MIAMI
Goodbye Fiola, Hello Daniel’s: Fort Lauderdale Favorite Expands to Coral Gables
Written by Eric Barton | May 19, 2025
AUTHOR BIO: Eric Barton is editor of The Adventurist and a freelance journalist who lives above a brunch place in Midtown. He has reviewed restaurants for more than two decades. Email him here.
Fiola Miami, the polished Coral Gables outpost of Michelin-starred chef Fabio Trabocchi, will serve its last $85 plate of lobster ravioli on June 30.
After a brief renovation, the space will reopen in August as Daniel’s Miami, the second location of Gioia Hospitality Group’s steakhouse that debuted last year in Fort Lauderdale—and immediately became among my favorite restaurants in Broward County.
This marks the end of a six-year partnership between Trabocchi and Gioia Hospitality, the group led by lawyer-turned-restaurateur Thomas Angelo and his daughter Kassidy Angelo. In a statement, Thomas Angelo thanked Trabocchi for “bringing his wealth of knowledge,” while Trabocchi said he was “proud of what we achieved together.” What they built—tableside martinis, $200 seafood towers, perfectly-executed crudo—has long made Fiola one of my favorite Miami restaurants. It was the kind of place I’d recommend to someone traveling on a corporate card with no real spending limits.
But Daniel’s, in its short time in Fort Lauderdale’s Rio Vista neighborhood, did something Fiola never quite did: it felt like the future. Elegant but comfortable. Expensive but not stuffy. Like Fiola before, Daniel’s will be overseen by Danny Ganem at the helm in the kitchen and wine director Daniel Bishop curating a list that somehow makes you want to blow your entire tax refund on a bottle of Châteauneuf-du-Pape.
Thomas Angelo
The Miami version will keep the same core team from Fiola—Ganem, Bishop, and operations director Scott Ozler—and aims to build on what made the original Daniel’s a Michelin-recommended spot just six months after opening. They’re promising the same indulgent wine program and refined service, just with a new name on the door.
Kassidy Angelo
As for Trabocchi, he’s closing one chapter while trying to open several others. Earlier this year, he quietly shuttered Fiolina Pasta House in Boca Raton. His planned Las Vegas debut—at the swanky Fontainebleau—was scrapped entirely. But the D.C.-based chef hasn’t given up on Florida. He’s partnering with nightlife impresario Sam Nazarian and SBE to launch restaurants nationwide, with new projects still expected across the state.
Danny Ganem
Losing Fiola feels a little like watching your favorite suit go out of style. But if what Ganem has done in Fort Lauderdale is any sign, Daniel’s Miami might just be the tailored upgrade we didn’t know we needed.
Daniel Bishop
