RESTAURANT NEWS | MIAMI
Giorgio Rapicavoli Takes Luca Osteria to Miami Beach
The Miami chef will open Luca Trattoria in Normandy Isles, expanding an Italian restaurant inspired by his family.
LUCA | MAP | INSTAGRAM
By Eric Barton
6:04 a.m. ET, Aug. 12, 2026
Patate fritte
AUTHOR BIO: Eric Barton is editor of The Adventurist and a freelance journalist who has reviewed restaurants for more than two decades. Email him here.
Giorgio Rapicavoli spent years building restaurants within a few blocks of each other in Coral Gables. Now he is crossing the causeway.
The Miami-born chef plans to open Luca Trattoria in Normandy Isles this fall. The restaurant will be a sister to Luca Osteria, his Italian restaurant on Giralda Plaza, with a seasonal menu, cocktails overseen by bar manager Eddie Fuentes, and a wine list focused on Italian, European, and Argentine producers.
Luca’s stracciatella
The address gives Rapicavoli a foothold in North Beach and, in a way, returns him to where his career began. Before opening Eating House, he spent three years as executive chef at 660 at The Angler’s in Miami Beach. He had already become an executive chef at 21, following early work under Miami chefs Adam Votaw and Robin Haas.
Then came television, although Rapicavoli managed to turn the usual reality-show victory lap into an actual restaurant. After becoming the first Miami contestant to win Food Network’s “Chopped” in 2011, he used part of the prize money to launch Eating House as a pop-up. It became permanent in 2012, moved to Giralda Avenue a decade later, and remains known for food that defies easy categorization but tastes very good: a one-pound chicken parm, meatball gravy on Sundays, and Cap’n Crunch pancakes at brunch.
Pasta alla Zozzona at Luca
Luca Osteria followed in 2021. Named after Rapicavoli’s son, the restaurant allowed the chef to concentrate on the Italian side of his Italian-Argentine family. Its signatures include tuna caprese, short-rib Bolognese, and patate fritte covered with Parmigiano fonduta, egg yolk, and black truffle. Rapicavoli has described the latter as partly inspired by Piedmont and partly a callback to Eating House’s carbonara, which is how a fried potato became one of Miami’s most discussed dishes.
Korean fried chicken sandwich at Eating House
Rapicavoli
A menu for Luca Trattoria has not yet been released. Rapicavoli says it will follow the original’s emphasis on Italian cooking and seasonal sourcing, with changes made for its new neighborhood. The midcentury design will also return, including warm woods and gold detailing.
The opening arrives during a considerable expansion for Rapicavoli. He took over the food program at Mayfair Grill in Coconut Grove in 2024, became involved with Grape Ape in South Miami the following year, and has also announced Luca Steak for Wynwood.
Luca began as a personal restaurant named for Rapicavoli’s son. It is now becoming a Miami family of its own.
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By MARIA RODRIGUEZ
