This Miami Beach restaurant is a local Italian favorite. Now it’s got a hot new look

Welcome to your glow-up, Macchialina.

A family-owned Italian restaurant locals love so much they will brave the twin perils of causeways and tourists, Macchialina on Alton Road in Miami Beach has just unveiled a major expansion and renovation.

And there’s more to come.

The restaurant was opened in 2012 by executive chef Mike Pirolo, his sister Jacqueline Pirolo and partner Jennifer Chaefsky. Even then, there weren’t many family-owned, chef-driven concepts on Miami Beach. Now, with the culinary landscape luring even more out-of-town concepts, chefs and tourists, the local passion for Macchialina is only more fierce, and the restaurant was ripe for expansion.

Jacqueline Pirolo, managing partner and beverage director, said the team feels lucky they were able to expand without having to find a new home.

“Not many people are given the opportunity to expand and renovate at their current location,” she says. “It’s a really unique opportunity. When we took it over 12 years ago, it was small and perfect for us. We didn’t fill all those seats back then.”

During the pandemic, Macchialina took over the patio space part-time in order to offer outdoor seating. The thought lingered after indoor dining returned: There’s a demand for this. How can we make this permanent?

Now, the team has taken over the adjacent Miami Hostel, transforming the six-room space into a 5,600-square-foot kitchen, dining area and bar. The 3,600-square-foot interior dining room will seat 70.

The floor plan is open, with vaulted ceilings, distressed stucco walls and micro-cement floors. New York-based carpenter Danny Faraldo created a custom mahogany back bar with a marble Opustone top that seats 12 and acts as the centerpiece of the dining room.

Also renovated was a 3,500-square-foot landscaped patio with new chairs and tables, covered by a pergola.

The original dining room is closed — you now enter Macchialina via the gate south of the old front door — but the closure is only temporarily. The old space is being renovated, too, for a future concept that will involve Mike Pirolo’s famous burger, The Big Macch, which lures meat lovers from around the county whenever it pops up on the menu.

Jacqueline Pirolo admits that all the changes have been a bit disorienting.

“The mailwoman showed up, and we didn’t know how to collect our mail because the front door is no longer operational,” she says, laughing. “We hadn’t thought of that.”

Later this summer, the restaurant will activate a multi-use room across the garden patio as a “family table” for friends and long-time regulars seeking a last-minute reservation. Think of it as a reward for everyone who helped Macchialina get to where it is today. The space will also act as a wine cellar and a shop where guest can buy bottles at retail prices.

Having the ability to stay open while building the new concept was another stroke of luck, Jacqueline Pirolo says.

“We were fortunate to be able to work around construction, another thing not many people are able to do,” she says. “We all know the trials and tribulations with Miami Beach construction, so to be able to stay open and keep our team employed is amazing. Difficult, but amazing.”

Mike Pirolo said the restaurant, recently named a semifinalist for the 2024 James Beard Awards in the category of Outstanding Wine or Other Beverages Program, was due for renovation and expansion, having outgrown its former space. He said the changes weren’t made to follow trends but to “do more of what we already do.”

“I never anticipated Macchialina becoming such a cornerstone of the community,” he said in a statement. “The overwhelming support and loyalty from our guests has exceeded all expectations. . . . This expansion presents a real opportunity to depend our connection with the Miami Beach community.”

Macchialina

Where: 820 Alton Road, Miami Beach

Hours: 6-11 p.m. Monday-Thursday; 5-11 p.m. Friday-Sunday

Reservations and more information: macchialina.com or 305-534-2124

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