This place is absolutely perfect for the wealthy local women who never learned to cook. It my opinion, it's highly over-rated. The prices are high and the food is only okay.
The only thing special about Raggazzi, is that it's got a decently fun vibe.
On a typical night, it is packed full, with people who can't cook and most likely have never actually eaten great Italian food.
Always a great meal.  This is sort of place you wouldn't mind waiting an 1.30 hours for a table.  The restaurant is small and quaint.  The service is super super hospitable and fast. Management  is tight and very involved in service.  Food, however AMERICANIZED it's stupid good! A great restaurant best Italian I have had in Miami.  No bs at this restaurant. Good food, good service all the time!
Review Source:I have driven past, eaten next to, and sadly overlooked this gem in Surfside for so long. Â My uncle from Buenos Aires invited me to dinner at this amazing little resturant based on a recommendation from a friend who traveled here. Â And what an amazing place this is. Â We arrived fairly early by Miami standards, but with young children, we like to get home early. Â At first we were alone in the dining room, for almost an hour. Â I was a little nervous, until I tried the fresh bruschetta. Â One bite, and I knew it was going to be a special dinner. Â PAsta was wonderful, very fresh. Â Everything was a delight. Â the wait staff was attentive and intuative. Â Barely had to ask for anything, they just knew. Â I will be going again on date night with my wife. Â Great little romantic dinner joint as well. Â You won't be disappointed!
Review Source:It was a good surprise. We went for a lunch at the Bal Harbour Shops but it was so crowded that we decided to check around, in Surfside.
We used the Yelp's iPhone app and discover this cozy cafe, in the next corner.
The food was delicious, from the appetizers to dessert. The service was also great, with the argentinian German being very prompt and warm.
My boyfriend and I went here a Saturday night, they sat us down right away and brought over some bread and bruschetta, which was delicious! He ordered the lasagna al forno and I ordered their special seafood raviolini that came with shrimp and lobster. We both loved our dishes and will be returning.
Review Source:The restaurant was packed saturday night but they still quickly find us a table for two.
They promptly took our drink orders and brought us bread with bruschetta.
We started with the caesar salad which was delicious. Home made dressing with anchovies I really liked it. The salad had the right about of dressing and small sized croutons which I prefer).
For dinner we shared the chicken marsala with steamed spinach and the diavola pizza. The plate had two thin chicken breasts smothered in marsala sauce. The sauce was light with mushrooms and onions. It was very good and a big. The pizza was huge. Enough to share for two as a meal. Thin crust, lots of cheese and spicy salami. Total success we took the left over home!
No dessert because we decided to get it somewhere else but their chocolate mousse looked delicious.
Prices seems reasonable on "regular" dishes but maybe a bit expensive on the specials and other meats (osso bucco $43, veal dishes $35 and filet mignon $45).
Service was very fast. The food was good. I will go back :)
I have been coming to Cafe Ragazzi even before it took over the space from the travel agency next door. Â I always loved the food there, and, although it was far from true Italian cuisine, it was a fun evening with dependable food. Â
After a recent meal there, I am sad to say that I will never eat there again.  The meatball appetizer, which I remember as flavorful meatballs with a bright tomato sauce and a scoop of ricotta, came to the table as disturbingly pink (what did they use?  pastrami? corned beef? spam? ) meatballs with a drizzle of watered down ricotta.  I ordered the eggplant rollatini as a main course, and it was thin slices of eggplant rolled around bricks of cheap mozzarella, covered with tomato sauce and yet another layer of mozzarella.  Mozzarella overkill! - it was inedible, and the waiter was quite polite in offering to take it back.  I substituted it with spaghetti and tomato/garlic sauce, and although the sauce was freshly made, the pasta was way, way overcooked. Chef - you are supposed to slightly undercook the pasta, then finish it in the pan with the sauce so the pasta is al dente when it comes to table.   My dinner partner had the chicken in lemon sauce, and the chicken appeared to be brined, which is unnecessary in a chicken saute like that.  For dessert, we decided to have the strawberries with zabaglione, which has always been whole berries and the zab.  Last night, the strawberries had been finely chopped and in an anemic syrup - when you take a spoon of either the berries or the zab, you wound up with unappetizing spoonfuls of strawberry juice in the zab or zab in the strawberries. Very unappetizing.  Isn't it easier to just use fresh strawberries? - or are they sourcing the berries pre-chopped and sauced?  All in all, an extremely dissappointing  dining experience for two long-time south Florida residents.
