A Quickie With Ivan Barros

The man behind Magie Wine Bar has thoughts on your sent-back pasta

Photo credit: Starchefs

As anyone who’s left Miami only to come crawling back knows, sometimes you have to leave to realize what you’ve got. Such is the case with Ivan Barros, who after growing up in West Kendall headed out to LA to chase his culinary dreams.

After running his own restaurant at Santa Monica’s Vamos Vamos, then crushing the competition on Ciao House Season 2, Barros came back to Miami in 2023, helming the kitchen at Michael Schwartz’s Amara at Paraiso. Last year he co-founded

Magie Wine Bar

in Little River, which has since spread to a second location in Coconut Grove. We sat down with West Kendall’s prodigal food son, and he dished on his Dominican roots, and why you should never send back his pasta.

Name: Ivan Barros

Place of work: Chef and Co-Owner, Magie Wine Bar

Nickname: Capo

Childhood leftover memory: My dad would always make mangu, which is a typical Dominican dish, it’s basically like mashed plantains. We’d have that with fried cheese, salami, and runny eggs. Then actually every …