Chef Patel Goes Italian with Erba

Chef Wunderkind Niven Patel Takes His Culinary Genius To A Whole New Level At Erba

If the trifecta of a superb restaurant is a combination of cuisine, ambience, and service, then the new Erba restaurant in the LifeTime building on US-1 hits it out of the park.

Known for his previous creations of Ghee, Orno, and Mamey (the latter of which The New York Times declared to be one of the 50 best restaurants in the United States), Patel and his partner Mohammed Alkassar decided to enter the fray of the most crowded restaurant category in Coral Gables: Italian.

But this is no ordinary Italian restaurant. You’re not going to find spaghetti and meatballs here — though there is one pizza offering. As for the rest, diners should strap on their seatbelts for an exquisite journey into new taste sensations, the hallmark of Chef Patel’s culinary imagination and penchant for blending and contrasting flavors from different global cuisines.

But first, the ambience. Entering Erba is like going to a foreign place in the best possible way. While it is self-styled as Venetian, the impression is more Morocco meets Paris. The elevated 18-foot ceilings, the deep red of the walls, the inlays of dark woodwork — and a glamorous, elevated bar — all speak of an exotic location somewhere else, even sometime else. There is a sense of Belle Époque, that this restaurant has been here a long time.

The wait staff exudes the same sense of permanence, as though they have been at this job, in this place, for many years. They are adept at that perfect balance between taking care of their customers without being overbearing. They never ask that annoying question “How’s everything so far?” perhaps because they already know.

Which brings us to the food. Chef Patel has already created a Gables following with his New American, farm-to-table, wood-fired restaurant Orno, and his Caribbean/Indian/South Pacific fusion restaurant Mamey. So, why Italian? “It’s really about just what I like to cook, and my experience in Florence, and my love for making pasta,” says Patel. “Italian food is all about the ingredients, which is my passion. The menu [we designed] is about ingredients first, versus what dish we wanted to create.”

Wahoo crudo (left), made with Pacific fish in a citron vinaigrette, and the lumachel pasta (right), made with confit rabbit and hen of the woods mushrooms.

That is apparent in the malfladine pasta ($28), which uses a green vermentino pasta coated by diced Bahamian conch with lemon and parsley. Sort of like linguine alle vongole, but more robust and unique in its flavor. Our table could not get over how good it tasted. Or the wahoo crudo ($23), which uses that Pacific (non-Mediterranean) fish in a lovely citron vinaigrette, each slice delicately topped with chopped fresno chilis and tiny bits of orange. Light and wonderful.

Chitarra pasta (left) with everglade tomatoes, basil, crispy garlic, and olive oil. Agnolotti pasta with wagyu beef cheeks and caramelized onion (right).

It’s rare when every dish at a restaurant is a standout, but that’s the case at Erba. The agnolotti pasta ($32), with slow cooked Wagyu beef cheeks, a wine reduction sauce, and pasta pockets filled with robiola cheese and caramelized onions, was a fulsome delight.

Even the simple chitarra pasta ($25), with just tomatoes, petite basil, crispy garlic, and olive oil, was mouthwatering —possibly because the tomatoes were fresh Everglade heirlooms that remind you what tomatoes are supposed to taste like. And possibly because, like everything here, the pasta is made on the premises; the pasta-making station is part of the show, in an area you pass en route to the restrooms.

Cacio e pepe pave made with thinly sliced potato (left). Mortadella served with Sicilian pistachios (right).

The cacio e pepe pave ($18), meanwhile, elevates the humble potato to a divine status. “To get that dish perfect means a lot of thinly sliced potato, with rosemary and garlic oil, cooked and pressed and then made crispy,” says Chef Patel.

We also tried the mortadella ($22), which was made in-house and served with Sicilian pistachios; the lumachel pasta ($29) with confit rabbit, hen of the woods mushrooms, lemon, and oregano; and the Mishimi Reserve Denver Steak ($62), which was served with a bone marrow salsa verde your server funnels onto the sliced meat. All superb.

Desserts at Erba include pistachio gelato and cannolis.

Erba also does a great job with their cocktails (who doesn’t like a classic negroni?) and their desserts. Of the latter, make a point of sampling the pistachio gelato ($10), which uses Sicilian pistachios. Like everything on the menu, there is a lightness to the dessert dishes that belies the heaviness in traditional Italian cooking. Even their cannolis ($24) are light and crispy.

“We don’t want you to leave feeling heavy,” says Chef Patel. You will, however, leave feeling fulfilled — and wanting to return, to try all the dishes you couldn’t during your first visit.

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Erba Miami
227 S Dixie Hwy
305.712.7788
erbamiami.com