NYC’s famed Rao’s to open in Miami Beach next week

Real Estate

By Hannah Frishberg

An iconic New York red sauce joint — where you need to know someone to get in — is taking on Florida.

Since 1896, Rao’s has been serving up Neapolitan Italian classics in Manhattan, but the eatery has been functionally closed to the public since 1977, when it stopped taking reservations from non-regulars after a three-star New York Times review. 

Now, though, the East Harlem-born brand — and one of the nation’s oldest family-owned and operated restaurants — is ready to open its much-anticipated first location in the Sunshine State, and its Miami Beach outpost is already accepting those coveted reservations.

“Rao’s is a legendary experience, where every night feels like a Sunday dinner, and we are excited that our iconic Harlem eatery and years of tradition can now be celebrated in Miami,” said Rao’s co-owner Ron Straci in a press release. 

Rao’s Miami is set to open its doors within the St. Moritz Tower at the Loews Miami Beach Hotel, once the home of Lure Fishbar, on Wednesday Oct. 25.

This new Rao’s outpost will be larger than the original East Harlem spot, although that’s not saying much. The 114th Street venue has only four tables and six booths, all of which have “been booked every night for the past 38 years,” Rao’s proprietor Frank Pellegrino told Town & Country in 2015.

Rao’s will operate dinner service seven days a week with a menu offering a variety of classic company dishes, including lemon chicken and “traditional meatballs,” as well as a fresh slate of “contemporary dishes created exclusively for the Miami location.” 

Page Six previously reported this September that Miami power players and Rao’s patrons alike are eager for tables, likely driving up exclusivity at the still-unopened meatball mecca.

The restaurant has a Los Angeles location, Rao’s Hollywood, and previously had a now-shuttered Las Vegas location that did business for high-rollers for 15 years.