This New Brickell Restaurant is Actually Affordable and Perfect for Date Night
Allegro Ma Non Troppo offers 10-item menu, no reservations, and a check that will make you do a double take (in a good way)
Every time I leave my house, Miami finds a way to pull at least $200 from me before I’ve done seemingly anything. Add dinner into the mix and you can clear a few hundred per person without doing anything particularly ambitious.
So when my table of three walked out of Allegro Ma Non Troppo after ordering the entire menu and taking multiple rounds of drinks each, the bill was easily under $300, we were all pleasantly surprised.
Allegro Ma Non Troppo opened in April at 1000 South Miami Avenue in the space that used to be Mister O1. The concept is from The Passion Restaurant Group, the same team behind neighboring Dolores But You Can Call Me Lolita. The name is a translation for the Italian saying of “fast but not too fast.” The restaurant is also a tribute to co-owner Carlos Galan’s mother, who recently passed at 102. After she passed, Carlos brought three suitcases of her belongings, and those objects now fill the room with plenty of heartwarming stories he’s happy to share with guests.
Is it worth the trip? Yes, and the $260 check for three people across the full menu and multiple rounds says it better than I can.
The Space: The room seats 38 and was designed to feel like someone’s home rather than a restaurant. A charming mint green moped greets you on the patio, while earthy tones, warm low lighting, lamps shaped like old tea jars, shelves of vintage objects, and pieces of clothing hanging from the ceiling. The menu comes on a clipboard with checkboxes, and there’s a line printed at the top: “Check without fear. Sharing is mandatory here.”
What to Eat & Drink: Four starters, three mains, two sides, one dessert. Ten items total, which, in a city where every menu reads like a small novel, is a relief. Our table of three ordered all of it and finished most of it.
The Caesar is made with Caesar Cardini’s original 1924 dressing recipe and arrives loaded, a soft cloud of fresh parmesan piled on top. It’s the kind of Caesar that makes you wonder why anyone complicated it. The Olivia Baguette with stracciatella is creamy with a salty edge from the olives, and everything here comes piping hot from the oven, which matters more than it sounds.
The Skinny Margherita Flatbread got a very specific compliment from one of my dining companions: it tastes like pizza from the skating rinks of the 90s. We obviously enjoyed it.
The Wagyu Bolognese Lazy Lasagna is lighter than the name implies, three layers with a slow-cooked wagyu ragu that’s meaty without being heavy. But the one to order is the Chicken Cotoletta alla Milanese. Perfectly seasoned, the right size, and when lunch opens, getting it on top of the Caesar is going to be the obvious move. The branzino is simply prepared with olive oil, lemon, and rosemary.
Order the dessert, that’s teased on the menu, “Oh, by the way... order the dessert, you will not regret it. You’re welcome.” It arrives on a small scale to prove its weight, chocolate Basque style cheesecake designed for two or three spoons.
The drinks list is short and mostly Italian: Prosecco, Pinot Grigio, a Chianti, and one Spanish Rioja the partners import directly from Spain. All four wines are $9.99 a glass. You read right. In Brickell. Aperol Spritz, Limoncello Spritz, and Peroni round it out.
Perfect For: A date night in Brickell where you want to hear each other talk. Girls’ night with people who can handle sharing. Anyone who’s spent the last year paying $30 for apps and staring at a forty-item menu for twenty minutes trying to decide.
Pro Tip: Happy hour runs daily from 4 to 7 pm with 50% off drinks.
Expect to Pay: Two people ordering a couple of starters, a main each, and a few rounds of $9.99 wine will walk out around $50 to $70 per person, but if you just want a salad and a chicken Milanese you can score that for under $21. Three of us ordered every single item on the menu and took multiple rounds each and paid $260 total. A steal in my book.
How’s the parking? Not going to sugarcoat it: parking in Brickell just suckssssss. This is right across from Mary Brickell Village (running from $6-$40 depending on your stay) so there’s that parking lot but it's full a lot. Uber is the move, especially right now with World Cup madness adding more chaos to the neighborhood. Plan accordingly.
@allegromanontroppomiami // 1000 South Miami Avenue, Brickell