Cafe Vialetto photo
Audio By Carbonatix
Last August, Marcelo Chopa closed the beloved Caffe Vialetto after 26 years in Coral Gables, much to the dismay of many Miami diners.
However, he is set to reopen this month at a new location under the name Casa Vialetto. With his former partner retired, Chopa is now leading the operation solo at 267 Alhambra Circle. He recently shared with Miami.com that he aims to welcome his first guests by the end of May.
Caffe Vialetto photo
Twenty-Six Years on Le Jeune
Caffe Vialetto opened in 1999 at 4019 S. Le Jeune Road and ran for more than two decades as a go-to for Coral Gables regulars marking anniversaries, closing deals, and every occasion in between. The menu mixed Italian with a Caribbean lean with favorite dishes like pear-and-gorgonzola ravioli, beer-battered shrimp tempura with a chili-guava drizzle, and a dessert called “The Funk.”
New Times named it among the Gables’ best restaurants roughly a month before Chopa, and co-founder Ernie Fernandez announced that they were closing after selling the Le Jeune Road property. The final dinner was August 16, 2025, with Fernandez having since retired, but Chopa didn’t.
Caffe Vialetto photo
A Smaller Room, the Same Cooking
Casa Vialetto will seat up to 45 guests, down from Caffe Vialetto’s 80, and Chopa describes it as “a little more modern,” with a menu that’s Italian but “more European” in character.
Seafood and local produce stay central to the meal, with the Caribbean influences he built into the original still in the cooking. “We always work with local products that can put a twist of the Caribbean on the plate,” Chopa told Miami.com. “We’re in the Caribbean, after all.”
The hog snapper pan-sautéed in a mango mojito sauce, one of Caffe Vialetto’s most requested dishes, returns when the fish is available. Plus, there will also be a full bar.
Before founding Caffe Vialetto, Chopa gained experience at the long-standing Italian spot Cafe Abbracci and the Argentine-Italian group Graziano’s. Transitioning from a partnership to a solo venture, he remarked to Miami.com, “We used to split the work half and half. Now it’s 100 percent me.”
Although complications with the grease trap caused unexpected delays in opening, he says his fiancée has been instrumental in managing the necessary paperwork, and he remains on track to open the doors before June.
“I’m very happy and so ready after such a long wait,” he said.
Casa Vialetto. 267 Alhambra Circle, Coral Gables; instagram.com/casavialetto. Opening late May 2026.
