A new waterfront Italian restaurant has opened its doors on one of Miami's most exclusive addresses, bringing a 42-ounce Australian Wagyu bistecca fiorentina, caviar carbonara, and a four-pound salt-crusted branzino to diners willing to cross the bridge onto Grove Isle. La Sponda, located at 4 Grove Isle Dr. in Coconut Grove, opened in September 2026 inside Vita at Grove Isle, the island's newly finished luxury condominium.
The restaurant is operated by Thomas and Kassidy Angelo of Gioia Hospitality Group, according to Miami New Times. The father-daughter pair spent three years developing La Sponda around Italy's regional cooking traditions, shaping the menu through trips through Italy, per the same report. It marks the first Italian restaurant Thomas has built together with his daughter, who is 26.
Thomas Angelo previously operated Fiola Miami in Coral Gables before it closed in 2025 and was reborn as Daniel's Miami, the New Times notes. Kassidy joined the family business two years before the article's publication, and she has described her role alongside her father in blunt terms: “She and her father see things from two very different angles,” the outlet reported, paraphrasing her account of their partnership. Kassidy also said La Sponda provides waterfront dining in Miami, a distinction the family clearly wanted the restaurant's setting to deliver.
A Private Island With a Legal Backstory
La Sponda sits inside Vita at Grove Isle, a seven-story, 65-residence condominium that developer Ugo Colombo's CMC Group completed on the 20-acre private island in Biscayne Bay, connected to Coconut Grove by a single bridge, according to Florida YIMBY. It was the only new luxury condo completed in Coconut Grove in late 2025. The project arrived only after more than a decade of legal disputes with surrounding homeowners over permitting and platting, as reported by the South Florida Business Journal. A trial challenging the city's permitting is still scheduled for January 2027.
That tension has not stopped the island from attracting serious money. Local real estate executive Ralph Winter purchased a two-story penthouse with a private rooftop pool at Vita for $21.5 million in early 2026, Hoodline previously reported, with multi-level penthouses on the island.
Inside a Dining Room Designed for the Bay
The restaurant's interior comes courtesy of London-based Martin Brudnizki Design Studio, which built a room seating roughly 120 guests featuring white tablecloths, a baby grand piano, and furnishings imported from Italy, according to Resy. Thomas Angelo reportedly hired the firm after being impressed by its work at Chef Thomas Keller's Surf Club restaurant in Surfside, personally selecting the studio after visiting that venue, per Eater Miami. La Sponda also uses stone imported from Italy, and a local artist painted Coconut Grove's peacocks onto the restaurant's custom lamps, the New Times reported.
Thomas Angelo has said he wants La Sponda's menu to span options from across Italy, and he wants guests to return repeatedly rather than treat it as a one-time destination. That regional ambition shows up across the menu: antipasti include Mediterranean octopus with gnocchi and datterini tomatoes as well as a fritto misto of branzino, calamari, shrimp, zucchini, and squash blossoms, while bar snacks include fried risotto topped with tuna tartare and a hash brown crowned with uni and caviar.
Pasta Under $50 Next to Ultra-Luxury Plates
Despite the island setting, Thomas Angelo instructed culinary director Daniel Ganem to build a menu with accessibility in mind, explicitly requiring several handmade pasta selections priced under $50 alongside far pricier items, according to Eater Miami. The kitchen reportedly spent six months perfecting its ricotta cavatelli al pomodoro, and the menu also features orecchiette pugliese with fennel sausage, broccoli rabe, and Calabrian chile, plus a caviar carbonara made with rye fettuccine and dill.
On the more indulgent end sits wagyu cannelloni stuffed with short rib, Burgundy truffles, unagi, and béchamel, alongside La Sponda's signature tartare topped with Petrossian caviar, bluefin tuna, and scampi, finished with tomato sauce poured tableside. Other main courses include lemon risotto with New Zealand langoustines and a veal chop prepared Milanese, Valdostana, or Parmigiana style, while diners can preorder whole tiger prawns or the four-pound salt-crusted branzino. Dessert closes with house-made gelato served with sauces and Amarena cherries.
A Wine List Built for the Setting
Backing up the food is a wine list with a focus on Italian regions including Piemonte, Tuscany, Sicily, and Puglia. For now, La Sponda is open for dinner service Wednesday through Sunday, with plans to add weekday lunch and weekend brunch starting in November, according to Traded.
Gioia Hospitality Group built its reputation with Daniel's, A Florida Steakhouse in Fort Lauderdale, which opened in 2024 and earned a MICHELIN Guide recommendation, according to the MICHELIN Guide. Daniel's Miami operates in Coral Gables. Kassidy is now steering the group's first ground-up Italian project alongside her father.