Background: My husbands and I are locals to Surfside area and have lived there for about 5 years. We are a young couple in our mid-twenties who had been looking for an authentic italian restaurant with no luck...of course until we found Cafe Ragazzi!
Cafe Ragazzi is authentic italian food and the majority of the things are homemade. The customer service is amazing and we always feel like family going here. Luis is the waiter to ask for, he is the nicest and is always on top of everything. Regardless of the dessets you choose all will be delicious but our favorites are the chocolate moose and apple tart! YUM! It is a small place so call and make reservations but you will not be dissapointed.
I really like this place. I normally do not go out for Italian but I do enjoy Cafe Ragazzi from time to time. The best thing to do is to go on southfloridadines (now known as <a href="/redir?url=http%3A%2F%2Flocaldines.com&s=44689ffbbadab9be38206aa335aa787759c7197a53ff8df410bddcc90d94af48" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://localdines.com</a>) and get the $40 gift certificate for $20. That really makes the place a great deal.
The link is below to check it out.
<a href="/redir?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.localdines.com%2Fsouthflorida%3Fref%3D100348&s=579890bb8624e9585f686e1c75c869fb6c4be40862c5872966006dbd0ecf80dd" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">https://www.localdines.c…</a>
I have been coming here since it was a small hole-in-the-wall on the corner. Â It is the best italian restaurant in South Florida not only for the quality of the food, but for the exceptional customer service. Â Everytime I go in, the staff makes me feel like a member of the family. Â Many times when a place changes ownership there is a decline in quality, but not here. Â It continues to exceed my expectations with every meal. Â I highly recommend the specials. Â They are pricey, but well worth it. Â Osso Bucco is a wonderful mainstay on the specials list, but the grilled veal ribs and the veal chop valdostana are amazing as well. I have never had a bad experience here and I will continue to make this my go-to spot for great food and service.
Review Source:If you want to feel at home and be greeted by name and hugs every time you go, this comfortable,,at home feeling,,Argentinian/Italian bistro is the place to go. Just point to anything on the menu and order it and you will not be disappointed. It is that good! The meatballs and Ai Porcini pizza definitely are my favorites.
Review Source:We walked in on a Friday night without reservations without a problem. Â Not to mention, our friends we were with seemed to be regulars and were greeted with kisses. Â It was a crowded little place, I often had to move my chair in for a waiter to get by, and I didn't think the big screen TVs with the basketball games really fit the atmosphere of the restaurant.
Everything else was excellent. Â The bread on the table with the tomato was delicious, I decided not to order an appetizer because I knew I would eat too much of the bread! Â But others ordered salads, I tried the caprese salad with the house dressing and it was delicious!
For dinner I had the risotto was excellent! Â Very filling but perfect :) Â Dessert we all split the apple tart which was a good idea surprisingly. Â We had tea and coffee to accompany the dessert.
Great place, definitely would like to go back!
PS, good wine too!
Amazing! Had reservations. Arrived on time and got seated right away. Our table was right by the glass wall. Looked over the wine menu which is ok but not too extensive. Chose a Ferrari Carano merlot which was really very nice.
Received our dinner menus and some warm bread and butter. Shared a salad which was ok, kind if basic but good. Our table ordered the lasagna, a risotto pescatore , the crab ravioli special and the gnocchis. They were all spectacular especially the gnocchis which were extremely tender! Mmmmm portions were perfect as well.
Desserts were the chocolate mousse, tiramisu and an apple tart. They were all ok with the mousse being the best one I thought. See all the photos I added. Cortaditos with our desserts were Lavazza and very good.
Did not give it 5 stars because it is a little cramped in there, wine menu too small and desserts too basic. With that said, this is not my first or last time here because the entrees are so worth it!
This was my 4th visit.
WOW you have gone way, way, way downhill since Beto sold this place. The food it just tasteless, bad quality, processed, and dripping in oil. To bad I used to go 7 years ago 3 times a week for their amazing $7.95 lunch special. They had the best chicken francesce, penne pasta with fresh sauce, and salads. Now the chicken tasted frozen, and processed. The pasta was over cooked and dripping in oil. The food is just not the same. So sad because I live down the street and do miss dinning here. But, after to really awful meals I just refuse to go back. I talked to a few locals in the area and I am not the only one that feels this way. Â You can tell they are suffering since they expanded there used to be lines to get in now you drive by and it is empty.
