At the corner of Miracle Mile and Galliano Street, a single address now holds three restaurants that all started in Palm Beach. Buccan Sandwich Shop opened at 100 Miracle Mile on May 9 and the full Buccan dining room followed on May 22, both from chef Clay Conley and the Palm Beach-based Ember Group. This fall, the Miami Herald reported that the third piece is open as well. Imoto, Conley's Asian-inspired restaurant, sits around the corner from Buccan in a smaller room with banquettes, a sushi bar and a cocktail bar.
That corner sums up the year. Most of the restaurant openings in Coral Gables during 2026 were second locations of places that began in another city. A New York brand chose the Gables for its first location outside New York. A Fort Lauderdale steakhouse put a sports bar on the roof of its Gables location. A Los Angeles sushi name is booked into a hotel on South Dixie Highway for next year. The Gables' own restaurateurs made a different kind of move. One reopened a Cuban restaurant that dates to 1995, and another built a casual food hall a few blocks from his fine-dining room.
Where This Year's Arrivals Started
| Restaurant | Gables address | Where the brand started | Status in mid-November |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mottai | The Plaza Coral Gables, 2881 Ponce de Leon Blvd. | Brazil | Open since early 2026 |
| Buccan and Buccan Sandwich Shop | 100 Miracle Mile | Palm Beach | Open since May |
| Imoto | 100 Miracle Mile at Galliano St. | Palm Beach | Open |
| D's Rooftop at Daniel's Miami | 1518 San Ignacio Ave. | Fort Lauderdale | Open since Oct. 29 |
| La Pecora Bianca | Shops at Merrick Park, 360 San Lorenzo Ave. | New York | Open, dinner only |
| Katsuya | Thesis Hotel, 1350 S. Dixie Hwy. | Hollywood, Calif. | Expected mid-2027 |
The operators who chose the Gables speak about it in nearly the same terms. Many of them say they want to be an everyday restaurant for the people who live here.
The Palm Beach Corner Kept Expanding
Conley has already addressed the obvious question. When the Herald asked him in May whether Coral Gables was getting crowded with restaurants, he said he wasn't worried about oversaturation. "There's a lot of competition," he told the Miami Herald. "We just do what we do well — execute and give good hospitality, be nice to people."
Imoto's menu draws on the time Conley spent living and working in Tokyo. It starts with shareable plates like crispy Peking duck tacos and lomo saltado gyoza, then moves into nigiri, rolls, tuna foie sliders and Kurabuta short rib burnt ends. Hours are 5 to 10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and until 10:30 p.m. on Friday and Saturday.
With all three doors open, one Miracle Mile address can now cover a sandwich at lunch, a big dinner at Buccan, or a quieter sushi counter at Imoto.
Merrick Park Gets Its New York Dinner
La Pecora Bianca opened its first South Florida location at The Shops at Merrick Park this month. Founder Mark Barak opened the first one in New York's NoMad neighborhood in 2015, and the company now has nine New York locations. The Miami Herald opened its coverage with "Yet another restaurant from New York."
"We've been very deliberate about where La Pecora Bianca goes next, and Coral Gables felt right," Barak told the Herald. "There's a real appreciation here for restaurants that are beautiful and energetic but also become part of people's everyday lives."
The restaurant seats 300 indoors and outdoors and has a 20-seat wraparound bar and a private dining room. Most of the menu comes from New York, including vodka rigatoni, whipped ricotta and tiramisu for two. A few dishes were written for Miami, such as a giant carbonara raviolo, lobster spaghetti fra diavolo and a tomato and melon carpaccio. It serves dinner only for now, from 4 to 10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and until 11 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. Lunch and brunch are planned for later.
Merrick Park's annual tree lighting is Thursday, Nov. 19, starting at 5:30 p.m. Lili Estefan hosts, the Holiday Makers Market runs through the evening, and Santa arrives on a Coral Gables Fire Department truck around 6:50 p.m. Santa and Mayor Vince Lago light the center's 50-foot tree at 7 p.m. La Pecora Bianca opens at 4 p.m., so it can work as dinner before or after the tree lighting.
San Ignacio Avenue Adds a Rooftop
Gioia Hospitality opened Daniel's Miami in summer 2025, after its Fort Lauderdale original opened in 2024. Daniel's Miami took over the space at 1518 San Ignacio Ave. that had been Fiola Miami. On Oct. 29, Gioia opened D's Rooftop on the penthouse level, in the former La Terrazza private club and event space.
