New Restaurants in Coral Gables: Buccan, STAND and More
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Buccan Comes to the Gables
I knew Buccan had me when I found myself defending the hot dog panini. Not recommending it. Not politely calling it “fun.” Defending it, as if kielbasa, sauerkraut, Gruyere, mustard, and chili had become a personal principle. That is the thing about Buccan, newly opened on Miracle Mile: it makes a serious case for food that does not always sound serious.
The Busy Interior Of Buccan On Miracle Mile And The Hot Dog Panini – Serious Food Or Not?
Chef Clay Conley first opened Buccan in Palm Beach in 2011, building a following around small plates and big flavors. The Coral Gables location brings that same confidence south, with warm lighting, copper-toned tables, arched walls, artwork, and an open kitchen that gives the place a little show.
The menu is built for sharing, which is restaurant language for “order more than you planned.” The tuna crisp is bright and quickly gone. The beautifully plated hamachi tiradito has heat, acid, and crunch. The steak tartare, with egg yolk and black truffle, is rich without getting lost in the meat. Sweet corn agnolotti brings ricotta, bacon, and espelette butter; duck confit arrives crisp, tender, and lifted by cherry, scallion pancake, and napa stir fry.
Next door, Buccan Sandwich Shop makes the daytime case: sandwiches, salads, cookies, drinks, and takeout. The Prosciutto, layered with imported prosciutto, mozzarella, tomato, arugula, and pesto, is generous and unfussy. It is a lot for one address, but somehow it makes sense: dinner when you want the full show, sandwiches when you do not. – Yousra Benkirane and Amanda Martell
100 Miracle Mile
305.701.9912
BuccanCoralGables.com
Vialetto Reborn
Left: Split Chicken Breast Served With Champagne Risotto
Right: Casa Vialetto Opened With A Following
unlikely location of LeJuene Road just south of Bird Road. A busy street to be perched upon, to say the least. But the food was so consistently good that he built a strong following.
Now reincarnated as Casa Vialetto in the Alhambra location formerly occupied by Alta Gracia, that following has, well, followed him, making the new place an overnight, reservations required success. “Before we were strictly a destination restaurant,” says Chopra. “Now we are here on a street where pedestrians walk by.”
The food remains the star in the casual upscale setting of wooden tables and seating for perhaps 40. They were renowned for the hog snapper pan-sautéed in mango mojito sauce, and their risottos. We did not try the snapper – not on the lunch menu – but their champagne risotto was literally the best we have ever tasted. Chopra described the meticulous way in which it was made, sauteing onions then adding rice, white wine and chicken broth. After the liquid is absorbed, you add butter, cheese, heavy cream and any flavor you want, like mushrooms or lobster. The result was exquisite, and served with a split chicken breast, with rib bone and skin attached, wonderfully pan-fried (with crispy skin) and covered with a salsa verde.
Casa Vialetto describes its cuisine as Italian-American with a tropical flair. We call it the best addition to Alhambra Circle west of Ponce since the birth of the Globe Café down the street.
276 Alhambra Circle
305.926.1928
CasaVialetto.com
Cantina Leon
A 1920s-Style Mexican Café Comes To The Plaza
Growing up in Mexico, Chef Gerardo B. De Negri spent much of his time in cantinas, the casual restaurants and bars that typically serve as all-day destinations for food, drink, music, and socializing. After building a culinary career that took him from street food in Mexico City to kitchens in Paris, he brings those influences to Cantina Leon at The Plaza Coral Gables, developed with The Rabbit Group, the Miami hospitality company behind Wynwood’s The Dirty Rabbit, Bagatelle Miami River restaurant, and Sala de Despecho, a Latin music-inspired dining and nightlife concept.
Courtesy Cantina Leon/Ruben Pictures
The 7,500-square-foot restaurant, inspired by 1920s Mexico and the cantinas of Mexico City, features a U-shaped marble bar, patterned tile floors, green velvet banquettes, a mezzanine for private events, and a tequila/mezcal tasting room. Adjacent to the restaurant is Mercadito Cantina Leon, a sister café serving breakfast, specialty coffee, tacos, and grab-and-go items.
De Negri oversees the kitchen alongside Chef de Cuisine Jorge Delgadillo. Seafood offerings include Shrimp Aguachile Tatemado, ceviches, and a Torre de Mariscos; larger entrées include Pescado Zarandeado, mezcal-garlic tiger prawns, Arrachera, and a 24-ounce Tomahawk steak (prices from $14 to $149). The drink menu features tequila- and mezcal-based cocktails, as well as carajillos, a popular coffee cocktail made with espresso and Licor 43, which is like a
sweeter espresso martini.
