South Beach Seafood Festival launches $500 dinner at Rao's Oct. 22

Two Miami Beach restaurants will host one-night dinners Thursday, Oct. 22, as part of the South Beach Seafood Festival's "An Evening in Miami Beach" series.

Rao's Miami Beach, inside the Loews Miami Beach Hotel at 1601 Collins Ave., will seat just 40 guests for a $500-per-person, four-course Italian dinner beginning at 7 p.m.

Macchialina, the Italian restaurant at 820 Alton Road, will host a separate $250-per-person dinner beginning at the same time.

Both events are part of the 14th annual South Beach Seafood Festival, which runs Oct. 21-24 in Miami Beach.

Rao's offers four-course dinner for 40 guests

The Rao's dinner draws on the history of the original New York restaurant, which dates to 1896.

According to the festival's event page, the four-course menu includes selections such as baked clams, shrimp fra diavolo, Rao's traditional meatballs, prime ribeye and red snapper with lemon and fennel.

Dessert options include Rao's New York-style cheesecake, cannoli and tiramisu.

The Miami Beach location opened inside the Loews Miami Beach Hotel in 2023, bringing the restaurant's Southern Italian menu to South Florida.

Tickets for the Oct. 22 dinner are $500 per person, and attendance is limited to 40 guests.

Macchialina hosts separate $250 dinner

At Macchialina, chef and owner Michael Pirolo will prepare a four-course Italian dinner paired with Jack Daniel's cocktails and selections from the restaurant's wine program.

Pirolo trained in kitchens in Italy before coming to the United States and was a James Beard Foundation semifinalist for Best Chef: South in 2016.

Beverage director Jacqueline Pirolo oversees Macchialina's wine program. She received the Michelin Guide Florida Sommelier Award in 2025.

The Macchialina dinner begins at 7 p.m. and costs $250 per person.

Festival runs four days in Miami Beach

The dinners are part of four days of South Beach Seafood Festival events running Oct. 21-24.

The festival culminates Saturday, Oct. 24, with its main beachfront event featuring seafood from participating restaurants, drinks and live entertainment.

Festival proceeds support the CI Foundation's EAT SMART program, which works with students in Miami-Dade County public schools on nutrition and access to healthy food.

Tickets for the dinner series and other festival events are available at sobeseafoodfest.com.

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