Specchio Italian Cafe & Restaurant

Absolutely delicious food! I seriously think the prices are underrated. Also the food was perfectly prepared – not under or over cooked. The waiters were super friendly and attentive, and met our needs right away (they even gave us an umbrella while we waited outside for our ride). I highly recommend this place!

Authentic and utterly delicious Italian Food!
This restaurant is our go-​to while vacationing in Surfside. This most recent time we brought our 1.5 year old son. He was a hand full (didn’t want to eat, sit, or stay quiet)! The waitstaff were wonderful with him and overall very friendly.
As usual, the food did not disappoint either. I got the spinach ravioli with a light cream sauce and crab meat. It had a fresh, homemade taste. So much so that I ate every last bite!

My family and I came here on a whim and we weren’t sure what to expect. Fortunately, we lucked out because the food was absolutely amazing. I highly recommend the ravioli with spinach and crab meat. Even if you’re not a dessert person, you must try to the ricotta cheesecake… It’s absolutely to die for!

My husband and I had a wonderful dining experience. The chicken Marsala was delicious. The staff was excellent. Best dinner we had during our week in Bal harbor.

This place is second to none when it comes to authentic Italian food (and I’ve been to Italy multiple times).
Large menu and all the dishes we ordered were outstanding.
I might take away a single star for the atmosphere /​décor, if only the food was not so incredible. That’s right — it completely made up for the «on street» dynamic and literally blew my mind, especially for the price. One of the most delicious meals I have had in a long time, so the reasonable prices made it that much better. Service was great too.
We ordered a special — tortellini with a pear-​based stuffing in a Gorgonzola sauce, and one of several veal dishes available — both were absolutely amazing.
The apps — Tricolore salad and Bresaola — were also both delicious.
The Ricotta cheesecake was otherworldly. Oh and the Tiramisu was outstanding as well. Go for the cheesecake though, if you can even call it a cake. More like a flakey-​cheesy-​cloud-​like dessert. Like nothing I have ever tasted.
Same place, same owner, 20 years. If that doesn’t say it all (in this area, to boot), I don’t know what does. Will be coming back for sure!

I live close and have been coming ever since i was an infant, best Italian ever !!!
Get the Penne Bolongnesse

Really nice hearty food, bring your appetite, the Primi courses were huge, which leaves little room for Secondi, but nice if you get a mix of a few things if you want to go family style.
Service was great, always with a smile… Really nice Extra Virgin olive oil with the bread, those little things count for me, that thought was paid to pick out an extra nice condiment, it was a good sign of the food to follow.

Un vero ristorante italiano a Miami Beach. Buonissimo! Very quaint, delicious food, and wonderful service.

Five stars for good customer service in Miami Beach. Need I say more?
Okay, this smaller Italian restaurant is in the same vicinity as a couple popular Italian options including Café Prima Pasta. My mom and I opted here instead of waiting out the super long line and understaffed Prima Pasta. I’m so glad we did. I can’t imagine that the food would have been that great at such a packed place.
Food here was yummy, customer service was amazing for beach standards, and our server, Marcos I think, was fun. I should say that this is not the best Italian food I’ve ever had, but given that I had amazing Italian food in Rome last year, this far exceeded my expectations.

was here for our surfside, beach meeting «no beach furniture allowed» on monday and sat outside the traffic wasn’t bad and only one cigarette smoker that left soon enough thank goodness… our neighbors are regulars and we had great service and the our dishes were good! fresh pasta with perfectly cooked veggies and angel hair pasta my partner Tina ordered was full of love! enjoy! wines, ricotta cheesecake, cheese plate with fruit and bruschetta are wonderful and freshly made!

Wonderful restaurant, we sat outside. Alex and Juan took exceptional care of us, great service, the food was very good. We had the sautéed spinach with portobello mushrooms, the special was a whole baked snapper with a lemon sauce, finger licking good. The ricotta cheesecake was light and served warm. The owner was outside when we were leaving, and shook our hand and thanked us.

This is a small, but classy Italian restaurant. It can also be casual, with outdoor seating available. This place would be great for a girls night out or an intimate date night.
All of their food is made from scratch. So everything tasted homemade. I really loved starting with the complimentary bruschetta. The tomato mixture on top was like crack! So good!
Next, we ordered their pasta dishes. I had their Ravioli Al Pomodoro Fresco E Mozzarella, which had spinach and ricotta ravioli with fresh tomato, basil, mozzarella, and garlic. It was so fresh, delicious, and light tasting! Definitely wished I had more on my plate. My friend had the Farfalle Al Salmone E Piselli, which had farfalle with fresh salmon, peas, tomato, and a light cream sauce. She thoroughly enjoyed her pasta as well.
Our waiters did persuade us to order dessert, and I was so glad they did! We ordered their homemade ricotta cheesecake, and let me tell you it was warm, melt in your mouth delicious! So light in texture too! I would definitely recommend you order this.
I do appreciate the waitstaff that night because we came in an hour before closing time, and they still accommodated us with such good service. If I’m ever back in the Miami area, I will definitely come here again!

