Española Way can transport you out of South Beach and into a cozy European setting.
Hosteria Romana anchors the street with its own Caesar hailing pedestrians. Sunburned Italian
waiters swoon over daughters, mothers, and grandmothers in the
street.
On a recent night, a waiter showed us the dessert counter with a most beautiful display of homemade Italian desserts including
tiramisu, chocolate mousse, and gelatos. We elected to try the panna
cotta, made with cooked heavy whipping cream and served with
strawberries, and crostata di nutella; this was a baked tart filled with
nutella and served with scoop of vanilla ice cream. We also ordered
two cappuccinos. While we enjoyed our scrumptious dessert and drank
our smooth, perfectly created cappuccinos, prices didn't seem an issue.
And then the bill came... One panna
cotta: $9. One crostata di nutella: $13. Two cappuccinos: $9.50. Add
tax and an automatic gratuity of $5.67 and you get a check for $40.01
for two people. Outrageous? I'd say so. Perhaps we should have asked for prices ahead of time, but certainly overpriced desserts still shouldn't have been in excess of $10. No amount of charm, nutella,
or red and white tablecloths can justify the gouging. At $13, I
wanted the rest of the pie to take home. Instead, I felt like an
American getting scammed at a ristorante in Italy.
Hosteria Romana
429 Espanola Way, Miami Beach
305-532-4299
