Boia De – an exclamation point in a Little Haiti laundromat plaza

Boia De sits where nobody expects a MICHELIN Star to sit: inside a Buena Vista shopping plaza, between a coin laundromat and a medical centre, marked only by a neon pink exclamation point glowing above the door. The name itself is a curse-turned-compliment in Italian, roughly "oh my" — the sign is literal. Chef-owners Luciana Giangrandi and Alex Meyer opened the twenty-four-seat room on 26 June 2019 after years running a taco truck called La Pollita, and the MICHELIN Guide has kept a Star on the door since 2022. The cooking calls itself Italian but plays loose with the label: potato skins arrive under stracciatella and caviar, tartare comes dressed tonnato-style, and pasta is handmade nightly in a kitchen barely big enough to turn around in. It is a neighbourhood restaurant that happens to be one of the most difficult reservations in the city, and it wears both facts without contradiction.

01The room and the setting

There is no façade to speak of, only a plaza sign and that pink exclamation point, which the restaurant's own website tells guests to look for "next to the Coin Laundromat." Inside, forest-green walls and custom wallpaper wrap a dining room built for intimacy rather than spectacle, with a counter that lets guests watch the pass and a small terrace for overflow. The restaurant holds roughly two dozen covers, so every table is close enough to hear the kitchen working.

02The chefs

Luciana Giangrandi and Alex Meyer met in professional kitchens before they ran one together: Giangrandi came through Scarpetta, Carbone and NoMad, Meyer through Animal, Son of a Gun and Eleven Madison Park, and he made the move to Miami with Luciana and successfully opened a food truck called La Pollita, which served traditional and modern tacos in Midtown Garden Center from 2016 to 2017 before moving to its final outpost in Design District until 2019. In late June 2019, Alex and Luciana's brick and mortar dreams came true with the opening of Boia De, a neighborhood restaurant tucked in a bustling shopping center in Miami's upper east side. The two married in 2023 and went on to open a second restaurant together nearby, Walrus Rodeo, with chef-partner Jeff Maxfield, in the same Little Haiti plaza.

Insider tip

Dinner only, nightly 5:30pm–10:30pm. Book well ahead; the room seats around two dozen.

03The cooking

The kitchen describes its own style as modern American cooking with a strong Italian accent, and the MICHELIN Guide has noted the same tension: servers say the food is Italian, but fried potato skins cradling stracciatella arrive crowned with caviar, while beef tartare is embellished with a tonnato-style sauce and garlic-shallot crumble. Pasta is the house signature — tagliolini nero tossed with king crab and vin jaune that's served unexpectedly chilled is one of the dishes the Guide singles out, a cold-pasta idea that reads as a small act of defiance against Miami heat. The Star has held steady through five consecutive Florida selections, from 2022 into the 2026 Guide.

04What to order

The current menu runs through hamachi crudo with habanero-passion fruit aguachile, baked clams with 'nduja and lemon, and a chicken liver and foie gras pâté finished with strawberry jam. Among the pastas, tagliolini nero arrives with king crab, truffle pâté and vin jaune; pappardelle alla lepre pairs Florida rabbit with rosemary and tomato; and when white truffle season allows, a tagliatelle is shaved tableside with Stria white truffle and parmesan. The 8 oz. pork collar, served with apple mostarda and grilled treviso, is the kitchen's main-course anchor. For dessert, the mille foglie layers brown-butter diplomat cream with hazelnut praline and grape jam, and the crispy tiramisu updates the classic with a textural twist.

05Wine and drinks

Boia De built its reputation partly on a wine list that leans hard into small, terroir-driven producers — a curated wine list with a strong focus on natural wine rounds out the menu, running from a 2017 Jura vin jaune to a 1999 Ribolla Gialla from Friuli. The programme earned recognition beyond the dining room: Gabriela Ospina of Boia De won the Sommelier award in the MICHELIN Guide Florida 2024 selections. The cocktail list keeps the same playful streak, with drinks built on amari, vermouth and Zucchi lambrusco alongside a short list of classic digestivi.

06When to go and booking

Boia De opens for dinner seven nights a week, 5.30pm to 10.30pm, with no lunch service — a single service a night in a room this small, which is why tables are scarce. Given the size of the dining room and its growing reputation since the 2022 Star, booking ahead, and well ahead, is not optional for a weekend seat.

07The neighbourhood

The address sits on the border of Buena Vista and Little Haiti, a few blocks from the Design District's galleries and flagship stores, in a part of Miami defined by low-slung plazas and small, chef-driven rooms rather than waterfront views. It is a fitting setting for a restaurant that trades on surprise rather than polish — the kind of neighbourhood where a MICHELIN Star hides in plain sight next to a laundromat.

For a weekend. For a lifetime.