The Bistrot

All I can say is wow. On a whim we decided to pop Out of the Miami airport during an extended layover and picked Caffe Vialetta. What an amazing choice. Owner was so friendly and accommodating. Food was to die for. Bread is homemade and if I could I would have taken a few loaves hone in my luggage! We had pear ravioli’s as an appetizer and I could have just eaten them all night. Then we had the short rib pappardelle and the pasta del ao. Sigh. I’ll dream about them…they are known for their short ribs and the short rib pappardelle didn’t disappoint. And the pasta with shrimp mushrooms and sun dried tomatoes was also amazing. This is a must visit place!!!

What a nice surprise to find this fine dining option right in CG. We stopped in not having any expectations as we drove by frequently but never looked it up. We were pleasantly surprised by the upscale yet cozy atmosphere. Excellent service with very fresh and flavorful food. I think this qualifies as a hidden gem. The short rib pappardelle was one of the best things I’ve had in a long time, and that’s saying something after an extended trip to Miami has given me plenty of opportunities to eat at nice places. It is really special. I was surprised at the good size of the dishes and not overly expensive prices (two large meatballs were $9). It’s definitely worth stopping in. We’re going back next week just for the short rib dish.

1st time visit to celebrate birthday, notified restaurant about celebration through my reservation, in person & to waiter, It was completely ignored birthday person was not treated in any way special. We arrived on time to reservation, were made to wait extra 15 mins for table bc host said he was running late. Another male host eventually sat us in 2 small tables joined together in the middle of the hallway rather than a round table for a party of 6. We received a wrinkled photocopied paper menu this place was NOT as elegant as it appears to online on the website. It's an expensive subpar cheap looking, w/ dimmed lights so you can't really see what's really going on. Valet $7 cash is mandatory. Entrance through a back wooden hidden door. Warm bread, half a loaf and chopped up tomatoes, no oil nothing else was brought right away. Appetizers we tried: $12 for 2 normal sized "ok" meatballs. $12 for 2 awful tasting mostly artichoke Croquettes. Paper menu prices were higher than Dinner Menu on their website. Gnocchi Asiago: basic plain gnocchi sprinkled with hard bacon bits not crispy prosciutto like the menu said $38. Rigatoni Papalina $38, tasted acceptable but overpriced lacking protein. Chicken parmesan $38, Excessive red sauce felt like tomato soup, basic the taste, bland, overpriced. The champagne risotto that came with our dishes was watery and hard and didn't taste like champagne. Risotto Carbonara $40, awful! Looked like a bowl of milk with rice and some shrimp in there. There was no carbonara about this only the name, no peas, no egg, and certainly no pancetta only bacon bits sprinkled. $52 the Short Ribs #1 dish, ribs taste was good, rib portion small so this is what they want you to order this is their specialty so they can get you to spend more and still you won't be full, comes with the nasty watery risotto. The waiter had an unwelcoming attitude since greeting us even though we stated it was our first time & we were celebrating a birthday Chad made no effort to make it special for us. We asked for a dessert menu, he said he didn't have one and recited 5 deserts he had. We ordered 1 tiramisu and 1 creme Brulee. 15 mins pass no desert. I call him over to ask if it'll be much longer he then said we don't have creme Brulee. I told him to cancel then deserts and bring me the check. He brings me the check and the total is $69 for only our beverages and an 18% gratuity was automatically included. Mind you the service was awful, he never came to check on us after taking our order and water refill was only brought out at the end, our "dinner" was dry and we couldn't even order more drinks. I should've paid and left, but I'm an honest person, called him over and showed him the check and told him you see what you did to this check? All the food was missing. He then realized his mistake. I told him to remove the gratuity that I would add my tip on my own. He took another 15 Mins to fix and bring the correct check. $339 for 6 people plus tip, to eat awful food, meh drinks and awful service, not the experience I wanted for my VIP. I suggest going elsewhere to spend your hard earned money. This is a loud tightly packed place that I can't recommend to anyone else. I feel I was robbed. My VIP ended up sick due to the undercooked shrimp that came with his food. I'm so embarrassed to have brought my family here. NEVER again. I still tipped the waiter 15% of the bill simply for taking our orders and so that the water boy who brought us water one time before we left get paid. I don't understand how in this economy restaurateurs dare to treat their customers like this. Please go elsewhere. Anyone saying this is good, clearly has not visited high end restaurants or been to Italy and tried authentic Italian cuisine.