"Those memories became the foundation for La Sponda, and our hope is that every guest who walks through our doors feels that same sense of warmth, connection, and hospitality," Thomas Angelo told Haute Living about his family's history in Puglia. He was describing the Italian restaurant he and Kassidy Angelo opened in late September. It isn't on Grand Avenue or inside CocoWalk. It's out on Grove Isle.
That address follows the pattern of the year. The Grove's spring openings went into its shopping centers. Grand Public Kitchen + Bar took over the former Planta Queen space on the second floor of CocoWalk, according to Miami New Times, and the Coconut Grove Spotlight reported that 1986 Steakhouse opened at Mayfair in May. Since July, every new dining room has opened on a street around the edge of the village: McFarlane Road, Main Highway and Grove Isle Drive. The center has a different job this fall. Fuller Street is being used as event space through the first of November.
McFarlane Road is filling in toward Peacock Park
McFarlane Road is a short street, and it now has two of the most-talked-about food names in Miami either open or on the way.
Miami Slice opened at 2996 McFarlane Road on August 12. Miami New Times reported on opening day that it is the brand's fourth location, after the original downtown slice bar, a takeout spot in Key Biscayne and an outpost at Fontainebleau Las Vegas. The Miami Herald reported that the downtown original at 1335 NE Miami Ct. opened in 2022. Founder Alejandro Diaz runs the brand with managing partner Manuel Peinada and operating partners Jose "Chema" Cardenas and Santiago Huen.
Across the street, Levain Bakery is getting ready at 2979 McFarlane Rd. The bakery's own locations page still says "Coming Soon." Time Out Miami reported in March that this will be Levain's first Miami location and that it would open in the fall. Miami New Times repeated that fall estimate in September and listed the opening date as still to be determined. Until the bakery sets a date, the storefront is something to keep an eye on, not somewhere to plan a Saturday morning.
McFarlane already had good reasons to visit at both ends. Up at Grand Avenue, The Salty Donut serves doughnuts, baked goods and coffee at 3034 Grand Ave., Suite 7. At the bay end, the Coconut Grove BID lists Glass & Vine at 2820 McFarlane Road, inside Peacock Park, open daily. With Miami Slice open and Levain coming, the blocks between them now have a reason to stop too.
Main Highway kept a familiar address
Manoli Greek opened on July 22 at 3540 Main Hwy. The Biscayne Bay Beacon reported that chef Emmanouil "Manoli" Aslanoglou leads the kitchen. The menu is built around Greek shared plates and seafood. As Miami New Times noted when it previewed the opening, the address was most recently home to Sereia, a modern Portuguese restaurant that closed in May 2025.
Manoli fits the edge-of-the-village pattern without any new construction. The building on the southern stretch of Main Highway is the same one Sereia used. The change for people who walk Main Highway is what's on the menu.
Grove Isle got a full-scale dining room
La Sponda is the biggest of the three new openings. It is Gioia Hospitality Group's first Italian restaurant. The same group runs Daniel's Miami, which Haute Living notes was recently named the top-ranked Florida steakhouse on the World's Best 101 Steak Restaurants list. The restaurant is in CMC Group's newly finished Vita at Grove Isle, at 4 Grove Isle Drive, and its own site now says it is open. Haute Living gives September 19 as the opening date. A preview on Resy a few days earlier had it set for September 21.
From Haute Living's description, here is what to expect:
| Detail | What's there |
|---|---|
| Kitchen | Chef Danny Ganem, with pasta made in-house every day |
| Dishes to know | Spaghetti alla Chitarra al Tartufo, Paccheri al Campagnolo, Branzino alla Vernaccia, a Wagyu Bistecca Fiorentina |
| Wine | Built by Daniel Bishop around Piemonte, Tuscany, Etna and Puglia, with some vintages 20 to 25 years old |
| Room | 120 seats designed by Martin Brudnizki Design Studio, a baby grand piano and a private dining room |
| Local detail | Lamps hand-painted by a local artist with Coconut Grove's peacocks and tropical plants |
The Grove's most ambitious new restaurant is on an island off the village, and its lamps are painted with the neighborhood's best-known bird.
Meanwhile, the village center is hosting the season
The Coconut Grove BID is running Coconut Grove Harvest, with a pumpkin patch on Fuller Street from October 23 through November 1. When this post goes live on Thursday, October 29, the patch has four days left, and Halloween falls on Saturday.
Here is the BID's schedule for the Halloween celebration on Saturday, October 31, held on Fuller Street from 6 to 8 p.m.:
- 6 p.m.: Halloween storytime at Books & Books Coconut Grove
- 6 to 8 p.m.: trick-or-treating and a scavenger hunt through the village, with a live DJ
- 6:30 to 7:30 p.m.: Fantasy Theatre Factory performs Little Monsters Tales on Fuller Street
- 7:30 p.m.: costume contest
The pumpkin patch is listed as "all day" on the BID calendar, and the BID's Eventbrite page has the full schedule for Saturday night. Fuller Street also has a food stop of its own. Miami New Times reported in January that Chèvre, a cheese, wine and sandwich shop, had opened in the Ziggurat sales center at 3065 Fuller St.
Into November, the calendar moves toward the bay
After the pumpkins come down, the Grove's November events sit on the same side of the village as the new restaurants:
- Friday, November 13: The 18 Wheelers play The Barnacle at 7 p.m. Doors open at 6, and the Barnacle Society welcomes picnics and BYOB.
- Tuesday, November 24: The Barnacle AV Club screening starts at 6 p.m., according to the BID calendar.
- Every Saturday: Glaser Organic Farms runs the Coconut Grove Farmers Market at 3300 Grand Avenue, at the corner of Margaret Street, rain or shine. Glaser says it has run the market since the early 1980s. It opens at 10 a.m. and runs into the early evening.
- February 13 to 15: The festival's site lists these dates for the next Coconut Grove Arts Festival at 2700 S. Bayshore Drive. Hours are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Monday.
Putting the edges together in one weekend
Because the new places are spread out, the easiest weekend plan is a loop. On Saturday morning, start at the Glaser market on Grand Avenue. Then walk down McFarlane Road, get lunch at Miami Slice, and finish at Glass & Vine in Peacock Park. If Levain has opened by then, you'll pass it on the way. On Halloween night, go back up to Fuller Street for the 6 p.m. storytime and the 7:30 costume contest.
Plan the weekend's sit-down dinner around the two longer meals. Manoli on Main Highway is the Greek seafood option, and La Sponda on Grove Isle is the longer Italian evening with a piano in the room. Neither is in the CocoWalk and Mayfair core where the spring openings landed, and both are a short drive or a longer walk from Fuller Street.
New tenants on McFarlane Road, Main Highway and Grove Isle Drive change how those streets are used every day, and they can change what nearby properties are worth. If you own on one of these blocks and want to know how this year's openings affect your building or your timing, CB Lux Real Estate offers a discreet, detailed read on your street. Request a Private Consultation.
