Best Family Style Restaurants in South Beach

It was Christmas night and of the restaurants that had reservations available, Little Italy sounded like what we wanted. We got there and it was crowded, but not crazy. There are two rooms in the restaurant. We walked into the one that was bright and a bit more of a pizza joint feel. We were seated in the other room in a dark corner next to the bar and I was pleasantly surprised to get that spot. It had the mood that I was hoping for. I ordered the Chicken Sorrento and my husband ordered the sausage and cheese calzone. My husband said it was hands down the best calzone he has ever had and he’s had so many. The bread was soft and chewy, but not doughy. He even brought his leftovers home and said they were just as good today. More often than not, they are so chewy that leftovers are often impossible to eat. The Chicken Sorrento is a marriage of Chicken and Eggplant Parm. A chicken cutlet topped with ricotta, mozzarella, and parm, then topped with a slice of breaded eggplant and then topped with more mozzarella and parm. I took my first bite and I told my husband it was everything I had hoped it would be. The chicken was so tender that I could have cut it with my fork. So freaking good! It was spiced perfectly and not the least bit oily. It was Christmas night, so the people just kept coming in, but it was never insane. Our server was great. She was running hard back and forth between tables but got us everything we needed. One thing I noticed and that stood out. There was a server that I saw clean a few tables and I have never seen someone in a restaurant clean tables to that degree. If you are a clean freak, you can feel comfortable eating here because that was the most thorough cleaning of a table I’ve ever seen.

We had a blast.. Taylor Love was the best waitress ever!!

Mongolian beef and chicken choumein were excellent. Chicken in the lettuce wraps was not as lean as expected.