Photo by James Jackman
Audio By Carbonatix
The direct English translation of “storia” in Italian is history or story. But at this new Upper Buena Vista osteria, it means even more. It’s a culmination of relationships, years of hospitality history, and all the stories restaurateur Andrea Fraquelli and chef Giulio Rossi want to share with Miami.
After helping create some of Miami’s most beloved restaurants, including Cotoletta in Coconut Grove, which won New Times’ Best Restaurant (Coconut Grove) 2025, and San Lorenzo, a menuless restaurant tucked away in Little River, the duo has parted ways with that team to embark on their most personal project to date. And that project is a charming bistro called Storia.
“For me, Storia is a love letter,” Fraquelli tells New Times. “It’s a love letter to all the restaurants I’ve worked at or helped create. It’s also a thank you to the team who has been extremely loyal to us since the beginning, to my family, our friends, and our guests. Giulio and I put together the best of every place we have worked in, every dish we want to eat the most, and it became everything we most want to share with our guests.”
Photo by James Jackman
A menu filled with their greatest hits
Storia’s menu has all of their family’s greatest hits. For antipasti, the beef carpaccio, zucchini fritti, crocchette cacio e pepe, and truffle arancini make for a great start to the meal.
As for the primi, Miami diners may recognize some of the flavors on the menu, including chef Giulio’s signature ragù, which is the base of the lasagna and the restaurant’s Bolognese side. Other dishes include handmade gnocchi scampi, linguine alle vongole, and tagliatelle al ragù.
Secondi include Giulio’s beef tagliata and branzino alla griglia, while a few specials for two are worth trying, including a signature veal Milanese and rib-eye steak.
“We tap into the wisdom of old recipes and honor rather than influence those recipes,” says Fraquelli. “Giulio doesn’t like changing his recipes, so a lot of the dishes will be presented differently, but maintain the essence of what he was taught when he was a teenager and learned over years of opening restaurants.”
Photo by James Jackman
A wine list with a personal story
The extensive wine list includes a variety of Italian wines, including eight whites, eight reds, and a few rosé and sparkling selections.
“These are hand-picked wines from Italy,” says Fraquelli. “Many of which people will recognize from a grape or area perspective, but are little growers that you don’t find. Also, since this place is all about our relationships, that makes this all happen so organically. One of my dearest friends is a wine collector who has evolved his tastes over the years, and he has given me 1,000 bottles of his collection to sell and showcase in the restaurant.”
The osteria also sports a bar where guests can order simple Italian cocktails, including an Aperol spritz or Negroni.
Photo by James Jackman
Upper Buena Vista was meant to be
As a nod to the restaurant’s name, the location choice comes from the decades-long friendship between Fraquelli and Assi Aviv, founder of Upper Buena Vista. Aviv lived above Fraquelli’s restaurant, La Brasseria, in London and became one of its most devoted regulars.
Storia was designed in collaboration between Eduardo Suarez Designs, which led the restaurant’s interior design, and Cohere, the hospitality branding and experience studio founded by Antoinette Marie Johnson.
With hard-facing banquettes and endless shelves of wine, the osteria creates the ambiance of a cherished European neighborhood institution.
No online reservations, and that’s the point
Across all of his restaurants and now under Fraquelli Hospitality, it has always been about community for Fraquelli. His metric has never been how much a guest spends, but how many times they return.
Taking it back to 1999, as Fraquelli says, there will be no online reservations. He wants guests to enjoy picking up the phone and being greeted by the team, developing a connection that doesn’t exist when booking a table online.
“I really believe in those magical two hours that you have in a restaurant,” says Fraquelli. “The best two hours of your day that you choose to share with us and your favorite people who you bring. So this is all about stepping into a home, into our home that becomes yours. I want them to feel that sense of warmth more than anything.”
At Storia, the team will know you by your name, remember your favorite table, and always go above and beyond. So it is only natural that upon entering, the first thing you will read is: “Welcome home.”
Storia. 5018 NE Second Ave., Miami; reservations via 728-229-4682 or StoriaReservations@FraquelliHospitality.com. Instagram: @storia.miami.
