Siena is a small city of 50K people in the Tuscany region of Italy. It’s here that 3 friends {and business partners} stumbled upon a small bar/bistro. It had an open kitchen and oven where they served made from scratch Italian cuisine and seafood. This is how Siena Tavern http://www.sienatavern.com/miami/ was born.

I usually avoid “celebrity chef” restaurants because I have found them heavy on the “celebrity” part and usually lacking in the “chef” department. Siena Tavern avoids this trap. I found them to be an excellent restaurant and the executive chef/owner Fabio Viviani just happens to be a very well known “celebrity”. He was a Top Chef Season 5 Fan Favorite. He has brought his inventive style on classic dishes to Miami. Speaking with him about his new location here in Miami was informative. He and his partners were looking for a perfect space in Miami and decided on this former China Grill location. Siena Tavern is already a mainstay at it’s original location in Chicago. They should achieve that status here in Miami shortly. They designed the former cavernous China Grill location to be somewhat intimate, upscale yet still relatable. They have event rooms with partitions and also part of the main dining room can be curtained off for special events. Their Crudo bar area is amazing. You can sit near the wood burning pizza oven and enjoy a drink or a entire meal. They also have a full service wrap around bar area with one way glass that are also flat screen TV’s. The main dining room is a class act in design. One particular mural is breathtaking. Another wall has a unique feature. Drawers. Cabinet drawers. Lucas Stoioff, one of their owners explained that the inspiration for their “drawer wall” was from his childhood when he was tasked with throwing away such a cabinet and things didn’t go according to plan. What a great conversation piece that wall is. Here in South Beach style trumps substance about 99% of the time. Not here. The only thing better than the design and the décor was the food.

They have an extensive cocktail and wine list. We choose two cocktails. You order them by the number on the list. We had the #3 and the #10. Both were exquisite. We started with the Wagyu Beef Meatball. This is the meatball to end all meatballs. Moist and flavorful. It is stuffed with Bellweather Ricotta cheese. It’s a mini meal in itself. We were going to ask for a straw for the sauce but decided against it. Next up was a Crudo Bar sampler of 4 items. Oysters, Fluke, Hamachi and diver scallop. It was a fresh seafood bonanza. They have some rotating choices listed on the wall by the Crudo Bar. We also had two of their large succulent stone crabs. Our 3 year old had a small portion of their spaghetti in pomodoro sauce. She loved it ! We split a main entrée of their Short Rib Ravioli. The ravioli is all homemade and cut in-house. The short Rib and sauce combo was a incredible flavor impolsion. Loved it. What I also loved was a ounce of their white truffles hand shaved tableside. I inquired to the chef why truffles usually carry a hefty price tag. He explained it was due to a few factors. The scarcity and western European location. How they are harvested {with dogs and pigs that sometimes can cost 10K or more for a trained animal} also is a big reason for this culinary luxury item. The truffles just added a amazing profile to the ravioli that cannot be explained and can only be experienced. Splurge and try some truffles on your visit.

We ended our meal with a dessert called ‘bambolini’ A plate of sugar coated hot doughnut pieces. Something found at a state fair. Like a hybrid of fried dough. These came with various sauces of raspberry and chocolate that can be dipped or injected into the doughy goodness. They were simple and decadent. A great finish to a great experience. Seeking a great experience ? Look no more. Siena Tavern is here.

Check out our IG Video Short below:

http://instagram.com/p/vZ3NktiXPu/