According to the Miami Herald, the rooftop has 10 televisions and a menu of wagyu empanadas, a blackened swordfish sandwich and the "Frita Style" Heritage Burger from the Fort Lauderdale menu. It is open Thursday through Saturday from 5 to 11 p.m. Each night has its own program:
- Thursday: Steak & Cigar Thursdays with an a la carte menu, plus Thursday Night Football
- Friday: Family BBQ Night, built around a platter of brisket, tri-tip, wagyu jalapeño cheddar sausage and baby back ribs
- Saturday: college football
Down South Dixie Highway, the Thesis Hotel is changing its restaurants next. The Miami Herald reported that The Collab will close before the end of 2026. A new Mediterranean concept from Fabio Trabocchi, the chef who first created Fiola Miami in 2018, is expected in that space in early 2027. Katsuya will replace Mamey in mid-2027. Ivy Rooftop, the third-floor bar, stays as it is.
Sam Nazarian of sbe, the company bringing Katsuya, lives in Coral Gables. "My family and I live here, we eat here and we celebrate here, so bringing Katsuya to my own community is personal," he told the Herald. His description of what he wants is close to Barak's. "Dinner on a Tuesday. Drinks on the rooftop on Friday."
The Hometown Operators Went Casual and Kept the Classics
Da Silva Hospitality runs Zucca, the fine-dining Italian restaurant in the Gables. This fall it opened Zuccaly at The Plaza Coral Gables, 111 Palermo Ave., Suite 112. The 8,000-square-foot food hall has six Italian food stations, casual seating for coffee and quick bites at one end, and a full-service restaurant at the other. Corporate chef Manuel Garcia came over from Zucca's kitchen. From 4 to 7 p.m., the bar runs aperitivo hour, with the whole drink menu at half price, Negronis and Spritzes included.
Owner Erasmo da Silva told the Miami Herald the goal was "a true Italian gastronomic ecosystem under one roof," a place "where younger generations, families, and people of all ages can come together." The Plaza already has Mottai from Brazil, but it also has Sanguich, the Miami-born Cuban sandwich shop with a Michelin Bib Gourmand, and Zuccaly now adds another place in the complex where you don't need a reservation.
Havana Harry's reopened on Monday, Oct. 19, at 4612 South LeJeune Road after being closed for more than a year. It was founded in 1995, has been recognized by the Michelin Guide, and has belonged to Centurion Restaurant Group, which also runs Bulla Gastrobar and Pisco y Nazca, since 2022. According to Resident, the recipes, portions and prices are unchanged. The renovated room adds green leather booths, mosaic tile and Cuban-inspired art.
"Our responsibility was never to reinvent Havana Harry's. It was to protect what generations of guests have loved, while building a restaurant that will serve this community for many years to come." Carlos Centurion, founder of Centurion Restaurant Group, speaking to Resident
Lunch and dinner are served daily, and breakfast returns on Dec. 1.
The city made room for a homegrown business on Miracle Mile too. Cabana Chic, Helena Solly's resort-wear brand, started online and now has its first store on Miracle Mile at 290 Miracle Mile. It came in through the City of Coral Gables' Pop-Up Retail Space Program, which picked it from eight applicants for a six-month lease, as Coral Gables Magazine reported. The racks carry CÉCIE hats, designed in Miami and hand-painted by artisans in Mexico, alongside Trina Turk. A few doors down, Linen Drama opened at 215 Miracle Mile, selling European linen shirts, kurtas and embroidered dresses.
A Week Built From the New List
Taken together, the hours line up across the week:
- Any evening: half-price aperitivo at Zuccaly from 4 to 7 p.m., or La Pecora Bianca's dining room from 4 p.m.
- Sunday through Thursday: sushi and small plates at Imoto until 10 p.m.
- Thursday, Nov. 19: the Merrick Park tree lighting, with the tree lit at 7 p.m.
- Thursday through Saturday: D's Rooftop from 5 to 11 p.m., with cigars Thursday, BBQ Friday and college football Saturday
- Starting Dec. 1: breakfast back at Havana Harry's on South LeJeune Road
At Miami Signature Homes, we follow Coral Gables block by block, from the corner of Miracle Mile and Galliano to the Thesis Hotel's changeover next year. If you'd like to talk about how the Gables is changing around your own street, we'd welcome a private consultation, in English or Spanish, whenever it suits you.
