Hosteria Romana — Restaurant in Miami Beach

So we were walking on Espanola Way and decided to stop by Hosteria Romana for dinner. Well, it was a good decision. While the waiters' attitude was dismissive and dreadful, the service was prompt. We started with the burrata cheese. The waiter asked with a condescending tone, if we wanted to add prosciutto. I thought was a good idea, so we did and it was the right decision. The restaurant claims the prosciutto is imported from Parma, Italy and whether or not that is true, it was a nice addition to the burrata cheese. We consumed a couple of trays of bread with the burrata and prosciutto platter and the busboy was the nicer help and kept the bread tray coming. So far so good and enjoying our starter dish with 1/2 garafe of white wine and another 1/2 garafe of red wine for me, both of which were great! The music was loud, but enjoyable. Next, for our main dish, we ordered the chicken Milanese with a side (extra cost) of pasta, which I ordered cooked with oil and garlic. In all of my experiences at Italian restaurants here and in Italy, all dishes come with a side of pasta here, I had to order it as a side dish?? But ok. The chicken Milanese was a bit dry but the oil/garlic pasta side was really, really good. My partner ordered a bowl of pesto pasta, with no protein, which actually worked out just fine since my dish came with two breaded chicken breasts, so I shared one with him. The pesto pasta was al dente as was my oil/garlic pasta. At that point, our snobbish waiter warned of the "Tarantella" (napkin swirling while singing in Italian) coming up, again with a condescending tone of voice suggesting who doesn't know what is the "tarantella" is? Well that was fun and lively! For dessert, we shared the tiramisu cake and I had the espresso coffee, both of which were really good! The tiramisu cake was creamy, fresh and tasty. The espresso coffee was truly European, meaning strong (not recommended if it makes you hyper). Overall and despite the fatalistic attitude of our waiter, the service was quick and efficient and the food was really good; the ambiance was truly fun. It reminded me of my prior trips to Italy. I highly recommend...

Walking past this restaurant on a fairly busy Sunday night in Esplanade Way is what originally peaked out interest, the wait staff dressed up as Roman soldiers and goddesses, people laughing and good music. The environment here was the most inviting than anywhere else. Other places had good looking food, friendly wait staff and good looking vibes but we’re in Miami, let’s go where it’s packed, people are having fun and we can enjoy a new experience.

The menu was extensive, you seemed to be able to get pretty much any Italian style food you like. I started with a Greek salad (made to share) and Mixed Grill for two (again made to share). If you know anything about me I’m a quality and quantity type guy so I knew these wouldn’t be an issue. My fiancé ordered a pasta dish. The wait staff is very attentive and their help even more so, filling up the waters before it runs out, bringing hot fresh bread and oil once we were seated. Service was fast and efficient.

The Greek salad was a nice portion, good flavor and fresh tasting! One thing that threw me off was corn being in the Greek salad - that’s a new one for me.

Mixed grill for two was well cooked and had decent flavor, salt and pepper only. The meat will keep cooking so if you like your meat medium rare or medium be sure to move prices from the sizzling skillet to a separate plate. Towards the end of the dish, the meats I was getting to last ended up be more well done.

My fiancé wanted more flavor with her pasta dish and kept adding their fresh grated cheese hoping it would help - still good, but not what she had hoped for.

Overall great fun Miami Vibe, food was good enough, not great but the environment certainly fun and helps boost the...

My family and I recently dined at Hosteria Romana, and unfortunately, we left feeling unimpressed and taken advantage of.

At the start, our server seemed friendly, giving my girlfriend a high five as we first arrived. But after a second high five and a weird question about whether she was my sister or girlfriend, things started to feel a bit off. We’re not very familiar with Italian cuisine or culture, so my mom asked for recommendations, mentioning she wanted something authentic. The host suggested the prosciutto a mano and asked if we’d like melon and burrata. The way he asked made it sound like it was either included with the dish or on the house. At no point did he mention it would be an extra $38 charge. It should always be made a point to let customers know if there’s an up-charge, especially when they’re clearly unfamiliar with the menu. It felt shady and manipulative.

When my girlfriend ordered the chicken parmesan, he immediately suggested she try veal instead – again, more expensive. It was clear he was trying to upsell us at every turn, likely because of the automatic 20% service charge added to the bill. It felt like he was pushing pricier items just to boost his final tip.

The constant upselling throughout the meal made the whole experience feel inauthentic and like we were being used. For how expensive the meal turned out to be, it just wasn’t worth it.

On a positive note, the busboy did a much better job and was more honest than our server. He was attentive and friendly, making sure we had our bread basket refilled, clean utensils, and everything we needed throughout the meal. Unfortunately, the overall experience still wasn’t...