The Most Civilized Tuesday Night in Miami Involves Fresh Pasta and a Signed Recipe Card

Donna Mare Italian Chophouse runs pasta-making classes three nights a week — Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday at 6pm. The format: a welcome glass of prosecco, hands-on instruction from resident sfoglino Massimo Iannuario in preparing a signature pasta, and a three-course dinner built around the dish you just learned to make. You leave with handmade pasta to take home, a signed recipe card, a certificate of completion, and a Donna Mare apron. The price is $100++ per person.

A sfoglino is an artisan pasta maker — the title comes from the Italian tradition of hand-rolling pasta sheets (sfoglia) into the thin, even layers that define fresh pasta at its best. Massimo Iannuario is the kind of instructor who makes the technique look effortless and then explains exactly why it is not. The class is intimate by design: small groups, hands-on, the kind of evening that produces both a meal and a skill.

On Sundays, Donna Mare runs a different format: Domenica della Lasagna, a reservations-only family-style dining experience for groups of four or more. $79++ per person. The meal begins with marinated Italian olives, house-baked focaccia, whipped ricotta with hot honey, and Caesar salad, followed by a house-made lasagna that changes each week to showcase seasonal and regional recipes. For every four adults, the meal includes a bottle of Italian wine — Chianti or Vermentino. Traditional Italian desserts and coffee follow.

The two formats together — the Tuesday/Wednesday/Thursday pasta class and the Sunday lasagna dinner — make Donna Mare the most programmatically interesting Italian restaurant in Miami right now. The pasta class is the one to book first.

Donna Mare Italian Chophouse is in Miami Beach. Reservations for the pasta classes are available via Eventbrite. The Sunday Domenica della Lasagna also requires advance reservations.