Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Donna Mare crafts light seafood, pasta dishes, Neapolitan pizzas
Donna Mare
3925 Collins Ave., Miami Beach, 305-6736273, CadillacHotel MiamiBeach.com
The oceanfront Cadillac Hotel & Beach Club, which recently reopened after a renovation, has unveiled the Italian trattoria Donna Mare offering light, seafood-centric, traditional fare and Neapolitan pizzas from a wood-fired oven.
Chef and partner Manuel Mattei grew up in the Lombardy region of Italy and worked as a chef on the coast.
“My mom’s homemade stuffed ravioli recipe ($25) is one of my fondest foodrelated memories that eventually inspired me to name the restaurant after her,” he says. “After preparing the ravioli from scratch, she would fill it with ricotta, kale, fritto misto del mare, polenta and taleggio cheese. It has always been one of my favorite meals.”
The fritto misto del mare ($19) — four kinds of fried seafood — reminds him of Positano, one of his favorite towns, and he also recommends the whole baked Florida snapper with a salsa pesto ($33).
“Every Sunday morning, my family would handmake fresh cavatelli together with ricotta, eggs and flour,” Mattei says. “This is what inspired the Cavatelli Sorrentina ($21), one of our signature pasta dishes.”
The wine list emphasizes rosé, and the Aperol Spritz with prosecco ($13) complements pizzas and pasta.
“Our pizzas ($15-$24) are made with a special flour mix recipe, which includes soy flour, rice flour, wheat flour and sourdough,” he says. “This is what gives our pizza crusts that extra fluff.”
Last bites feature orange and croccantino semifreddo ($11) and house-made tiramisu
($13).
Breakfast and dinner are served daily amid an old world, white-washed atmosphere, which accentuates the hotel’s Art Deco architecture with high ceilings, stone floors, marble tables, wicker chairs, and rich wood columns and ceilings.
Mattei is also behind the hotel’s new oceanside alfresco restaurant, Bungalow by the Sea.