Sardinia, Casa Tua, Scarpetta or somewhere else?

[christie21]

My husband and I will be in Miami next month to celebrate our anniversary. We love Italian food and are looking for a restaurant with excellent Italian food and good wine. All of the menus look good, but which is the best or is there somewhere else we should head?

[nutella]

You can see my post today about my disappointing experience at Scarpetta...

[dmo305]

Casa Tua for the anniversary dinner... the food, service, and setting are all excellent.

[Frodnesor]

Of the three I have only been to Sardinia and Scarpetta. Sardinia probably has the food I prefer, but the quality of the food at Scarpetta (for the one meal we've had there) was excellent even though I went in as a complete skeptic. And Scarpetta probably feels more like an "anniversary" place than Sardinia. Casa Tua probably fits that particular bill even more so than either of the others, but I can't speak to the food personally (and generally speaking, opinions here are mixed - the place has its fans and detractors). I really enjoy the wine list at Sardinia which has one of the most expansive selections of lesser-known Italian wine regions (including, of course, Sardinia) that I've seen locally.

www.foodforthoughtmiami.com

[LargeLife]

Well...I care about food....and I visited Casa Tua for the second time for lunch some two weeks ago....and had an outstanding experience.....just like I had the first time.....The appetizers, the main course and the desserts....were all inventive, tasty and memorable.....Casa Tua is one of Miami Beach's finest restaurants.....I also like Sardinia a great deal.....For an anniversary outing.....Casa Tua would be a great selection......

Emac

[tpigeon]

Casa is certainly the nicest of them. Let's just agree to disagree on Casa and Barton G for food.

[tpigeon]

Casa Tua is out if you care about food.

Scarpetta and Sardinia is a tough one. I give the advantage to Scarpetta food wise and value and menu diversity to Sardinia. Scarpetta is more gourmet/refined than sardinia.

Scarpetta recommendations
Pasta with clams - last pasta on menu -- second best is the tomato sauce
Polenta - eat with stromboli bread - this is an awesome combo
Panna Cotta for dessert

Sardinia Recs
Ribeye
Maloreddos w/wild boar sausage
Spaghetti Botarga (i know i messed up the spelling on this)
Sweetbreads
Burratta (if it is fresh - off the menu)
Oxtail Risotto
Duo di Mousse, Millefoglie, panna cotta -- desserts (scarpetta's panacotta is better btw)

Osteria del teatro and Il Gabbiano are other options...

[tpigeon]

BTW ingredient quality at scarpetta and sardinia are about the same. I did not have any main dishes at scarpetta - just tried all the pastas. I like the desserts at sardinia better than scarpetta with the exception of the panna cotta.

The food is not bad at tua but it is not amazing and not worth it because it is expensive.