At 5 p.m. on a Wednesday, the doors open at 2996 McFarlane Road, next to the Mr. C Hotel. Miami Slice takes no reservations and no pre-orders, so whoever arrives first eats first. Across the water on Grove Isle, La Sponda starts dinner at the same hour on the same days. On Main Highway, The Barnacle opens its doors at 6 p.m. for Friday Moonlight concerts.
Line up the Grove's fall openings and dated events and most of them keep similar hours. The new kitchens serve dinner from Wednesday to Sunday. The biggest village events start at dusk. There are daytime plans too, but they're fewer, and several of the newest are still only announced. Here is what that looks like on the ground, from the McFarlane Road corner to the far end of the causeway.
McFarlane Road Has Become a Short Walk Between Plans
McFarlane Road was already the Mr. C corner. Now it's filling in around the hotel.
Miami Slice opened its Coconut Grove location on Aug. 12, as the Miami Herald reported. It runs from 5 to 11 p.m., Wednesday through Sunday. The original shop at 1335 NE Miami Ct. opened in 2022 as a slice counter. The Grove location adds chairs, tables and booths, and keeps the slice bar for anyone who still wants it the old way. The menu carries over the New York-style pies that built the brand, including Pepperoni Proper, Mushroom Truffle and Leeks on Bacon, plus new dishes from a wood-fired oven. The team behind it is founder Alejandro Diaz, managing partner Manuel Peinada, and operating partners Jose "Chema" Cardenas, who is also culinary director, and Santiago Huen.
At 2979 McFarlane Road, near CocoWalk, Levain Bakery has its first Miami shop on the way. Miami New Times reported in March that the New York bakery founded by Connie McDonald and Pam Weekes planned to open "this fall." The paper repeated that timing in its fall preview of anticipated openings in September. The bakery's own Coconut Grove page still says "Coming Soon!" with no date. For now, it's something to expect rather than a place to plan a morning around.
That leaves Mr. C as the one address on the block with a set daytime habit. Il Giardino at Mr. C Miami–Coconut Grove has live music on the Coconut Grove BID calendar every Sunday at noon, on Oct. 25 and on Nov. 1, 8, 15, 22 and 29. On Sundays, one block can now cover a long lunch at noon and a no-reservation slice line at 5.
Grove Isle Gets a Dining Room on the Bay
The Grove's other new opening sits at the end of the causeway. It's open on the same evenings, just in a very different style.
La Sponda opened Sept. 19 at Vita at Grove Isle, the luxury condominium developed by Ugo Colombo's CMC Group. The Miami Herald described the timing as "just in time to gear up for the season." The operator is Gioia Hospitality, founded in 2024 by Thomas Angelo with his daughter Kassidy, chef Danny Ganem and wine and beverage director Daniel Bishop. It's the group behind Daniel's in Coral Gables and Fort Lauderdale. Angelo told the Herald the restaurant is "our love letter to Italy."
The room seats about 120, with a private dining room. Martin Brudnizki Design Studio designed it with white tablecloths, imported stone, hand-painted architectural details and a baby grand piano in one corner, all facing Biscayne Bay. The menu draws on several regions of Italy, according to the Herald:
- Fresh pasta made daily, including spaghetti with Burgundy truffles and paccheri with Maine lobster
- Salt-crusted branzino
- Bistecca Fiorentina, made with a wagyu porterhouse
- Crudo and antipasti
- Tableside gelato, which the restaurant bills as unique to Miami
Dinner runs 5 to 10 p.m. on Wednesdays and Sundays and 5 to 11 p.m. Thursday through Saturday, according to La Sponda's website, which lists the address as 4 Grove Isle Drive. Reservations go through Resy, parking is valet only, and the restaurant's phone number is 786-761-5200. Lunch and brunch have been announced, but the dates differ by source. The restaurant's site says October, while the Herald's opening story said November. Check the booking page before planning a midday visit.
