This iconic NY restaurant is a hit in Miami Beach. Here’s what to expect if you get in

You may have thought the closest you would ever get to Rao’s, the iconic Italian restaurant from New York, was buying a jar of the brand’s famous pasta sauce. Maybe two if Publix was running a BOGO.

The original restaurant, which opened in Harlem in 1896 with 10 seats, is impossible for mortals to enter. Widely considered the hardest reservation to get in the country, it is a haven for luminaries, a culinary citadel you cannot breach unless you know powerful and important people (or are a powerful and important person, which you are not). There are no reservations, only tears when you realize this truth.

But like every New Yorker, Rao’s — pronounced Ray-ohs — has found its way south. The iconic restaurant opened in late October at the Loews Miami Beach Hotel in the former Lure Fishbar, which closed in May. The Miami Beach Rao’s can seat 130 diners, which means your odds of seeing what all the fuss is about is much higher.

If you have already scored a reservation, congratulations. If you haven’t and are patiently (or impatiently) waiting because tourist and event season is gearing up and competition is fierce, here’s what to expect when you go.

Parking

Considering Rao’s is located on South Beach, one of the lower circles of hell as far as parking is concerned, looking for a place to leave your car while you immerse yourself in red sauce is pretty easy. There’s a valet in front of the restaurant if you don’t want to walk. If you’d rather save your money for meatballs, Loews is located across Collins Avenue from the 16th Street public parking garage. Parking will cost you around $6, depending on how long you stay.

The atmosphere

The restaurant is too big to re-create the intimacy of the original, but as this is all for the best in terms of you getting in, go with it. The style is classic New York Italian: white tablecloths, green banquettes, red chairs. The photos on the walls are a time machine, taking you back and telling the story of the original Rao’s and its founders as well as its famous customers.

This is the opposite of Carbone, the other trendy Italian spot on South Beach for which it is equally tricky to snag a reservation, despite it having been open for almost three years now. At Rao’s, service is not a performance and dining is not a show, and you don’t need to dress to impress (though leave the flip flops and T-shirts at home, maybe). As a hotel restaurant, it’s less fussy, less intent on making you part of a breathless, raucous scene. (Note: We are not actually insulting Carbone here. Sometimes, you want the show.)

The point of Rao’s is the food, the history and the traditions that have sustained this family-owned restaurant for more than 100 years.

The food

Chef Dino Gatto, the executive chef of the New York Rao’s for 28 years, thinks of the menu as comfort food. “It’s just all simple homestyle cooking that everybody grew up with,” he says. “The stuff we do isn’t anything crazy that we’ve got to order from six different vendors for one dish. You can walk into Publix on the corner and buy whatever you need to do one of our dishes.”

This makes ordering somewhat easy, because if you spot something on the menu that looks good to you, you have a reasonably good chance of being satisfied. Most of the menu is similar to what is served in the New York restaurant, with a few exceptions like the seafood tower ($100-$185, depending on the size), which is specific to Miami.

There are, however, a few musts, first and foremost Rao’s meatballs in red sauce ($25). Made of ground beef, Italian breadcrumbs and seasoning, they’re served in a bowl of two, so they work well as an appetizer (you could order them as a side dish). Like the chef says, there’s nothing fancy here, just tender meat and sauce that will take you immediately back to the Sunday gravy you used to eat at your grandmother’s, if your grandmother was a Nonna.

The roasted red peppers, another classic Rao’s starter ($23), served with a chunk of burrata, raisins and pine nuts are also a worthy choice.

The menu is separated into first courses (meaning pasta) and second courses (meaning meat). One of the Rao’s staple pastas is the lobster fra diavolo ($60) but don’t sleep on the gemelli veal ragu ($35), smooth, creamy and versatile enough to go with almost any of the main dishes. The kitchen is also happy to swap out the type of pasta in any dish, just in case you like linguini more than angel hair.

You’ll find the usual parmesans and Milaneses on the main menu, as well as veal marsala and veal piccata. One of Rao’s famous specials is here, too: Uncle Vincent’s Lemon Chicken ($35), half a broiled chicken in lemon sauce. If you are a person who doesn’t often order chicken out, this might be the time to make an exception, and it’s a big enough order for two.

Will I see Chef Dino in Miami Beach?

The chef is primarily based at the New York Rao’s, but he’s been flying back and forth to oversee the kitchen in Miami Beach, so you may see him making the rounds in the dining room on occasion.

The Rao’s Room (no, you can’t sit there)

The Rao’s Room is a smaller dining room reserved for VIPs, New York regulars, friends of Rao’s and other assorted famous folk. On a recent night, the doors between the Rao’s Room and the main dining room were open, but at peak times when celebrities darken the door, expect those entrances to be closed off. You are not going to be snapping photos of Pat Riley.

For normals, the best way to regard the Rao’s Room is this: If you have to ask if you can get in, you’re probably not getting in.

Best time to get a reservation

It’s hard to say, but we can tell you when it’s least likely to get a reservation: during big event weeks like the upcoming Miami Art week (Dec. 6-10) and all the Art Basel madness that will ensue. February is also likely to be tough: Loews will act as the host hotel of the South Beach Wine & Food Festival from Feb. 22-25, 2024.

Miami is heading into the busy part of tourist season, which doesn’t let up until well after Easter, so be prepared to be shut out. That said, early in the evening is best, and weeknights might be more available than Saturday night. Or you can grit your teeth and wait until August, when no one in their right mind wants to be anywhere near Florida.

If you’re adventurous, you can try for a seat at the bar, for which you don’t need a reservation. We’d advise getting there early for that and being prepared to wait either way.

Rao’s

Where: Loews Miami Beach Hotel, 1601 Collins Ave., Miami Beach

Reservations: Resy