Cafe Prima Pasta Ushers In 19 Years With New Menu & More

Nineteen years in business anywhere these days is a milestone, but in Miami---Miami Beach, specifically, longevity is almost unheard of unless your name is Joe. Bucking the trend is Cafe Prima Pasta, which celebrates it's 19th with some new additions: a new chef, Carlos Belon, who joins executive chef Papa Arturo in the kitchen, a new menu that has given permanent status to some of the popular nightly specials, gluten free pastas, a large range of vegetarian dishes and the restaurant's own private label of imported extra virgin olive oil and red and white wines. There's also newly renovated bar and dessert/cappuccino station, fresh squeezed juice bar, free Bellini with dinner, and $2 Peroni on tap.

New entrees include Garganelli Lamb Ragu ($16.95), lean lamb served in a rich ragu over homemade penne pasta and fresh ricotta; Fiocchi Rapera ($18.95), made-to-order ravioli stuffed with fontina cheese and sweet pear, topped with roasted prosciutto in a creamy truffle sauce; Scampi Cosanostra ($21.95), succulent shrimp sautéed with garlic, lemon and herbs over tender baby spinach and potatoes; Salmon alla Grappa ($23.95), baked salmon filet sautéed with sweet grapes, sundried tomatoes and balsamic reduction; Veal Portobello ($23.95), veal scalopine sautéed with plump Portobello mushrooms and ricotta pecorino; and Branziono alla Caccia ($23.95), baked fish with lemon fresh herbs, fennel and roasted cherry tomatoes.

The recently renovated dessert bar offers traditional Italian desserts such as Tiramisu ($7.95), Profiteroles ($7.95), Cheesecake ($7.95), Tartufo ($7.95), Apple Tarts ($7.95) and Chocolate Soufflé ($7.95) with rich Italian coffee drinks paired with complimentary biscotti and mini-meringues. Dessert menu additions include an array of homemade Italian Sorbets ($7.95) scooped into pieces of fresh fruit and fresh squeezed, made-to-order juices in an assortment of tropical flavors and blends that can be added to a signature cocktail or served chilled as a health conscious choice to a carbonated soft drink.