Casadonna — Restaurant in Miami

As someone who has frequented Casa Dona many times and spoken highly of their elegance, service, and exceptional dining experiences, I am deeply disappointed to find myself writing this review. What was meant to be a joyous celebration of my anniversary with my wife and accompanied with my son Marc on November 22, 2024, turned into one of the most upsetting and embarrassing dining experiences I’ve ever had.

I live at the 1800 Club, directly across the street from Casa Dona, and I have been a loyal patron since they opened. From the start, the service was a glaring issue. Our waiter’s attitude was shockingly rude, condescending, and dismissive. Rather than making us feel welcome or cared for, he rushed us through every interaction, leaving no room for the hospitality one expects from a restaurant of Casa Dona’s caliber. Despite my explicit request to have our meal served in courses to create a relaxed, enjoyable experience, all of our dishes—appetizers and entrées—were brought out at once. This completely undermined the quality and flow of the meal and made the experience feel rushed and impersonal.

The entire evening lasted no more than 30–45 minutes. For a dinner costing over $700 for three shared plates, this was a complete failure in terms of value, service, and respect for the customer’s time. Had the meal been served properly and the evening handled with care, the cost would have been justified. Instead, we were hurried out with no consideration for our special occasion or the level of service one expects from such an esteemed establishment.

The most humiliating moment came during payment. My first attempt to pay via Apple Pay was declined due to a routine fraud alert—a common occurrence with electronic payments. I immediately used another card, which was accepted without issue. However, the waiter loudly remarked, “You have no money in your account; your card is no good,” in front of my fiancée and son. This unnecessary and degrading comment was entirely unprofessional and deeply humiliating. To be spoken to in such a way during a special occasion was beyond unacceptable.

Adding to the frustration, gratuity was automatically included in the bill. While I understand this is standard practice at high-end establishments, it seemed to contribute to the waiter’s lack of motivation to provide quality service. Knowing that his tip was guaranteed, he had no incentive to treat us with respect or care about our dining experience. This lack of accountability resulted in service that was indifferent, careless, and completely out of alignment with Casa Dona’s reputation.

What makes this experience even more disheartening is the stark contrast to my previous visits. Casa Dona is housed in the historic Miami Women’s Club building, a stunning setting that exudes elegance and charm. Its design, inspired by the Italian Riviera, features beautiful dining rooms and a picturesque atmosphere. But no amount of decor or ambiance can compensate for the degrading treatment we received. The beauty of the restaurant was completely overshadowed by the lack of professionalism and respect we experienced.

I am genuinely curious to see how Casa Dona, a restaurant with such prestige, plans to address this situation. Restaurants of their reputation are judged not only by the quality of their food and ambiance but also by how they handle moments when they fall short. This is an opportunity for Casa Dona to demonstrate their commitment to their customers and show they take feedback seriously.

As a loyal patron who has praised this restaurant since its opening and recommended it to others, I hope management takes this feedback as an opportunity to reflect, improve, and rectify the situation. How they choose to respond will shape not only my future decisions but also the confidence of others who value exceptional service. I trust Casa Dona understands the importance of maintaining their reputation and honoring their commitment to excellence. Let’s see if Casa Dona can rise to...

Located in the Edgewater neighborhood of Miami, this waterfront restaurant is quite popular. We visited this restaurant for the first time for brunch.

The restaurant has a unique concept for brunch. A fixed per-person fee is paid in advance, which is $85 for adults and $55 for children. Accordingly, five fixed appetizers are served first, followed by a main course of your choice from the menu. After the main course, ice cream and a dessert are served. Additionally, you can purchase a drink package at a fixed price of $38 from a predetermined list and drink as much as you want from this list for two hours. This is a nice concept. All other drinks outside the list are à la carte.

Before evaluating the food, I would like to discuss the interior and exterior of the restaurant. The interior decoration is truly beautiful. The outdoor area, nestled among greenery and trees and located by the sea, offers a truly pleasant environment. You can also get a sense of this place from the photos and videos I have added here. Additionally, there is a nice and large bar in the garden. They play DJ music during brunch, but we found the volume to be a bit high.

