IF YOU GO
Place: Cefalo's Italian Village in The Grove.Address: 3540 Main Hwy., Coconut Grove.Rating: * ½ (Subpar)Contact: 305-971-2400, cefaloswine.com.Hours: 11 a.m.-11 p.m. dailyDinner Prices: Appetizers $8-$13, entrees $15-$29, vegetables $4-$7, dessert $6-$9.FYI: Parking at Coconut Grove Playhouse free with validation 7 a.m.- 7 p.m., $6 after 7 p.m.; $8 valet parking nightly; metered street parking. Reservations accepted on opentable.com. Corkage $25. Happy hour 5-7 weeknights. Sunday brunch buffet 11 a.m.- 3 p.m. $24.99 with one mimosa. AX, DS, MC, Prime Card, VS.We kept waiting for Cefalo's Italian Village to find its stride. With its wine shop, wine bar, market, deli and restaurant, it should have been one of the best things to hit Coconut Grove in a long time.
But a year after opening, it's still struggling with an awkward layout, weak staff and too much food that's simply not up to snuff. Ex-Dolphins wide receiver Jimmy Cefalo needs a new game plan to get this multiplex monster working.
Unless you're there during a tasting, the much-touted wine market with its high-tech, temperature-controlled dispensers is more like a wine mausoleum. There are impressive bottles, including an amazing selection of old barolos, and something for everyone, from a $15 white zinfandel to a $2,000-plus Premier Cru Bordeaux. But the young staffers seem more comfortable chatting with each other than talking to customers, and the overall vibe is as cold as a good bottle of champagne.
The deli is eerily empty, with half-full shelves of imported goods. The old, wood-shingled Taurus bar that was supposed to be incorporated into the new complex sits empty, too, with nary a salty ghost in its dark space. Instead of Old Grove or Italian authenticity, we get marble-look plastic tables, faux wicker chairs and a perfunctory fountain on an airy, ersatz Mediterranean patio.
Our swarthy servers were adorably kind but utterly lacking in even the most basic wine and food knowledge, down to the pronunciation of simple terms.
Foodwise, the highlight was a decent lunchtime burger -- really more like a garlicky meatball, with nicely charred edges, a juicy center and fresh lettuce and tomato. Too bad the fries were limp and oily. A rich lasagne with béchamel and a tangy tomato sauce encasing flavorful ground meat was satisfying but heavy. Salads are big and fresh, but the advertised bacon on the house version was exactly two fatty nubs.
At dinner, a pricey seafood ravioli drowning in a creamy tomato sauce was grainy, thick and chewy, tasting of old salmon, while a strangely sweet stack of eggplant Parmesan was glued together with lots of cheese but not much sauce.
A side of gorgeously green broccoli rabe was marred by bitter, overcooked garlic, and a statuesque but flavorless branzino entrée put me in mind of an unfortunate spa meal I once endured.
Even a simple pizza seems impossible to muster. Unwieldy prosciutto balled up and baked, mealy tomatoes and too little cheese didn't help a crust that might as well have been a paper plate for all its flavor and crunch.
Perhaps most frustrating, given the setting, ordering wine is an ordeal. There are several lists, lackluster flights and, despite a team of guys running around in burgundy shirts, not a helpful expert in sight. Waits are long and pours are short.
By the time our hefty bill arrived, even a sweet and creamy, almost custardy tiramisu couldn't redeem my mood.
For all its flaws, we're still rooting for Cefalo's; it could be a great addition to the Grove. But it's going to take some serious coaching to get it into the game.
