Trattoria Pampered Chef — Restaurant in Miami Lakes

January 4th, 2024, was when I dined here for lunch. The place was booked for an event, so we had to dine outside. It was understandable, so we sat outside. Let me start with this: the place is beautiful inside. Now, service is where it is hit and miss. The waitress was tentive to us. However, when it came to communicating about the dishes, it was not explained like the lamb, what sauce, and the Greek rice my guest had. The menu they gave us was one of the paper pamphlets, so it did not describe what ingredients would be in the dish. Now, the food. I went with chicken romano since I thought it would be the same dish I had in other places. However, it winded up not being the case. The chicken itself was poor quality. It did not cut properly, and the pasta was cold when it got to the table. However, the salad the waitress brought with the meal was delicious. Now, prices were expensive for the portions and food quality for lunch. Chicken Romano was 24.00, while the lamb special my guest had was around 37.00. If the food was solid quality, I would have not mind, but it was not the case. There are other restaurants that have similar atmospheres, services, and food quality I would choose over. Overall, I understand that the catering event inside was busy. However, that should not change the food and service we received. This place has the potential to be great, but the prices, poor communication, and the food we were served do not justify a return visit at this time. I gave it two stars because the salad was good and the waitress was...

We had higher expectations for the restaurant, especially given the price. The menu was printed on foldable paper, stained from frequent use, and looked more like a takeout menu. While the bar had a nice aesthetic, they didn’t serve alcohol due to a lack of a license, and there was no wine menu, despite the restaurant being filled with wine bottles. Our waitress struggled with both Spanish and English, making communication difficult.

When we asked for a bottle of wine, there was no menu to choose from, so we had to rely on the waitress’s vague explanation—just "red or white," with no details about the type or origin of the wines. The meatballs were clearly store-bought, and the salad portions were strangely small, served on a large plate with only about eight pieces of lettuce.

While some dishes dishes were enjoyable (though the carbonara recipe wasn’t quite traditional), the seafood pasta was a disappointment. The calamari was chewy, and there was no garlic flavor to counter the strong fishy taste. The tiramisu was off balance, overwhelmed by coffee with a very thin cream layer, which threw off the usual flavor harmony.

Overall, we...

If you’re looking for the best Italian food experience in Miami go here and tell the owner that Musa sent you…

The owner’s name is Gabriel and he is THE MAN! I had their chicken Parmesan OH MY GOD! Perfectly crispy, superior melted cheese, and the tomato sauce will make you feel like that one scene in the movie “Ratatouille” when the food critic tries the Ratatouille and he gets flashbacks from his childhood. Yes, it’s THAT good. When I went was a party happening with a doctor retiring next to my table, the owner had printed a special placard with the doctor’s picture on it to celebrate the occasion. He gave me a free carpaccio appetizer just because he happened to have extra from the doctor’s party, it was my first time there and he treated me like a regular! The attention to detail of great service that Gabriel and his staff brings cannot be understated! Drinks refilled without even asking and stuff like that… they even let us sit and enjoy their HOME MADE TIRAMISU (which was fluffy as a pillow!) for like what felt like an hour after we paid our check, no pressure. Do yourself a favor and check out this HIDDEN GEM...