Was staying at the Grand Beach Resort around the corner and didn’t feel like driving so went to Harding Ave. Glad we found this place because we had an amazing meal. Started with a very good beef carpaccio and arugula. Next an angel hair pasta with a light tomato sauce was amazing. I had a Covina picate for my entre which delicious. My wife had veal picate that was perfect. Service was excellent and we were comped the cheese cake for desert. Highly recommended!

We came here on a Sunday, mostly because we’re staying at the St. Regis, close by. It’s ok. I didn’t give them 4 or 5 stars because, well, that’s an exceptional situation.
Décor: cloth tablecloth, cloth napkins. Nice. Every table dressed with wine glasses. I like that it reminds me of Italy. Sort of a simple yet nice family restaurant. Italian and Spanish music playing. Silverware was very cheap. I could taste the metal and felt a bit light in my hands.
Food: this is where they were lacking. I ordered the Zuppe di Pesce. All the fish and shellfish in it was overcooked and very chewy and tough. It was in a tomatoe paste that was actually reminiscent of Hunts tomatoe paste. Not too good. Edible, yes. Delish, no. My beau ordered the chicken Marsala. The sauce was decent, the chicken overcooked and dry. They brought bread and a bruschetta to the table when we sat down that was okay.
Service: good. This was the best part actually. We declined dessert bc well, why continue the mediocrity? And they outdid themselves here. They brought out a warm ricotta cheesecake type dish that was exceptional.
That could move them up to a 3.5 star but since it still doesn’t make them a 4, they get a 3.
When there is so much fabulousness in Miami, skip this, unless only for the dessert.

We came here one Saturday night with friends after a long day on the beach. There were 10 of us, 6 adults and 4 kids.
The server was very nice, polite and attentive.
The menu has a very diverse selection of salad starters, pasta varieties (Primi) and entrees (Secondi).
I ordered the Gnocchi Al Gorgonzolla. The portion was average, but the favor was excellent and the Gorgonzolla wasn’t overwhelming as it can often be.
The prices I found to be about average, with my dish being $ 14.00.
The ambiance is nice, though it was okay to have the 4 kids with us.

Our dinner was just ok but I gave them 4 stars because the chef agreed to cook something that wasn’t on the menu to satisfy my husbands craving. I had a pan seared chicken breast cooked with lemon, capers, parsley and wine served with potatoes. The flavor was tangy and the seasoning was good. The chicken was moist. The potatoes were cold and lacked seasoning. My husband enjoyed his chicken parmesan. He likes the breast to be pounded thinner. The pasta was properly cooked al dente and the tomato sauce was good. The atmosphere was a little crowded for my taste. I don’t like tables so law together. The server was nice but her english was poor and she didn’t couldn’t communicate a good understanding of the menu.

Upon recommendation, my Dad and I tried Specchio’s. The ambiance is far from what I expected. You can not sit at the bar. It is a small restaurant, with wooden tables, covered in white table cloth, adorned by mismatched chairs.
The Food:
Although we had some trouble with the wine, the food was unquestionably delicious. Classic Italian. Before we even got our appetizers the waiter brought out fresh bruschetta. To start I had an arugula salad with smoked salon, goat cheese and the house dressing. The salad was large enough to be my main course. My dad ordered a half sized portion of the gnocchi bolognese main course. It was nice of them to make him a half size portion, some places won’t do that.
For my main course, I had the clams and mussels special which were in a delicious sauce. My dad had the ink linguine with shrimp in a spicy sauce, which was also amazing. And on top of all of the delicious food, we were able to sit down to eat at 10 pm on a Sunday night!

This is a top 5 in my list. My wife is a Chef with 25+ experience and she was as impressed!
We’ll be back…

Cute décor but felt pasta wasn’t as flavorful as we had hoped. Pastas required lots of Parmesan cheese to help. Big portions but just missed on quality.
Though i must say, the tiramisu was kickass! Also another strong point was the prosciutto and fresh bufala mozzarella appetizer.

I am almost hesitant to blow the lid on this fabulous restaurant, but from the other reviews and the packed room last night, it seems the cat is out of the bag already, so here goes…
We arrived at 8pm with a reservation and were warmly greetly by the owner /​manager and shown to our table. Waters, menus and the wine list were brought immediately. The wine list had a modest mark up and the menu was extensive, filled with classic Italian standbys and also some unique items.
After we ordered, a basket of fresh bread, a bowl of marinated tomatoes and a plate with a wedge of exiquisite Paremsan and grapes were brought.
I had the Insalate Specchio, which featured mild arugula, celery, shaved Pamesan and artichoke hearts. It was crispy and fresh and came «undressed»; 2 types of olive oil, balsamic vinegar and their house vinaigrette were offered. I opted for the vinaigrette and it was all tangy dijon-​y deliciousness.
I next had the squid ink pasta with spicy shrimp. What more can I say; it was totally delicous. Briney, spicy, perfectly al dente. My companions had the lasagna and the rigatoni Norma; plates were left clean, so I can only assume they enjoyed their meals as much as I enjoyed mine.
While we were waiting for the check, a complementary wedge of ricotta cheesecake was brought; nice touch!
We never felt rushed at all; the pace at which the food came out was perfect and we were able to chat for a bit after paying without feeling like we had to get out of there. When we left, the owner /​manager even helped us with our coats! I truly felt like guest in someone’s home. A wonderful experience!