“Get Out of the City and Into the Strip Mall” is one of the top 6 rules for dining out and finding some of the best food as noted by The Atlantic Magazine.

This describes perfectly the hot new restaurant Boia De in Little Haiti. Helmed by newly named 2020 James Beard Best Chef South nominees, Luciana Giangrandi and Alex Meyer, this spot boasts fresh pasta, creative dishes, unique small plates and all in a space with 24 seats…and in a strip mall next to a Bravo supermarket.

We are obsessed, going twice in the past 2 weeks and each time, discovering yet another favorite dish.

Marked outside only with a hot pink neon exclamation point, Boia De (which means “Oh, my” in Italian) is casual, yet chic in its cozy ambiance and long bar, where you may even be seated for dinner.

The two chefs, both share top credentials which include Daniel Humm’s Eleven Madison Park and NoMad in NYC and came to Miami where they opened their wildly popular La Pollita Taco outpost. Garnering a cult following, their handmade tortillas were worth a visit to the Design District.

Now, with their own “bricks and mortar” spot, they can surprise and delight every night.

The menu is on one page with dishes listed small to larger. Among the small plates, we chose the Crispy Polenta with marinated roasted eggplant, Baked clams, Tuna Crudo, Potato Skins, Grilled Octopus and Luci’s Chopped Salad.

Where to start our rave review. Everything we ordered was delicious. The polenta was deep fat fried cubes of polenta topped with grated cheese with the smoky eggplant carbonara to top. It was a perfect balance of crispy and smoky.

Baked clams had just the right amount of spiciness due to the nduja salume pieces. Thin slices of tuna were on a puree of Sicilian pesto, and the grilled potato skins were crunchy and topped with plenty of stracciatella, hard-boiled egg and caviar.

The grilled octopus was tender and in a sauce of Sardinian fregola pasta , roasted peppers and fresh herbs. It was amazing.

Even the chopped salad was extraordinary, with radicchio, romaine, cannelloni beans, fresh shaved parmesan and blistered tomatoes in a light lemony vinaigrette.

Larger plates we ordered included the fresh Tagliatelle Bolognese, the Seared Grouper and the Lamb Ribs Fra Diavolo.

Fresh pasta is made in house ( Chef Luciana spent time at Scarpetta NYC) and the offerings include Ricotta Gnocchi, Pappardelle alla Lepre with Rabbit, Raviolo with Truffled Ricotta and Tagliolini al Nero with King Crab. Our Tagliatelle Bolognese was perfectly prepared and came with plenty of a gutsy meat sauce.

The Seared Grouper was, by contrast, a delicate dish over Meyer lemon beurre with crispy artichoke slices.

And the Lamb Ribs were meaty, spicy and topped with crunchy spicy pickles, hot peppers and yogurt.

Desserts include Frice Ice cream, a crispy Tiramisu and Carrot Cake with ginger ice cream.

All in all, a wonderful meal, great service, wine, beer and cocktails and plenty of parking.

Easy to see why we are obsessed!

Boia De

5205 NE 2nd Ave, Miami, FL 33137

(305) 967-8866