I’ve eaten at all three of the highly publicized and also very good restaurants that recently opened in Miami specializing in just one thing: house-made pastas. If you’re here, you might be wondering how they stacked up and what sets them apart.
At PASTA in Wynwood, the most distinctive element became apparent as soon as I took a seat at the chef’s counter. The husband-and-wife chef-partners Janice Buraschi and Juan Manuel Umbert were right there, quite literally putting everything they’ve got into each dish.
PASTA was born in Lima in 2019, and the couple started scoping out spots for a second location in Miami two years later. Opened in October 2024, the new restaurant occupies a 77-seat industrial space made cozier with warm woods and a canopy of rattan pendants that bring down the high ceilings. The silky quartz chef’s counter is the draw here, with front row seats to the elegant mise en place.
Our server was excited to explain things, as was Buraschi, who held down the expo station just in front of us as she demonstrated how they pull the stracciatella and introduced us to the sourdough starter used for the bread served alongside it. The appetizer is just those two things, bread and cheese, and it’s indicative of the concept itself. Most everything is made right behind the counter, served simply and wholesomely.
From there, we liked it all: the razor clams served al dente with nduja-spiked salsa verde, taken like shooters; the romaine salad in which the breadcrumbs starred; and the pappardelle with a meaty ragout of beef cheeks braised for most of a day. But it was the agnolotti that really showed the talent of these two chefs. The tiny, ravioli-like soup dumplings contained a deeply umami mushroom broth that burst from each bite. Just as Buraschi had described it to us, “the sauce is on the inside.”
The desserts stayed on theme, too: a gelato from the butterscotch-like Peruvian fruit lúcuma and a cheesecake of mascarpone and gorgonzola, so perfectly creamy and balanced, just a slight sharpness imparting something special.
Is PASTA better than Otto & Peppe and Mother Wolf? I will say this for sure: It’s a whole lot more fun to root on these two chefs, who are cooking with heart right there behind the counter.