As for the food, the variety was sufficient. Moreover, you can order as many of your favorite appetizers as you want. We were served a salami platter, smoked salmon, green salad, roasted beets, and fig ricotta bread upfront. We ordered some of these a second time. For the main course, you choose one dish from the list. We ordered black truffle omelette, egg white frittata, and NY Strip & Eggs. The omelette I ordered had no truffle taste and was a bit overcooked. When I asked the others how their food was, I learned that the NY Strip & Eggs was average, and the egg white frittata was not bad. For dessert, we had tiramisu along with the ice cream.

The food was generally average, it could have been better. The waiters were attentive, but the service was a bit slow. Nevertheless, the seaside location and the beautiful indoor and outdoor environment make it worth visiting.

After your first visit, I recommend you evaluate for yourself whether to return. I should note that this review is only for brunch. Looking at the menu, it seems there are nice food options for dinner.

UPDATE May 11, 2024: We visited this restaurant once again for dinner. The food was delicious, but the reception at front and the service inside was very poor this time.

Right from the entrance, we encountered problems. It turned out that our reservation for 10 people had been mistakenly recorded for the following week. Because of this, we had to wait at the front desk for at least 30-35 minutes until the situation was clarified. After dealing with the issue ourselves, they finally had to arrange a table.

As soon as we sat down at the table, we had to wait quite a long time to give our orders. I placed my order and the waiter took note of it. However, after making a round of the table, the waiter asked for my order again, as if it was the first time. I found myself having to repeat my order.

Another mishap involved the bottle of wine we ordered; they brought a different wine and started pouring it into glasses without asking. When we pointed this out, they apologized and brought the same different wine for the second time, again pouring it without inquiry, and had to take the glasses back once more. It was only on the third attempt that we received the wine we had ordered.

As for the main courses, they should normally arrive at the same time for everyone, but some of our companions received theirs while we were finishing ours. Moreover, the number of main dishes served was more than what we had ordered. There are more details regarding the poor service, but I prefer not to prolong the subject here.

These are situations that should not occur in a good, quality, and...

I want to share the terrible experience I had at this restaurant in Miami. My best friend from Colombia arrived this weekend to celebrate my birthday, and we decided to have dinner here. I’ve been to this restaurant several times before and have generally had good experiences, but this time was completely unacceptable.

We were a party of four, enjoying our dinner and drinks, and everything seemed fine at first. However, during dessert—while we were still consuming and had no intention of leaving—our server brought the check to the table without us requesting it. I found this odd but didn’t say anything at the moment.

Afterward, I stepped away to use the restroom, and when I returned, a second dessert arrived, and the staff sang “Happy Birthday.” The moment I blew out the candle, the server abruptly told us, “Thank you for coming, but you need to leave because we have another reservation for this table.” While this was surprising and unpleasant, we politely responded, “Okay, no problem, we’ll leave soon.”

At this point, it was clear the restaurant was rushing us out. They had already closed our check without giving us the chance to order anything else, even though we were planning to stay and continue consuming. We paid and let it go. However, within five minutes—while we were still eating the second dessert—the same server approached us again, insisting, “You need to leave now. You can continue your conversation at the bar.” His tone was so rude that one of my friends responded, “We’ll leave when we finish the dessert.”

This behavior was beyond unacceptable. For a bill totaling $700, we were treated with complete disrespect. This wasn’t a case of us lingering without consuming—on the contrary, we were actively ordering. The server, whose name was Sacarías, displayed unprofessionalism and an utter lack of customer service skills.

Following this incident, I spoke to the hostess, who directed me to another staff member, possibly the manager. Her response was equally disappointing: “I’ll speak to the server; that shouldn’t have happened, but after two hours, we need to free up tables.” While I understand that restaurants often have a two-hour seating limit, this policy should not apply if the table is still actively ordering and consuming. The way this was handled—rushing us out, prematurely delivering the check, and the server’s rude behavior—was completely unprofessional and disrespectful.

Moreover, no effort was made to resolve the situation or accommodate us elsewhere in the restaurant. Instead, we left and took our business to another establishment.

This experience not only ruined my birthday celebration but also left my friend from Colombia with an awful impression of this restaurant. I will never return, and I certainly do not recommend it to anyone. The lack of customer service, responsibility, and professionalism from both the server and management was...