A New York Italian restaurant chain with Neapolitan-style pizzas and sprawling dining rooms has crossed state lines for the first time, opening a 300-seat restaurant at The Shops at Merrick Park in Coral Gables. La Pecora Bianca, whose name translates to “the white sheep,” built the new location with an expansive outdoor terrace, a palm-shaded garden meant to evoke an Italian piazza, and an interior finished in handmade terracotta tiles, arched doorways, honeyed oak, marble, and brass.
The Coral Gables debut marks the first time La Pecora Bianca has expanded beyond New York City, according to the Miami New Times. The restaurant sits at 360 San Lorenzo Avenue inside the Merrick Park shopping center, per the Yahoo Lifestyle report on the opening, which also describes a full wraparound bar with 20 seats. Forbes reports the project was nearly two years in the making.
A Menu Built Around Miami
Culinary director Ed Scarpone developed the menu for the new restaurant, pairing longtime favorites with dishes created specifically for the Coral Gables crowd. Diners can expect more than 10 housemade pastas, including vodka rigatoni, linguine vongole, campanelle al limone, and fusilli gigante, alongside longtime favorites such as whipped ricotta and what the menu describes as too much fried mozzarella.
Three dishes were built exclusively for the Miami location: a giant carbonara raviolo, a lobster spaghetti fra diavolo, and a tomato-and-melon carpaccio. Forbes singled out those three dishes as standouts among the new offerings, alongside Neapolitan-style pizzas such as a black truffle and ricotta pie and a diavola pizza topped with vodka sauce and hot honey. Tiramisu for two rounds out the dessert list.
Cocktails, Wine, and a Nod to NoMad Roots
The bar program leans into an Italian-focused wine list alongside a cocktail menu that includes a Portofino spritz and an affogato espresso martini made with vodka, coffee liqueur, crème de cacao, and vanilla. The restaurant was designed in collaboration with Miami-based design firm Urban Robot, a partnership detailed by Haute Living.
Founder and restaurateur Mark Barak opened the first La Pecora Bianca in Manhattan's NoMad neighborhood in 2015, according to the Yahoo Lifestyle piece. Barak said Coral Gables felt right for the brand's next location. The Coral Gables restaurant will open with dinner service only, with plans to eventually add brunch and lunch, the same report notes.
A Bigger South Florida Push
The Coral Gables restaurant is expected to employ approximately 100 people, Forbes reports, and the company told the outlet it is already exploring additional opportunities in South Florida and a handful of other markets. Barak has echoed that ambition elsewhere, telling Eater NY's newsletter that “we plan to open more restaurants in South Florida.”
Back in New York, a Theater District location at 1633 Broadway opened in May 2026, and a Lincoln Center location at 61 Columbus Avenue was scheduled to open October 19, 2026, according to Eater NY, which also traces the brand's debut back to 2015. Reports differ on how many New York locations the chain currently operates — Forbes puts the count at 10, while Yahoo Lifestyle reports nine — and the company has not clarified which figure is current. Forbes separately reported that the group expects to welcome more than two million guests across its restaurants in 2026.
