{"id":1692552,"date":"2026-09-15T10:30:38","date_gmt":"2026-09-15T14:30:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/observer.com\/?p=1692552"},"modified":"2026-09-14T14:06:57","modified_gmt":"2026-09-14T18:06:57","slug":"la-sponda-italian-restaurant-opening-miami","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/observer.com\/2026\/09\/la-sponda-italian-restaurant-opening-miami\/","title":{"rendered":"La Sponda, From the Daniel’s Miami Team, Chases Pasta Perfection on Biscayne Bay"},"content":{"rendered":"
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La Sponda.\u00a0 The Louis Collection<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

For a restaurant operator with a white-tablecloth steakhouse that serves $375 Rosewood Ranch wagyu porterhouses, hosts $1,200-per-person dinners featuring ultra-premium LVMH wines (including Ch\u00e2teau Cheval Blanc and Ch\u00e2teau d’Yquem) and has brought in guest chefs from Casa Julian, Rockpool and Borgo Egnazia for exclusive events, <\/span>Daniel\u2019s Miami<\/span><\/a> proprietor Thomas Angelo unironically says he thinks a lot about \u201capproachability.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Angelo, who runs <\/span>Gioia Hospitality<\/span><\/a> with his daughter Kassidy, is quick to talk abo<\/span>ut Daniel\u2019s bar menu, the restaurant\u2019s under-$20 cocktails, its specially priced <\/span>Miami Spice<\/span><\/a> menus and how it discounts its 2,000-selection wine list by 25 percent at lunch.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cYesterday, we had 195 lunches in the restaurant,\u201d Angelo tells Observer. \u201cWe did $15,000 for lunch and sold $5,000 in wine. Value is super important. You have a top 5 percent that will come in and don\u2019t care how much they spend. They\u2019ll buy a bottle of Petrus. But that\u2019s 5 percent, maximum, of your guests. Everyone else is looking for value in today\u2019s world, with higher gas prices and higher food prices. We have a wine list with many bottles under $100.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Even at the top tier of Miami dining, balance matters. So at <\/span>La Sponda<\/span><\/a>, which Gioia Hospitality and culinary director Danny Ganem are opening at Ugo Colombo\u2019s <\/span>Vita at Grove Isle<\/span><\/a> luxury residential development on September 19, Angelo has a similar formula in mind.<\/span><\/p>\n

“It\u2019s really important to me that there are pastas on the menu that are under $50 that are still great,\u201d he says.<\/span><\/p>\n

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