DeVito South Beach

DeVito South Beach review Rate it

Danny DeVito has opened an Italian chophouse in South Beach, and its opulence is certainly worthy of a Hollywood star. The $6m interior puts on the glitz: the lavish interior merges Italian palazzo excess and 1940s Hollywood. Done up in the colours of the Italian flag, this bling-bling steakhouse boasts cherry red Venetian chandeliers, white leather wing chairs and avocado walls, accented by glossy marble tables and red crocodile bar stools. Dark wood shutters lend masculinity, as do the ridiculous wide-screen TVs (19 of them) showing non-stop Danny DeVito films.

The menu is similarly extravagant: a chilled seafood 'tower', a Kobe flight (Wagyu beef from Australia, Japan and the US, $295), and lobster bolognese with brandy San Marzano cream. Even the salads are decadent: a trio formaggi salad comes with heirloom tomatoes, buffalo mozzarella, whipped ricotta and gorgonzola fritters, topped with a 12-year-old balsamic vinegar. A five-flight chocolate dessert is suitably indulgent. The food does not always live up to the steep prices, however. But it's a good place for star-spotting, even if it is often only Danny DeVito.