Cantina Leon is open daily, with lunch and dinner service all week and Sunday brunch 11 am to 4 pm. Mercadito Cantina Leon opens at 9 am for breakfast and serves tacos and lunch daily. – Amanda Martell
2955 Ponce De Leon Blvd.
786.391.2265
CantinaLeon.com
STAND on the Mile
The Creators Of Shingo Launch A Daytime Café
Stand Draws From The Japanese Bakery And Coffee-Shop Culture
SHINGO, the omakase restaurant from Chef Shingo Akikuni and managing partner Kenzie Motai, earned a Michelin star in 2024 and is now one of Coral Gables’ most recognized dining destinations. Akikuni and Motai have now opened STAND, a café with a completely different concept, in the former home of Mai Sushi Tapas Bar on Miracle Mile. The daytime café draws from the Japanese bakery and coffee- shop culture that Akikuni and Motai grew up around. The menu focuses on sandos, pastries, and bento boxes. The sandos start with house-baked milk bread, prepared fresh daily by Chef de Cuisine Lania Andrade, formerly SHINGO’s pastry chef. The top of the bread is covered with toasted crème, which comes in rotating flavors of brûlée, chocolate, or curry. They also offer generously layered sandos (Japanese sandwiches), including a double- stacked chicken katsu with kewpie mayo and tonkatsu sauce.
The drink menu includes matcha, coffee, and tea, including hōjicha, a roasted green tea with a warm, nutty flavor. The matcha comes directly from Japan, the coffee from a single-origin farm in Guatemala.
The narrow interior seats up to 24 guests and balances an industrial backbone of stainless steel and dark metal shelving with warmer touches of pale tile, wooden chairs, leather booths, and Japanese ceramics lining the upper shelves. The open counter lets you watch your food and drink being prepared.
STAND is open daily 8 am to 4 pm, with prices from $3.95 to $45. This fall, it becomes a dimly lit izakaya at night, serving seasonal small plates with sake, beer, and wine. – Amanda Martell
98 Miracle Mile
StandStandStand.com
Elyu x The Bakery: Omakase Brigadoon
For one weekend in May, Elyu Omakase turned its 12-seat counter into the liveliest table in Coral Gables. The downtown omakase restaurant, which opened last year, is usually built around restraint: soft lighting, close attention, and the quiet trust of handing the night over to the chef. But during its collaboration with The Bakery, an event that appears monthly like mythical Brigadoon, Elyu kept the precision while The Bakery added the pulse.
Elyu Omakase Partnered With The Bakery To Prepare A 100-Pound Tuna And Serve HeavenSake
At the center was a 100-pound tuna, stretched across the counter as chef Beenaiya broke it down cut by cut. Guests watched, filmed, asked questions, and tasted as the fish moved from spectacle to supper. Paired with HeavenSake and served as an all-you-caneat experience, the evening turned omakase into something more communal without losing the Elyu detail.
That detail comes from chef Reiji Yoshizawa, whose background includes The Setai, Katsuya Brickell, El Secreto at Faena, and MILA Omakase. His food blends Japanese precision with Filipino warmth (his home country) and French technique, a style that feels polished but not cold. “Each course tells a story on its own,” said Raam Anwaar, owner of The Bakery. “There’s so much detail that goes into every course they serve.”
The Bakery’s role was to bring the party, Elyu’s to keep the food serious. Together, they found a balance: sake flowing, knives moving, and a counter full of guests leaning in. Monthly tuna carvings, sake tastings, chef specials, and more collaborations are expected to continue. – Yousra Benkirane
2626 Ponce De Leon Blvd.
786-649-7672
ElyuOmakase.com
La Birra Bar: Argentine Burgers
Argentine burger chain La Birra Bar recently arrived on Miracle Mile with a casino-themed opening celebration. Roulette and blackjack tables filled the room while a DJ spun house music; guests sampled burgers and gathered at the bar for Aperol spritzes, red wine, and champagne.
Founded in Buenos Aires in 2001 by siblings Daniel, Roxana, and Renzo Cocchia, La Birra Bar started as a neighborhood bar-café next to their parents’ rotisería, an Argentine-style takeout restaurant. For over a decade, the family focused on traditional recipes before turning to burgers in 2015. Their efforts produced the signature “pan de nube,” designed to hold in the juices of the burger without falling apart. The brand has since expanded across Argentina, Spain, Chile, and South Florida, earning No. 7 on the 2025 World’s 25 Best Burgers list.
Burger Chain La Birra Bar’s Opening Had It All: A Casino, DJ Music, And Yes, Great Burgers
The restaurant leans into wood accents and dark brick walls, with seating ranging from leather booths for larger groups to counter seating by the checkout, along with additional tables for two. You’ll also spot a shelf full of trophies by the entrance highlighting the restaurant’s recognition among the world’s best burgers, including its victory at the Dubai Burger Championship.
We sampled their signature Golden Burger ($11.90), made with a Black Angus Argentinian beef patty, American cheese, diced red onion, and the restaurant’s proprietary mayo. The menu also features loaded nachos, corn ribs, hot dogs, desserts, and Argentine beer and wine, with prices ranging from $10.90 to $27.90. – Amanda Martell
219 Miracle Mile
786.489.4599
LaBirraBarUSA.com