MIAReview
photo credit: Cleveland Jennings / @eatthecanvasllc
Vice City Pizza
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Vice City serves the kind of pizza that forces you to inspect the empty space left by your first bite, turn around, and see if anyone else is having a similar existential reaction. The Detroit-style pizza spot has evolved quite a bit since its pop-up days in the back of a bar in Downtown Dadeland, when the pizza was good, but not this good. It’s now an actual restaurant—one of the most exciting ones West Kendall’s seen in recent memory—and has a growing list of reasons to return that go beyond its excellent pizza.
photo credit: Cleveland Jennings / @eatthecanvasllc
photo credit: Cleveland Jennings / @eatthecanvasllc
photo credit: Cleveland Jennings / @eatthecanvasllc
But let’s talk about that first, because pizza is still the best thing on the menu. The rectangular pies have crispy corners that spike up into shards of salty cheese. That cheese coats the thick, buttery bread and defies gravity around the edges, creating a fence that contains a variety of rotating toppings like housemade fennel sausage and charred pepperoni cups, or pistachio, fig jam, and gorgonzola dolce. The entire pizza tastes like a coveted corner piece.
Plus, Vice City has a lot of utility for such a small place. At the bar, you’ll see a line of porróns—perfect for streaming draft wines into your mouth (and shirt and shoes) with friends. But there’s also room at the tables for a highchair if the only thing you're getting on your shirt these days is baby spit. And every seat has a view of the oven, where square pies slide in like tetris pieces. If you live nowhere near West Kendall and are thinking, “I’m not driving to the Everglades for a pizza,” then rest assured there’s more than just pizza here—like a tequila mango cocktail aptly named I’m Not Driving To The Everglades For A Pizza, a spicy drink that’s only $13.
photo credit: Cleveland Jennings / @eatthecanvasllc
photo credit: Cleveland Jennings / @eatthecanvasllc
photo credit: Cleveland Jennings / @eatthecanvasllc
Here's an even better reason to go: lunch—specifically for the chicken parm sando. Vice City's three hoagies—meatball, chicken caesar, and chicken parm—are only available during lunch hours. And whoever designed these subs must be an architect because the meat-to-bread ratio is straight out of a structural design course. But if you can’t swing by for lunch, crispy fried provolone and wings are also great choices that are always on the menu.
Whatever your reasons are for going to Vice City (and they grow each day), plan ahead. The restaurant does not currently take reservations. During peak hours on weekends, there’s usually a line out the door with takeout orders and folks waiting for a table. But there’s usually room at the bar for smaller parties. Miami’s been waiting a long time for great pizza, and there are currently plenty of options. So how lucky are we that West Kendall is now proudly represented on that map—not just by a place that makes irresistible pizzas, but one that’s perfect for families, impromptu date nights, and even people who don’t feel like pizza (although we’re pretty sure those don’t exist).
Food Rundown
Meatballs
photo credit: Cleveland Jennings / @eatthecanvasllc
Fried Provolone
photo credit: Cleveland Jennings / @eatthecanvasllc
Chicken Parm Sando
photo credit: Cleveland Jennings / @eatthecanvasllc
Brie & Fig
photo credit: Cleveland Jennings / @eatthecanvasllc