was a mountain of greens, olives, salami and tomatoes. We followed it up with the Three Cheese Mushroom Risotto, one of their house specialities, Mmm tasty! The Almond Crusted Salmon was perfectly cooked medium and our «medium» T-​Bone Steak, was nearly well done and charred on the outside. Service was alright as our server performed like a rookie. Seems like the grill needs to get it together on cooking steaks correctly. The bar has an odd interpretation of a classic coffee drink, Bailey’s & Coffee, a coffee cup full of coffee AND a highball full of Bailey’s liquer arrived at the table surprising us with its literal and clumsy presentation.
Thought the restaurant had very good food overall, décor was comfortable and a welcome reprieve from the usual stark Miami esthetic, highly recommend reserving a booth for best people watching. I would give 3.5 overall and 4.75 for the food.

Well… the Ferraris out front are rented, all the tits inside are plastic, the wait is an hour longer than expected and the crowd is as lively as a jewish funeral. (hope I didn’t offend)
We were able to score the last two bottles of some fabulous Montalcinos, and we ordered family style which was kinda cool. But then again I was so drunk I couldn;t see the menu anyway… so who knows what I would have ordered.
My guests ordered the 70oz porterhouse, mushroom risotto with truffles for 6 and the snapper… honestly, everything was absolutely delicious. One of the best meals I have ever eaten…
…and reasonably priced! I would totally go back…

It use to be one of my favorite restaurants in South Beach. They have great family style served steaks, mushroom risotta, gnocchi and chef salad (salami and olives). Since It’s family style so it’s best with a group. The desserts are also very good.
That said, in January 2008, we were very disappointed with our meal. The quality of the steak was down and the dishes in my opinion the other dishes not as good.
In addition, the service was very slow, which has sometimes been an issue. According to my W, we won’t be returning.
They have valet parking and metered parking on the street. Don’t park in the lot in the back or you will end up at South Beach Towing.

This place is, in my mind, more of a foul ball than a home run. They overcooked the steak, where too quick to remove plates, and the décor was very middle america. I would not go here again.

This place is a home run. A stylish, high-​energy room and excellent food. It can get a bit noisy here, but it’s a fun night out.
January 2008 update: the restaurant continues to delight me. Excellent Manhattan prepared at the bar and a delicious meal. We shared a porterhouse, a whole roasted snapper and a whole chicken. Each was prepared exactly as ordered and delicious. To me the weakest link was the salad caprese. The tomatoes were refrigerated, a huge no-​no; it kills taste and texture. The gnocci were soft and light and in a delicious tomato basil sauce. Asparagus was flavorful and tender-​crisp. Mashed potatoes were creamy and rich with truffle essence.
Our waiter was attentive but not overbearing. Yes the room’s noisy, but I find it a delightful, energizing buzz and not an intrusion. The remainder of the review is from last year, so read on for more love or better yet, just go.
Food is served family style in generous portions and the menu is full of temptations. For appetizers, the gnocchi are delicious — light and delicate, while still feeling substantial. The tomato and basil accompaniment was just right. The salad Caprese was good, but the tomatos should have been at room temp. That might be the only off note here.
Order the Florentine T-​bone. The meat is fabulous and at medium rare had variety enough to please four different tastes. The whole grilled fish is always good. Last time, it was perfectly done Striped Bass — light, moist, fresh. The fried polenta sticks and broccoli with hot peppers were excellent accompaniments.
For dessert, the cannolli with blood orange sauce were fantastic — crisp, light shells and a creamy cheese filling. The banana Panna Cotta was excellent — firm and bursting with true banana flavor. It was topped with a delicious chocolate sauce. The chocolate mousse cake was very good, but paled next to the other choices.
This is not a cheap restaurant, but they don’t skimp on quality or quantity. You will leave here feeling like you enjoyed a very special dinner.