Casa Tua in Miami Beach

By Susan Pierres The hottest restaurant in Miami Beach, Casa Tua, already felt more like a family's house than the frenetic nightspot you would expect, and now that its five guest rooms are complete, it's even homier. The eighty-five-seat eatery opened in December, and within months it had hosted Cher, Mel Brooks and Anne Bancroft, Alice Waters, Nobu Matsuhisa and Rocco DiSpirito. Hidden behind wraparound hedges a block from bustling Lincoln Road, this special restaurant has become a favorite of savvy sophisticates and furtive celebrities for one reason, according to owner Miky Grendene (pictured on preceding page): "Privacy is so precious." A forty-year-old Venetian, Grendene designed the 1925 Mediterranean Revival villa with the help of his wife, Leticia, a well-known model. "This place is not about trend," he says. "It's a showcase of a lifestyle—the good life, with good taste, good food, good wine, good service. I want people to feel at home." And if your home does not include Bellora linens, Loro Piana cashmere throws, Taschen art books, a mattress made in Paris or toiletries from the 400-year-old Santa Maria Novella Pharmacy in Florence, you can buy them here, as just about everything in the rooms is for sale. If you like what you eat, you can learn to cook it, too: talented chef Sergio Sigala, from Brescia, offers lessons in preparing his exquisite Mediterranean fare, such as tuna tartare or salmon risotto with black truffles. There's seating in the enchanting garden, at a chef's table for eighteen with a view of the kitchen (reservations not always necessary), and in the softly lit dining room, whose walls are lined with books and photos of the owners' family and friends. Most guests relax before and after dinner in the flower-filled upstairs lounge as the music of Gino Paoli or Charles Aznavour plays. And if you stay in one of the elegant rooms, which have four-poster beds, creamy fabrics, plasma-screen TVs, dvd players and stunning bathrooms, you're already home. Double rooms from $700. 1700 James Ave., Miami Beach; 305-673-1010; fax: 305-673-0974.