Best Inexpensive Italian Restaurant – 2010 – Miami New Times
Italian restaurants come and go. And come and go. And come and go. Some boast prime location; some tout wood-burning ovens, early-bird specials, happy hours, and karaoke nights. Spiga doesn’t go in for a whole lot of razzmatazz. Located in the boutique Hotel Impala, the cozy, romantic restaurant is aglow in low light and awash in rich wood; the porch is one of the most charming spots for alfresco dining the city has to offer. The cuisine is handsome and humble too — fresh ingredients forged into our favorite Northern Italian classics. Grilled calamari with olive oil and lemon, red snapper alla Livornese, a signature seafood soup brimming with shellfish, and veal scaloppine with prosciutto and sage are just a few of the simple and simply delicious dishes. But Spiga especially shines when it comes to homemade pastas. Gnocchi is ethereally light, ravioli is sumptuously soft, and quadretti with portobello mushrooms, truffle oil, and shaved Parmesan exemplifies Italian cooking at its flavor-exploding best. All pastas are under $20, most starters less than $10, and there’s a wide selection of well-priced wines. Desserts — including the finest ricotta cheesecake you’ll encounter south of Mulberry Street — are $8. Perhaps most important, first-timers here are treated like regulars. Maybe that’s why Spiga has been going strong, in fickle South Beach, for 15 years.
(Miami New Times – Best of Miami 2010 – Finest Foods)
“TIRED OF TABLE HOPPING? BAG AN OUTSIDE SEAT AT SPIGA”
SPIGA IS ONE OS THOSE BIG “LITTLE RESTAURANT”
“SPIGA CHARMS WITH RIGHT FEEL, RIGHT FOOD”
“SPIGA IS PATRONIZED BY A CHIC LOCAL CROWD WHO APPRECIATE QUALITY OVER A SCENE”
“THE WORLD NEEDS TO KNOW THAT SPIGA EXISTS AND SERVES EXCEPTIONAL ITALIAN CUISINE AT AFFORDABLE PRICES “.
“TIRED OF TABLE HOPPING? BAG AN OUTSIDE SEAT AT SPIGA”
“SPIGA IS ONE OS THOSE BIG “LITTLE RESTAURANT”
“… PROVIDE AND OLD-FASHIONED PRESONALIZED SERVICE TO A DISCREET CLIENTELE WITH A DISCRIMINATING PALATE … BEST OF ALL WHEN YOU LEAVE, YOU’RE LEFT SATISFIED AND YOUR WALLET WON’T KNOW THE DIFFERENCE.”
“A CHARMING, QUIET, TRANQUIL PLACE IN THE HEART OF SOUTH BEACH, AWAY FROM THE HUSTLE AND BUSTLE OF OCEAN DRIVE.”
Site msn.citysearch.com
THE INTIMATE ITALIAN RESTAURANT IS COOL WITHOUT BEING PRETENTIOUS, CONCENTRATING ON THE FOOD RATHER THAN FANFARRE; IT’S A QUIET FAVORITE WITH LOCALS AND SOME LUMINARES WHO WANT TO ENJOY A FANTASTIC MEAL FREE OF SOUTH BEACH POMP AND CIRCUMSTANCE
SITE zagat.com
THIS “HIDDEN JEWEL” IN “THE HEART OF SoBe” DOESN’T GET MUCH ATTENTION EVEN THOUGH THOSE KNOW DEEM IT “A PLEASURE” FOR ITS “SUBTLE ELEGANCE”, “ATTENTIVE STAFF”, “AFFORDABLE” PRICES AND – ABOVE ALL – “FRESH”, “AUTHENTIC” AND “CAREFULLY PREPARED” REGIONAL ITALIAN DISHES.
SITE fodors.com
WHEN YOU NEED A BREAK FROM MIAMI’S ABUNDANT EXOTIC FARE, SAVOR THE MODESTLY PRICED ITALIAN STANDARDS THAT ARE SERVED WITH FLAIR IN THIS SMALL, PRETTY PLACE…HOMEMADE IS THE HALLMARK HERE…
SITE t-comm.net
SPIGA. A FABULOUS ITALIAN RESTAURANT NEAR THE WATERS OF SOUTH BEACH
(To the prince of Risotto, Arrigo Cipriani 1992)