Siena Tavern Miami drips with a seductive and upbeat vibe that permeates throughout the entire restaurant. The floor is an ADHD patient’s wet dream. You will find romantic candles, colored orb lights, a pizza oven fire burning bright, ancient roman crown moldings, a stunning brick mosaic and file cabinets with protruding plants mounted to the wall. It is fun to just let your eyes roam taking it all in.

Siena Tavern Miami is the new outpost of former Top Chef Fabio Viviani and Chicago hospitality group’s DineAmic Group. It is the sequel to the very popular Chicago based Siena Tavern. We were invited in to sample the menu and were amply impressed. Everything is made from scratch and plates are big enough to share. Chef Fabio is wonderfully warm and endearing.  He infuses his century old family recipes with modem techniques and flavors. Like a true Italian heart throb he floats from table to table greeting his guests and sharing his infectious smile.

We started with the Cocoli and it was sublime. The Cocoli is balls of crispy dough served with stracchino cheese, prosciutto di Parma and truffle honey. Prosciutto di Parma is the best prosciutto in the world! These lucky pigs are fed a specially regulated blend of grains, cereals and whey from the Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese factory. You know that amazing aged Parma cheese that costs like $20 a pound? That is what these pigs eat!

The cocoli is meant to be eaten as lil sandwiches. We urge you taste each ingredient on its own first, to fully appreciate how exquisite they each are. The cocoli was soft and slightly crispy, like a brilliant cross between a croissant and filo dough. The cheese was silky and the prosciutto made your eyes roll into the back of your head.  When you eat everything in tandem it creates a tantalizing consistency for your mouth to savor. If the meatball has its own twitter then the Cocoli deserves it’s own Facebook page.

The famous  Wagyu Beef Meatball was served with roasted tomato sauce, bellwether ricotta and shaved basil.  The meatball taste was able to stand on its own, but truly excelled when combined with the other ingredients.  The meat was soft and juicy-ish while staying intact and the ricotta was stupendous.

Butternut Squash Tortellacci  made our mouths dance in delight with its parmesan brown butter and crispy sage. It was uber creamy yet paradoxically light.  There was this addictive touch of sweetness at the end that left our tongues yearning for more. The crispy sage was a splendid contrast to the sweetness.

The Onion Crusted Seared Tuna with celery root puree, endive, blood orange and pea shoots was an incredibly unique tuna.  The fish was masterfully cooked with charred edges and succulent meat.The flavor profile of the celery root puree a and blood orange coupled with the onion worked well together.

When dessert time rolled around we could barely move and our pants could not get any looser without coming off. Yet the sugary waft from the Bombolini reignited our appetites as if we were Ethiopians.  This was a fun and interactive dessert.  The  “Italian Donuts” felt as if they floated off of clouds and into our months.  They were encrusted in heaps of sugar and were so crispy, soft and warm (I am salivating as I type this reminiscing). The Bombolini came with three intoxicating tubes of filling comprised of whisky caramel, chocolate hazelnut and raspberry chianti. It was a treat to stick the tubes into the pastries and fill them until they were on the brink of exploding.  Every bite left some sugar on your lips that enhanced the experience as well as dessert time kissing.

Siena Tavern brings a taste of the quality Chicago culinary scene to Miami. We will hopefully be back soon to try the Squid Ink Linguini, Scallop Crudo and Monkey Bread we have heard our Foodie friends rave about.