I Corsini, Miami

ooking for a little romance in Miami Beach? Sure, you could hit the actual beach, but the bright glare of sunlight, the beach bodies exposed… it’s not exactly romantic. Romance needs a little mystery, a little bit of quiet, some candlelight… and, of course, food.

I Corsini, a relatively new Washington Avenue restaurant (located right next to the Paris Theatre), has a lush garden, low ceilings, and the requisite romantic candlelight, all combining to make this a great choice for a fourth or fifth date. (Unless you are the type who goes full-on romance on the first date, in which case… we can’t help you.) The cream-coloured room is accented with red curtains and red candle-holders.

The menu is mostly Italian, with a few twists for good measure. A carpaccio catch of the day comes serves with Caribbean fruit salad; trip is braised with honey and served with black olives, pine nuts, and rosemary; and filet mignon tartare is ‘deconstructed.’ Soups are more traditional, with a rustic seasonal vegetable soup and a bread-thickened Tuscan soup up for grabs. Pasta runs the gamut from the available-in-every Italian restaurant (home made lasagna with seasonal vegetables; meat tortellini with parmigiano sauce) to the ambitious and delicious-looking (spagetting with clams, broccoli rapé, garlic, and parsley; Pappardelle pasta with slowly braised wild board ragout; saffron and black squid tagliolini pasta with clams, mussels, shrimp, scallops, cattle fish, garlic, and parsley.)

The already seafood-heavy menu ups the ante with the mains: Pan seared tuna steak with papaya and mango salad; Fresh Maine scallops roasted with sweet potatoes, basil-walnut pesto and sprouts; and Grilled Spanish octopus with grape tomatoes and capers from Pantelleria For meat lovers, there’s a series of USDA Prime Midwestern bone-in rib eyes and t-bone steaks, served with roasted potatoes and salad, in varying sizes, as well as a roasted Colorado lamb rack with sautéed porcini mushrooms and a rosemary-lemon marinated and grilled half chicken with sautéed vegetables.

A great steal is available in the form of a three-course prix fixe for $33.

For dessert, choose, if you can, between panna cotta with raspberry sauce, spicy red pepper chocolate mouse, or napoleone alla fragola.

Address: 560 Washington Avenue, Miami Beach, FL,
Contact: 305-531-2323
Cuisine: Italian
Area: Miami Beach
Venue: Fine Dining
Hours: Daily: 12:00 – 12:00
Price Range: $$$ (Within Reach)
Payment: Visa

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