AUTHOR BIO: Dana Somerstein’s passport is stamped with perfect pizza slices, delicate dumplings, and buttery baked goods. When she’s not chasing her next reservation, she practices real estate and banking law as a partner in Fort Lauderdale.
Twenty minutes past closing, the line at Buccan Sandwich Shop still hummed with the kind of crowd that forms for something genuinely worth waiting for. Finance guys in loafers stood shoulder to shoulder with beach kids, night owls, and families fresh off the sand, all trying to secure one last sandwich.
On Miracle Mile in Coral Gables, where even the trees are impeccably styled, Buccan fits right in. The shop feels like the bilingual, well-traveled cousin to the original Palm Beach location James Beard-nominated chef Clay Conley opened the original in 2014 as a simple walk-up window next to his fine-dining restaurant Buccan, and this location keeps the same energy. The sandwich shop's arrival in Coral Gables is part of Conley's full Miami invasion: after this, he's bringing Buccan and then Imoto shortly after.
The Coral Gables sandwich shop is polished but not pretentious, refined without losing its pulse. It’s easy to imagine lawyers ducking in between hearings, tastemakers grabbing lunch before gallery appointments, and the children of diplomats lingering over ginger lemonade before catching flights. Somehow, Coral Gables always needed a place exactly like this.
Steak bomb
Though it shares DNA with its Palm Beach sister, the Miami shop trades polo clubs and paisley for cafe con leche energy, down to the Grateful Dead-inspired skull logos on the Buccan shirts in unmistakable University of Miami colors. Cat 5 style achieved.
The sandwiches themselves succeed because the foundation is taken seriously. The team collaborates with its bakery on a proprietary recipe, with every loaf still made daily in West Palm Beach before being driven down to Miami each morning. You can taste the obsession in every bite: firm crust but not crunchy or crusty, airy interior, structure sturdy enough for ambitious fillings but delicate enough to disappear almost instantly.
Like the original, the menu here is small: four hot and seven cold sandwiches, a couple daily specials, four salads, a daily soup. I had the beef carpaccio sandwich. Rich, melt-in-your-mouth carpaccio layered against peppery arugula and sharp balsamic onions created the kind of balance that makes you pause mid-bite just to process it. The onions brought just enough tang to cut through the richness, while the freshness of the arugula and a kiss of mayo kept the whole thing feeling impossibly light for something so decadent. It ate like a steakhouse starter disguised as lunch.
Cubano 2.0
I washed it down with the house made ginger lemonade before ending with a chocolate chip cookie that has enough thickness to let you sink your teeth in, with decedent melty chips and a sprinkle of salt.
Hot Italian
Chocolate chip cookie
A sandwich at Buccan will run you between $15.50-$17.75. Or spring for the boxed lunch for $25.25, which includes a sandwich, a half dill pickle, house-made chips, a chocolate chip cookie, and a non-alcoholic drink. Hot tip: order online for pick up and skip the line without needing to order bottle service.
Cantina Leon Brings a Big Mexican Cantina to Coral Gables
At Cantina Leon, it’s Mexican seafood, wood-grilled meats, tequila, mezcal, and live music in The Plaza Coral Gables.
Michelin-Worthy Restaurants in New Mexico to Know Before the Guide Arrives
Michelin is coming to New Mexico, so we went looking for the restaurants most likely to earn stars, Bib Gourmands and recommendations.
