Vice City Pizza is a pleasant pizza surprise currently residing in Abi Maria, a small, dim Downtown Dadeland cocktail bar lined with dark brown wallpaper and framed family photos. It’s a Covid pop-up in a preexisting bar, so don’t expect a host to seat you or to hear your low-talking friend over the music. The restaurant feels like what it is—a temporary relationship—the kind that has a promising future once they’ve moved out of their parents’ house.

photo credit: Cleveland Jennings

While not the hands-down best pizza in Miami, it’s easily a top contender in the Kendall pizza division. The best dishes here are edgy—not punk rock edgy—but pizzas that have crispy corners and appetizers, like the eggplant parmesan, that pass the Maillard test. All of Vice City's pizzas are made Detroit-style, with salty cheese that coats the crust and bubbles over, creating a little lip around the square pies that holds a variety of creative toppings. Our only complaint is that we’d like even more of those toppings on each individual slice. But that’s a misdemeanor we forgive thanks to a crust that tastes like a delicious memory foam pillow—light, thick, buttery, and springy.

Vice City Pizza currently keeps bar hours, so don’t plan a Sunday or daytime mall errand around your visit. But the pizza coming out of this bar is definitely worth seeking out. Just make sure you snag those edgy corner slices before your quiet friend.

Food Rundown

Meatballs

This fancy meatball duo is made with wagyu beef and duroc pork. They’re slightly spicy and aromatic, but the rich meat flavor is lost after being rolled up and baptized in a bowl of marinara and ricotta.

Roasted Eggplant Parmesan

Some people think eggplants are bitter and slimy. Maybe that’s because they’ve never tried Vice City Pizza’s tender eggplant parmesan. It’s so good you might accidentally hold onto the hot cast iron pan it’s served in while trying to scrape the lacy cheese caked onto its edges.

Shroom Pizza

The mushroom puree on the Shroom Pizza isn’t really noticeable, and caramelized onions outnumber the oyster mushrooms. It’s a white pizza that also features parmesan, dollops of ricotta, and truffle honey for a sweet and salty combination that skews sweet.

Ron Swanson

Three little pigs––bacon, pepperoni, and sausage––reside on a cheesy crust with slivers of banana peppers for a vinegary touch. They’re tucked under a warm red sauce and drizzled with hot honey. It’s good enough to make you want to grow a beard and talk about how “the government is a greedy piglet that suckles on a taxpayer’s teet.”