If there’s one thing to criticize at the Wynwood pasta restaurant Otto & Pepe, it’s the slogan: “Mean pasta & natty wine.” I figured crabby servers would be pouring nothing but mushroom-flavored grape juice. The truth is that Otto & Pepe has a friendly staff and a wine list that’s far more approachable than the slogan suggests. It’s quite simply my new favorite Italian restaurant in Miami.
You enter through a wine market, with a window into the pasta-making station, and then pass into a dining room wrapped around the open kitchen. They nailed a Wynwood-friendly vibe that’s both festive and comfortable, fun but never too loud. Booth seating off to the right looks comfy, and the leafy outdoor courtyard is likewise inviting. We sat at the pasta bar with views of the line cooks, and watching them work builds anticipation for the coming dishes.
We loved everything they made: fried egg and soft potato polka-dotted with black truffles; orecchiette with eggplant and aged ricotta; lasagna rich from bechamel and a ragu of beef and bacon. There isn’t a roast chicken or whole fish or steak on the menu, a testament to mastering a single thing rather than trying to do it all.
Michelin-pedigreed Milanese chef Viviana Varese designed the menu, but the execution has been left to a local team of all-stars, including restaurateurs Gabriela Chiriboga and Samuel Ghouzi of 1-800-Lucky. The night I went, the house wine expert was Mariel Dalmau. I shared my preferences (and a couple of bad natural wine experiences I’d had). Not to worry, she said, and returned with a Barolo and Montepulciano that tasted of stone fruit and spice. Come to think of it, I probably should’ve picked up a bottle of them on the way out.
Our final dish was an ice cream sandwich of vanilla gelato between brioche. Essentially a two-ingredient dish, it’s among the best desserts I’ve eaten, the mix of crispiness on the toasted brioche abnd creaminess of house-made gelato yielding perfection with just a few great ingredients.
If you’re looking for “mean” and “natty,” you won’t have a hard time finding them around Miami these days. At Otto & Pepe, I only found a whole lot to love.