Amarone — Restaurant in North Miami

Brought the family (seven of us!) to celebrate Mother's Day. The place was recommended by my daughter who had eaten there a week ago. It's a non-description storefront in a non-description shopping center with my favorite Mexican restaurant anchoring the north end. Occupying the space that was Bulldog Barbecue. Easy to overlook in a sea of pizza/pasta flour-and-water merchants. Masks are required, social distancing is practiced, plexiglas barriers separate tables. Service was prompt, friendly without fawning, helpful recommending a decent wine. I like bread with my meal, especially at the beginning--with soup! There was nothing on the table resembling a basket of rolls. I mentioned it to the waitress and within ten minutes a hot baked focaccia appeared--simply, unadorned, perfect with a drizzle of olive oil. The pasta e fagiola was smooth and dark, almost a bisque, with a splash of olive oil. Loving cured meats, I couldn't resist the Bresaola, lovely thin slices of deep red aged salted beef. Followed up with the Pulpo Alla Griglia, a tender tentacle grilled lightly seasoned with potatoes and grape tomatoes. Outstanding, although a bit skimpy for the price. Everyone else's dishes were terrific, including three different pizzas all prepared individually. Each pizza is crispy, thin-crust, baked in a special oven, topped with excellent sauce (or not) and high-quality cheese. The two pastas were also noteworthy in their sauces--one had a tasty pink vodka sauce, the other had a creamy, cheesy shrimp alfredo. My only petty "criticism" is the pasta itself. My idea of "al dente," when you bite it your teeth resist. There was a softness to their pasta that didn't exactly wow me but it didn't really detract from the whole dish. With no room left for dessert, we left the restaurant well fed and well...

Came here on a Sat night about 940p...found this place on both Yelp and Google...checked out the reviews and thought it would be a decent place to try!since it was 4.5 stars out of 5.

When we came in we were immediately greeted and seated. Those we encountered were nice. Quiet ambiance. The great thing was that it wasn't crowded and we had an area to ourselves..it wasn't loud to where we couldn't carry a conversation. The light was dim which made it a little intimate which was great.

Our waiter was nice and kind...seemed she had a long night.

For appetizers we ordered the garlic cheese bread which was amazing, with a side of Alfredo sauce to dip the bread in.

For entree I didn't even order what I originally saw and went against my better judgement and ordered the chicken Marsala and Chicken piccata which we were initially trying to order something that had cream sauce. Unfortunately the Chicken Marsala had a red thick spaghetti type sauce and mushrooms w/ spaghetti style pasta (which were one of the options from Mash Potatoes, Rigatoni or Gnocchi). The Chicken Piccata came with a thin Piccata sauce and we chose Mash Potatoes. Neither dish was what we expected...having the red sauce on the chicken Marsala I wasn't feeling it at all. It would've been good with fettuccine style pasta (if given as a pasta option). I would've liked the Chicken piccata sauce to be more flavorful and thicker... would've been better with angel hair pasta. This is my experience...i don't think I would be back if in the area again. There are just sooo many other restaurants to...

I was really looking forward to dining here, especially after reading so many positive reviews. Unfortunately, our experience was disappointing.

We ordered the Caesar salad, Focaccina All’aglio, and Penne Vodka pasta. The Caesar salad was overwhelmingly salty, though the flavor underneath was decent. The Focaccina All’aglio wasn’t what I expected—it resembled a cheesy flatbread or pizza rather than traditional focaccia, and sadly, it lacked any garlic flavor. If you're looking for a cheese pizza-style bread, you might enjoy it, but it wasn’t what we anticipated.

The Penne Vodka pasta was unfortunately the most underwhelming dish—it just didn’t taste right. I had hoped to share this meal with my daughter, but we ended up giving most of the food away. We dined on a Sunday evening and unfortunately felt unwell afterward, to the point that we couldn’t eat anything else for the next TWO days.

I don’t enjoy leaving negative reviews, but I feel it’s important to share our experience. We weren’t the only ones with issues—someone at another table sent their food back, and others seemed to eat out of necessity rather than enjoyment. I also spoke to people who had visited in the past and they mentioned the food used to be much better, which makes me wonder if there has been a recent change in management or the kitchen staff.

I hope this feedback is taken constructively, as I truly wanted to...