Ever since I went to Eataly in New York City, I’ve been obsessed with that Italian food concept – part market, part restaurants, and all parts YUM! I had been hoping that Miami soon would have something similar. Luckily, my prayers were answered with La Centrale. As you can recall, I was invited to their food tasting preview back in December – which was delicious – so I was excited to be invited to a friends and family preview of their restaurants prior to opening this March. I chose their restaurant Pesce, which showcases the best of coastal Italian cooking, featuring fresh seafood, shellfish, and a crudo and bollicine bar.

We started the meal with some appetizers – Cioppino, a crudo plate of scallops, langoustine, prawns, tuna, yellowtail, oysters, and gazpacho, along with grilled Mediterranean octopus. I always love grilled octopus.

For our main dish, we tried Capesante, a plate of diver scallops, cherry tomato, Nocellara olives, and capers, along with squid ink pasta with crab, leek, and bottarga di muggine. Dessert was light and bring – we enjoyed panna cotta with berries.

We paired the meal with Palazzone Terre Vineate Orvieto 2016, which isn’t on the regular drink menu. Terre Vineate is made with a special selection of clusters hand-picked from the estate vineyards featuring the traditional blend of Orvieto Classico. It is a blend of 50% Procanico and 30% Grechetto, to which 20% Verdello, with Drupeggio and Malvasia added.

The wine is a deep straw yellow in color, with a strong presence on the nose. It has notes of herbs, pear, and flowers. It has a certain level of dryness and lingers on the palate. Not my favorite. You can find it online in between $10-15. 3/5.

If you make your way down to Brickell City Centre, you should definitely check this place out!