Review Source:Cafe Ragazzi has expanded since they sold the restaurant a few years ago. While there still may be lines out the door, you will not be given a complementary beer or glass of Chianti since Beto is not there any longer.
The food is standard Italian fare but they specialize in the whole fish served table side. Very nice if you have a large group. The artichoke with bread crumbs and garlic is one of the best. Meatballs are good. Â Try the veal!! Â Now they have a brick oven for pizza. Mama is not there any longer either but the dessert is still good.
Prices are reasonable. Relaxed environment. Service is good.
Mangia!!
Haven't been in over 2 Years and place has changed hands to new ownership group. No longer the little bistro in surfside but according to the bartender and host the kitchen staff and chef remain in tact.
3 for Dinner No Appetizers ordered but the complimentary Bruchetta and warm rolls were excellent as I remember.
2 Stuffed Veal Chops with Procuitto / Buffalo Mozerrella topped with Sundried tomatoes and a brown sauce demi glaze with sides of cappelinni in pink sauce were OUTSTANDING $41.95 Each
Other entree was special Osso Bucco over Rissoto which was tender as butter, flavorfull and a feast for a king. Â Good bottle of wine and some espresso rounded out the meal.
All and all food was as good if not better than I remember, crowd upscale and classy and definitely on my repeat list.
Alright, the service is slow, the place feels claustrophobic and the food is not worth the visit.
This is not "authentic Italian" or "the best Italian" as some put it. It's far from that. They might want to go to Italy first and then review it again.
I have been there twice and I'll never go back.
Bread is horrible, lasagna was extremely salty (it was sent back), pizza was undercooked ( you could taste the raw dough), risotto was bland...
Ridiculously overpriced (food and wine) Careful if ordering a special, Â since they don't mention any prices...
It looks like this restaurant used to be very good at some point, years ago. Most of the good reviews are from 1, 2 or 3 years ago. I was there recently and I should have never given it a second chance. What a waste of money.
I was taken to this cozy Italian restaurant by a friend of mine for lunch one day. Â She told me everything on their menu was good. Â I found myself ordering something "safe." Â I had their special of the day, the spinach lasagna...Let me tell you something. Â I was close to eating the plate itself. Â I wiped the plate so clean with bread that it looked like it just came out of the dishwasher.
After that experience, I dine here occasionally and have been satisfied everytime. Â
In the evenings it is a dimly lit restaurant to enjoy with someone special. Â Occasionally they will have a live performer entertaining with music. Â
Prices are fare and affordable. Â Especially for the quality of food served.
One of my favorite Italian restaurants by far that is not a chain.
Cafe Ragazzi has earned my five-star honor because of their delicious italian fare and friendly, efficient service. Â The bread and tomatoes (free at your table) are to die, and the arugula pizza I had with spicy salami was some of the best pizza I've had in Miami to date. Â Fried zucchini platter was good and the truffle mushroom pasta was rich and satisfying. Â I came here with my parents (who are italian and know the cuisine very well) and they were impressed. Â The waiters were polite and they all worked together to be accommodating. Â I walked out so full and happy -- I am definitely coming back.
Review Source:A neighborhood Italian restaurant for a quiet evening or business lunch in Surfside or the Bal Harbour area. When eating at an Italian restaurant for the first time, I often have a hard time ordering since I enjoy eating pasta such as a Linguine Pancetta Carbonara or a Lasagna as a stand alone dish but I'd also like to try one of their Veal or chicken main dishes such as a Veal Chop or one of their Chicken dishes. I usually wonder if a pasta dish itself with a small salad or appetizer will be enough food or if the Chicken/Veal dish with a pasta would be too much. Usually, I'm heavily influenced by price since the W and I usually don't share. Cafe Ragazzi wasn't too much different, I thought about trying their signature Chicken dish that was recommended by my W's friend, but I couldn't leave Cafe Ragazzi without trying their Linguine Carbonara with Pancetta, so that's what I ordered with a side appetizer of their meat balls with ricotta cheese. The meat balls (4 to the plate) were absolutely amazing, perfectly cooked, tender and with a perfect texture.The Linguine Carbonara was not as al dente as I would have preferred and the pancetta was soft and not like overcooked bacon, the way I like it. However, the portion was so generous that I had the leftovers for lunch the following day. Meanwhile, the W and her friend were enjoying the chicken dish which was very good and the friend's husband was feasting on their lasagna which looked great. I have to say I had a little food envy and wish I would have sampled it.
