19-05-2025
Italian restaurant Fiola is closing in Coral Gables. Here's what will replace it
One of the most popular and glamorous restaurants in Coral Gables is closing.
Fiola Miami, the upscale Italian restaurant known for delectable pastas and an award-winning wine cellar, will be closing this summer after seven years.
The original Fiola in Washington, D.C., which earned a Michelin star in 2018, is the creation of Italian chef and restaurateur Fabio Trabocchi, while Fiola Miami was owned and operated by South Florida-based Gioia Hospitality through a management agreement. The agreement between Fabio Trabocchi Restaurants and Gioia comes to an end on June 30.
Gioia founder and CEO Tom Angelo has a new plan for space: to open a bigger second location of his Fort Lauderdale steakhouse Daniel's, which opened in 2024 and was added to the 2025 Michelin Guide after only six months. In February, Gioia also opened D's, an upscale sports bar next door to Daniel's that draws packed crowds for local sporting events.
Angelo, whose Gioia team includes Chef Danny Ganem, culinary director; partner Kassidy Angelo; wine and beverage director Daniel Bishop; and director of operations Scott Ozler, said that he got a lot of feedback from his regulars asking about a Daniel's style restaurant in Coral Gables.
'We've had dozens of our regulars visit us at Daniel's from Coral Gables and South Miami, and without exception they say this is the type of cuisine that doesn't exist in the community,' Angelo said. 'They've really embraced what we've done. We feel to secure long term success for years to come, the best path forward is a steakhouse rather than an Italian concept.'
That said, the new Daniel's will feature some of the old Fiola favorites created by Ganem. The Fiola space has a bigger kitchen, which means that a bigger menu than the Fort Lauderdale Daniel's offers is possible. Expect to see the popular Dover sole and the grilled tuna puttanesca as well as the basil Caesar salad, hamachi crudo and tuna tartare on the menu, as well as a few of the most popular pasta dishes, like the rigatoni vodka and the caviar carbonara.
The look of the restaurant will change a little — Angelo says the design will include a new color palette and a few 'refreshments' — and the team at Gioia plans to enhance the bar service with touches like tableside martinis. There will also be a special bar menu that features items like Ganem's burgers and a couple of TVs added to the bar in order to make it more of a gathering place.
The staff will remain the same, and La Terrazza rooftop bar will still be available for private parties.
The last day of service for Fiola is Saturday, June 21. After that the space will be closed through July. Angelo hopes to open Daniel's sometime around the first of August.
It's turned out to be an ambitious year for Gioia Hospitality: the group is also opening the Italian restaurant La Cala at Grove Isle, which is expected to open sometime in the winter of 2025/2026. There's a lot of work ahead for the team, but Angelo is thankful for the years working with Trabbocchi and said the partnership ended cordially.
'I'm incredibly grateful for the services provided by Fabio Trabocchi and his team over the last seven years,' he said.
As for the loyal Fiola guests, he hopes they'll give Daniel's a try.
'We want people to feel they're coming back home after a summer vacation, and they had a refreshing of their home done by designers,' he said. 'They'll get a world class steakhouse — and a lot of old favorites.'
