IL Bolognese — Restaurant in Miami Beach

Came to Il Bolognese during our vacation and wanted to leave a review. We were drawn to the restaurant for its upbeat and lively atmosphere and the vibes were just as we expected. But that’s just about where the good things ended.

Upon being seated, we had waited for our order to be taken and noticed another couple being seated next to us. Even though we had been seated first, our assigned waiter took the order of the other couple before us and also served them water before he took our order for the night. The other couple was offered freshly grated Parmesan for their meals by the same waiter while we were not for the entirety of our meal. We also noticed that he would periodically check in on the other couple while he checked in on us once towards the end when it was time for our bill.

My partner and I are Korean Americans and happened to be speaking Korean to one another that night. But we are from Boston and are not unfamiliar with American dining culture. It’s common for businesses to take advantage of tourists or people who appear as “foreigners” who are unfamiliar with American tipping culture and at Il Bolognese, a 20% gratuity fee was automatically applied to the bill. On top of the 20%, we were expected to pay an additional tip, which was confirmed after asking the waiter about our bill.

I’m not sure if this is a normal thing in South Beach, but this had not been the case at any other restaurants we went to during our stay. We are used to restaurants in Boston applying gratuity to our bill, but only if the party exceeds a certain number of people (usually 5-6), and this night, it was just the two of us. We don’t want to assume discrimination, but we felt that it was worth mentioning that the other couple who was receiving better service happened to be Caucasian.

Note that you will also be asked to leave a review on Google by the server whoever helped you, which is why you see so many 5 star reviews and reviews mentioning the servers under the review section.

The food was tasty but definitely not worth the price and would recommend avoiding most restaurants along Ocean Drive for the same reason. Unfortunately, many are tourist traps.

Some of our favorite places during our trip were the sandwich joint, La Sandwicherie, Saffron Grill, a Turkish restaurant with delicious traditional Turkish dishes, and Puerto Sagua, a Cuban American restaurant with a wide variety of homestyle entrees. All three had affordable/ fair prices, great food, and...

I should have recognized the warning signs, given that my previous experience at another Italian restaurant from this hospitality group had been far from satisfactory. However, I allowed myself to believe that perhaps the different location could lead to a better dining experience. Sadly, that hope was misplaced.

While the service we received was truly commendable—our server was attentive, warm, and responsive—the food fell short in nearly every aspect. For our appetizers, we decided to sample the fried calamari and shrimp, eager to taste something delicious. However, the calamari and shrimp that arrived at our table were disappointingly dry, almost as if they had been left to sit for too long before being served. The flavor was practically nonexistent, making it difficult to enjoy what was meant to be a vibrant starter. It was a disappointing beginning to our meal.

For our main courses, my daughter ordered the creamy Alfredo pasta with chicken, while I chose the pasta prepared in a vodka sauce with chicken. Each dish arrived with minimal presentation, and the accompanying chicken slices were notably sparse. The pieces were not only dry and unappetizing but also hinted at being mass-produced—overly processed with a texture that indicated they were previously frozen. For a staggering total of $36 per plate (which included $26 for the pasta and an additional $10 for the three tiny slices of chicken), the quality of the food was utterly unacceptable.

It's important to note that I wouldn't be voicing my concerns solely based on the price; rather, the expectation is that the quality of the meal should reflect its cost, particularly when the portion sizes are already quite small. Overall, this experience left us feeling frustrated and disappointed, as the meal certainly did not meet the standards one would hope for at such a...

We hosted our wedding weekend dinner at Il Bolognese expecting a fun, well-run night with friends and family — instead we got a 3+ hour mess of poor planning and complete mismanagement.

The servers themselves were excellent — respectful, knowledgeable, and clearly trying their best. The real failure was management and hospitality, which were a joke from start to finish.

•Guest Count: Contracted for 35 people, ended up with 26, and management never returned calls or confirmed numbers. We were charged for 9 meals that were never served.

• Gluten-Free Guest: Confirmed months in advance, yet management failed to provide a menu. Our guest had to argue just to get a salad — which they then had the nerve to charge extra for, despite her meal being prepaid.

• Service Breakdown: A table of six was completely forgotten. No appetizers, and their entrées didn’t arrive until 90 minutes later, long after everyone else had finished.

• Food & Timing: Inconsistent and poorly paced. Some plates were all meat, others nearly all pasta. Courses came out 20+ minutes apart, defeating the point of a prix fixe menu.

After a decent amount of back and forth, management finally did the bare minimum — refunding the money for the wrong guest count and the gluten-free meal. But they never offered any apology for the terrible service, nor any additional compensation for how poorly the evening was handled.

We didn’t expect Michelin-star quality, but we did expect a lively, coordinated dinner to cap off a special weekend. Instead, it was mismanaged, disorganized, and flat-out disappointing.

If you’re planning an event in Miami, do yourself a favor and look elsewhere. Il Bolognese is absolutely not the place to trust with a...