For dessert we tried their Apple tart but I couldn't really enjoy it since I should have left left more of my main course for the following day's lunch.
The Saturday crowd at Cafe Ragazzi was very mixed. There were a small number of the retirees, but there were mainly the Baby Boomers and some Gen Ys. Their bar is very small with only a few stools.
There's plenty of metered parking, but make sure you bring your quarters because these meters don't take credit cards.
I've been coming to Ragazzi since i can remember.
And its tastes just as amazing as it did when i was a kid. Its been my favorite restaurant since. My godmother used to work at Harding Reality, which is just down the street, and i remember walking with her to her lunch, or sometimes meeting up with her there with my mom. great memories, great food. It was a hole in the wall back then... a real hole in the wall but felt very authentic and special and unique. Now after the expansion, its still just as good with a little more leg room.
Sooooo good. Â Probably my favorite restaurant in Miami. Â The bread and tomatoes and AMAZING. Â Caesar salad is perfect, and the pasta bolognese is one of the best. Â My husband loves the osso bucco. Â Oh, and the lemon chicken is my new favorite dish. Â Wait staff is great, the place is bustling and the atmosphere is lively. Â Not crazy expensive either. Â And if there's a line, the owner will give you a glass of wine to keep you patient.
Review Source:Small, trattoria style Italian Restaurant  about 2 blocks south of Bal Harbour Mall.  Ragazzi has a very intimate feel to it, making it a good date restaurant.  The first time I came here, the place was a small hole in the wall, but you can tell even then that it had a devoted following, as the place was always packed person-to-person, especially for weekend dinners.  About 5 years ago, they bought the neighboring store and expanded, adding a full service bar and an open kitchen.  Frankly, the place really needed to be expanded, but even on some nights, expect to wait, unless you make reservations in advance.
The staff goes out of their way to make you feel at home, they always greet you warmly at the door and the service from there is prompt and professional. Â Food is well prepared and tasty. Â Try the Osso Buco, it's very flavorful and the meat falls right off the bone. Â Any of the risotto dishes are excellent, along with the pastas. Â The pizzas are just okay though, nothing spectacular.
I recommend this.
I rarely give five stars but this place has earned it! It is intimate, has an unbelievably friendly and well trained staff, amazing food, and a wide variety of wines. I feel like I am in Italy when I am there. I like so sit at the bar for a glass of wine before dinning to make friends with the staff. Some are really from Italy and have great stories. Try to go somewhat early on a week night so that you can have the place to yourself.
Review Source:i probably went to cafe ragazzi for the first time in 1998 or so. it used to be smaller, it used to be really really tiny actually. i guess its been renovated somewhat recently. now its twice the size it used to be, you can now see the kitchen area, and they also have a full bar with stools and all. in comparison to what it used to be, unfortunately i must say that it used to be better when it was smaller, perhaps it was less pretentious and more family style, that and also - the fact that most of the people who worked there knew me well - was also charming about this place, therefore, i used to take my ladies for dinner to this restaurant all the time, hey - im keeping it real - so, Â i had been to ragazzi once since those days so last night was only my second night. the place was pretty empty so service was very quick and helpful. i went with a friend of mine who was craving sauteed spinach so we had that and shared a fetuccini carbonara. the spinach was very good. with olive oil and garlic. i wasnt so happy about the pasta, i dont know. i guess the carbonara sauce was a little too creamy and salty for my taste. one thing that was really good was the bread. it came with diced tomatoes, basil, olive oil and garlic, like a bruschetta. good stuff. i have to say that i am a little sad that this place is no longer a 5 star restaurant to me anymore, but its definitely a good spot for a beautiful dinner with the right companion.
Review Source:
The 5 best restaurants in the 2015 Denver Restaurant Week
3,611 Views | Category: Denver
The complete list of 2015 Denver Restaurant Week businesses
1,972 Views | Category: Denver
The tourists' guide to Portillos: 5 must have dishes
3,318 Views | Category: Chicago
Pho = Pronounced "fuh" not "foe" for pho-king sake
2,915 Views | Category: Denver
Indulgery selected to exhibit at Collision Conference
2,987 Views | Category: Press Releases
Not Logged In
BUSINESSES
Local Businesses
Near Me
My Favorites
SOCIAL
Blog & News
MY ACCOUNT
Login
Register
Contact Us
Add Your Business
