The Newest Restaurant in Miami Has No Menu

Eater

2 days ago

Are you an overthinker when it comes to dining out? ( Raises hand. ) You reserve a table weeks in advance, check the weather app daily to plan an outfit, and peruse the menu four times over, knowing exactly what you'll order. Hell, you've decided for the table — you're sharing the calamari, one of you is getting the sea bass, the other the lamb, and you're definitely pairing the port with cake.
One restaurant wants to throw this decision-making out the window. Well, at least for the food. Miami's newest waterfront Italian eatery, San Lorenzo, has no menu.
'In a world of infinite choices, where distractions are around all the time, to be guided is actually welcome and a bit of fresh air,' says co-founder of San Lorenzo, Andrea Fraquelli. 'The main choice is coming to the restaurant. Let us do the rest.'
The restaurant is the newest eatery from 84 Magic Hospitality, by Fraquelli, Ignacio Lopez Mancisidor, and Mattia Cicognani, and it opens this Saturday, May 31. It offers a four-course menu for $140 for two people. You get to make just one choice: fish or meat. The courses include an appetizer, two pasta dishes, and a dessert; vegetarians can be accommodated by request. Reservations can only be made the old-school way — by phone. Or simply, walk in.
Eduardo Suarez and Milan's Alessio Bernardinito designed the space with warm tones that feel breezy and coastal, alongside crisp white tablecloths, fresh flowers, and Venetian lighting. The indoor dining room seats 44 people, plus there's a standing bar area. Outside, an Italian terracotta terrace seats 30 at candlelit tables with views of Little River.
Tuscan born Giulio Rossi leads the kitchen and is resurrecting a signature dish from his storied past. Rossi ran restaurants in Italy in the 1980s, including Ristorante Mario Fiesole, which he owned for 18 years, and Panacea, a seafood-focused restaurant that earned a Michelin star in 1991. Rossi is bringing a lobster, crab, and king prawn seafood pasta from his time at Panacea to San Lorenzo. And that's just about the only food detail the restaurant let slip to Eater.
The now-closed Romeo's Cafe in Coral Gables had a no-menu concept, offering six courses of rotating Italian staples. Other restaurants around the country have experimented with similar ideas for years like chef Thomas Keller's Ad Hoc in Yountville, California, where the family-style dishes change daily, and Fuad's in Houston, Texas, where dishes are custom-made to the diner's preference. A food for thought experiment
Fraquelli has played with a limited menu in Miami. He's the brains behind Cotoletta, which opened in October last year in Coconut Grove. The Italian bistro is known for serving just one key dish: veal Milanese.
'Milanese [at Cotoletta] has been my test case for this experiment, and we couldn't be happier. People are not bored,' says Fraquelli. 'It's like, you go to a pizzeria and they don't have antipasti, pasta, secondi… they have pizza. This way of working with restricting the menu creates trust and consistency.'
'This way of working with restricting the menu creates trust and consistency,' says co-founder of San Lorenzo, Andrea Fraquelli
Fraquelli speaks of his favorite philosopher, Alan Watts, when explaining his vision. Watts is famously known for saying, 'In giving away control, you got it,' and a belief that Fraquelli hopes diners will practice in letting go. He hopes people will spend their time talking to one another at the table rather than worrying about what to order.
'Control is an illusion. Stop choosing, let us do it.'
The idea is comparable to the popular Japanese omakase-style of dining, where diners trust the chef to pick the food. Or prix-fixe tasting menus that change often. Fraquelli says his restaurant is more of a family-style comfort meal rather than a fine-dining evening.
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Fraquelli adds that limiting the menu at San Lorenzo means the restaurant has minimal waste when it comes to ingredients. The kitchen gets to fire and perfect fewer dishes, letting the seasonality of produce shine rather than trying to balance a multi-page menu. 'By narrowing the focus, we ensure that every dish is a standout,' he says.
The philosophy extends to beverages, too. Four red wines, four white, a rosé, and two sparkling wines, including a Franciacorta, will be available. A single brand of each spirit to offer classic cocktails, alongside a selection of digestivos also line the bar — interesting finds like the Greek Kástra Elión vodka distilled from green olives, and locally made Harry Blu's gin from Miami are on deck.
San Lorenzo is named after Fraquelli's grandfather, Lorenzo who co-founded UK's popular Italian restaurant group, Spaghetti House. Fraquelli is a third-generation restaurateur who hopes people will trust him without a menu. The restaurant opens this Saturday and is located at 620 Northeast 78th Street. Reservations can be made by calling [phone]. Just be ready to answer: carne o pesce?
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