<\/p>\n
The main dining room at La Sponda.<\/p>\n
The Louis Collection<\/p>\n
Courtesy of Gioia Hospitality<\/p>\n
The idea for La Sponda, the luxurious new waterfront restaurant opening this week in Miami, began long before you might assume it did.<\/p>\n
Thomas Angelo, CEO and founder of Gioia Hospitality, which operates Daniel\u2019s restaurants in Coral Gables and Fort Lauderdale, started envisioning a glamorous Italian destination for Miami long before his steakhouses were born.<\/p>\n
La Sponda \u201cwas something we had been talking about for a few years,\u201d he said. \u201cIt was conceptualized before we even opened the first Daniel\u2019s.\u201d<\/p>\n
The swift success of both Daniel\u2019s restaurants understandably sidetracked Angelo and his team. But now, La Sponda is ready to open at the luxury condominium Vita at Grove Isle on Sept. 19, just in time to gear up for the season.<\/p>\n
\u2018Our love letter to Italy\u2019<\/p>\n
Creating an upscale Italian concept came naturally to Angelo, whose father was born in Gioia del Colle in Italy\u2019s Puglia region. Before Daniel\u2019s, Angelo was operating Fiola in Coral Gables, the second location of Michelin-starred Italian restaurant in Washington, D.C., from chef Fabio Trabocchi.<\/p>\n
In 2024, Angelo founded Gioia Hospitality with his daughter Kassidy, chef Danny Ganem and wine and beverage director Daniel Bishop and opened the first Daniel\u2019s in Fort Lauderdale<\/a>. It was such a hit, Gioia turned the Fiola space into Daniel\u2019s Miami in 2025<\/a>, where the response was equally enthusiastic.<\/p>\n Since then, Daniel\u2019s Miami has earned applause and awards, including being named one of the best steakhouses in the world<\/a> by The World\u2019s 101 Best Steak Restaurants. Next year, a third Daniel\u2019s is scheduled to open in Miami\u2019s Edgewater neighborhood.<\/a><\/p>\n But Angelo never forgot his desire to open an Italian restaurant.<\/p>\n \u201cFor me and Kassidy, this is our love letter to Italy,\u201d Angelo said. \u201cFor me, being a first generation Italian American opening this restaurant and collaborating with a highly-regarded developer on this project is a dream come true.\u201d<\/p>\n Ugo Colombo, founder of CMC Group behind Vita, said that La Sponda is the perfect fit for the luxury development.<\/p>\n \u201cGrove Isle has long held a special place in Miami, with a history as one of the city\u2019s most celebrated waterfront destinations,\u201d he said in a statement. \u201cLa Sponda is a natural extension of that vision, bringing exceptional dining, hospitality and design together.\u201d<\/p>\n Hospitality and consistency<\/p>\n La Sponda, which offers spectacular views of Biscayne Bay, seats around 120 diners (there\u2019s also a private dining room for special occasions). Designed by Martin Brudnizki Design Studio, the restaurant makes use of white tablecloths, imported stone and hand-painted architectural details, with a baby grand piano in one corner.<\/p>\n The quality of hospitality and service offered at La Sponda, though, will be familiar to Daniel\u2019s diners, Angelo said.<\/p>\n \u201cMy key to success is great hospitality and consistency,\u201d he said. \u201cIf you have those things, people come back and expect more of the same.\u201d<\/p>\n The restaurant will also follow the Daniel\u2019s ethos on sourcing high-quality ingredients, with a menu that offers highlights from a variety of different regions in Italy. The Angelos, chef Ganem and Bishop traveled around Italy, from Florence to Verona to Puglia, to sample cuisine and wine and explore traditions to bring back to La Sponda.<\/p>\n \u201cEach region has its particular dish that best represents it,\u201d Angelo said. \u201cWe wanted to do something that paid homage to that by incorporating the best ingredients we can source.\u201d<\/p>\n So what does that mean for the menu? Fresh pasta made daily, like spaghetti with Burgundy truffles, cultured butter and parmigiano espuma or paccheri al Campagnolo with Maine lobster, tomatoes, capers and olives. Seafood like a salt-encrusted branzino with olives, potatoes, tomatoes and basil. Bistecca Fiorentina, a specialty of Florence, a wagyu porterhouse with rosemary, Balsamico de Modena and Gioia olive oil.<\/p>\n You\u2019ll find the Gioia olive oil \u2014 made by Gioia Hospitality in Italy \u2014 across the menu, in a variety of dishes as well as served with Sullivan Street sourdough and focaccia. The menu will also feature crudo and antipasti and a unique-to-Miami tableside gelato service.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s something Kassidy and I saw on our trip and wanted to incorporate,\u201d Angelo said.<\/p>\n Connecting with family history<\/p>\n For Kassidy Angelo, Gioia\u2019s co-founder and managing director, La Sponda signifies not only a new frontier for the company but also a chance to revisit her family\u2019s heritage.<\/p>\n \u201cTravel has always been a really important part of my relationship with my dad, and some of our most meaningful experiences together have been in Italy,\u201d she said, adding that traveling to her grandfather\u2019s hometown imbued the trip with a deeper meaning.<\/p>\n \u201cIt reconnected my dad with a part of our family history,\u201d she said. \u201cWatching him follow that passion gave me the confidence to eventually take the same leap and build something alongside him. La Sponda feels like a culmination of that journey and of everything we have experienced, learned and come to love together both in our working and personal relationship.\u201d<\/p>\n Angelo, too, feels that strong sense of connection.<\/p>\n \u201cSome of my favorite memories were made in the kitchen and my travels with my children to Puglia,\u201d he said. \u201cThose 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.\u201d<\/p>\n La Sponda<\/p>\n Where: 5 Grove Isle Dr., Miami<\/p>\n Opening: Sept. 19<\/p>\n Hours: 5-10 p.m. Wednesday-Thursday and Sunday; 5-11 p.m. Friday and Saturday. Lunch and brunch hours are scheduled to begin in November.<\/p>\n Reservations: Resy<\/a><\/p>\n![\"Gioia](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/MIA_20241002DANIELSOPENING0.jpeg\" "\\"MIA_20241002DANIELSOPENING0\\"")
Gioia Hospitality founder Thomas Angelo, managing partner Kassidy Angelo and culinary director Daniel Ganem at Daniel\u2019s in Fort Lauderdale. The team opened Daniel\u2019s Miami in July 2025 and plans to open La Sponda in Grove Isle. Al Diaz \/ Miami Herald Staff adiaz@miamiherald.com <\/p>\n La Sponda has sweeping views of Biscayne Bay from the new luxury development Vita at Grove Isle. The Louis Collection Courtesy of Gioia Hospitality <\/p>\n
The bar at La Sponda. The Louis Collection Courtesy of Gioia Hospitality <\/p>\n
Bistecca Fiorentina at La Sponda The Louis Collection Courtesy of Gioia Hospitality <\/p>\n