The Calendar Keeps the Same Hours
The Grove's dated events for the next few weeks mostly fall on the restaurants' days. Timed events lean toward Friday-to-Sunday evenings, and Il Giardino's noon set on Sundays is the regular daytime exception.
| Date | What | Where | When |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fri, Oct. 23 – Sun, Nov. 1 | Coconut Grove Harvest pumpkin patch | Fuller Street | Daily during the run |
| Sun, Oct. 25 | Live music at Il Giardino | Mr. C Miami–Coconut Grove | Noon |
| Fri, Oct. 30 – Sun, Nov. 1 | Fall photo installation | CocoWalk | During the run |
| Sat, Oct. 31 | Harvest Halloween celebration | Fuller Street and Downtown Coconut Grove | 6–8 p.m. |
| Fri, Nov. 13 | The 18 Wheelers, Moonlight Concert Series | The Barnacle Historic State Park | Doors 6 p.m., show 7 p.m. |
| Fri, Nov. 13 – Sun, Nov. 15 | Coconut Grove Jewelry & Watch Show | The Hangar, Regatta Harbour | Three days |
| Sat, Nov. 14 | Holiday Barkzaar | The Barnacle Historic State Park | See BID calendar |
Halloween on Fuller Street, hour by hour
Harvest is free and presented by the Coconut Grove Business Improvement District. Here's the Oct. 31 program as The Soul of Miami laid it out:
- 6 p.m. Halloween storytelling at Books & Books Coconut Grove.
- 6 to 8 p.m. A live DJ on Fuller Street, trick-or-treating at participating businesses, and The Grove Stamp Scavenger Hunt across Downtown Coconut Grove.
- 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. Fantasy Theatre Factory performs Little Monsters Tales on Fuller Street.
- 7:30 p.m. A costume contest.
The Grove Stamp Scavenger Hunt launches Oct. 31. Collect 10 Grove Stamps from participating businesses and the completed card unlocks perks you can redeem through November and December 2026. In practice, the BID is using one evening to set up two months of return visits to shops in the village.
The Barnacle's Concerts Are Back on Friday Nights
The Barnacle Society's Moonlight Concert Series runs from October to April at The Barnacle Historic State Park, 3485 Main Highway. Mama Fuma opened the season on Oct. 9. The next confirmed act is The 18 Wheelers on Friday, Nov. 13, at 7 p.m. Doors open at 6, picnics and BYOB are welcome, and pets aren't allowed. Tickets start at $10 on the Barnacle's concert page, where more of the season's acts will be posted.
That Friday is the busiest night on the Grove's November calendar. The Coconut Grove Jewelry & Watch Show opens the same weekend at The Hangar in Regatta Harbour and runs Nov. 13 to 15. The next day, Saturday, Nov. 14, The Barnacle hosts the Holiday Barkzaar. If you plan around one weekend between Harvest and Thanksgiving, make it this one. It covers the Barnacle, Regatta Harbour and a dinner reservation in a single stretch of the Grove.
Where Daylight Fits Into the Season
For daytime plans, the list is short and mostly announced. You have Sunday noon music at Il Giardino. Levain's McFarlane Road shop is still "Coming Soon." La Sponda's lunch and brunch are on the way. The stamp-card perks run through the end of the year. The Fuller Street pumpkin patch and the CocoWalk photo installation are the only Harvest pieces built for daylight, and both close Nov. 1.
So this fall, plan Grove outings from the evening first. Book La Sponda for a Thursday, get to Miami Slice before the 5 p.m. line forms on a Friday, and pack a picnic for The Barnacle on Nov. 13. If you want summer context, our earlier look at the Grove's summer 2026 openings and Sunday markets shows how the village got here, and our Coconut Grove neighborhood guide puts these blocks on the map.
New tables at the end of Grove Isle and along McFarlane Road change what a Grove evening looks like from block to block, and the team at Jerry Abreu follows those changes as closely as we follow the buildings around them. If you'd like to talk through what this season means for your corner of the Grove, Schedule a Private Consultation.
