Niño Gordo opened in Buenos Aires in 2017 and is currently ranked number 34 on Latin America’s 50 Best Restaurants list. Interested diners no longer have to book a flight to Argentina to visit, because the restaurant from co-creators Germán Sitz and Pedro Peña just opened an outpost in Miami.
It debuted May 19 in Wynwood, the vibrant neighborhood known for mural art and, increasingly, as a great destination for dining.
Niño Gordo, one of Latin America’s top-ranked restaurants, just landed in Miami. Photo by Ruben Cabrera
The restaurant is a self-described mix of “1970s Maoist propaganda aesthetic with anime and hardcore beats,” and serves food that blends Japanese, Korean, and Southeast Asian influences with Argentine touches.
The 74-seat, labyrinth-like space dials up the theatrics and is an intentionally larger, louder, and more immersive experience than the Buenos Aires original.
It features four distinct rooms, each with a different story and visual theme. The main dining room is very red, filled with hanging red lamps, circular fish tanks, and whimsical wall paper. There’s a gold room that’s wrapped floor-to-ceiling in mirrored panels. The main bar is lined with figurines and collectibles. And then there’s Dekotora, a separate Japanese-inspired sushi and cocktail bar that’s covered in upholstery and accessible behind a door that’s styled as a vintage cigarette machine.
Dekotora is a hidden cocktail and sushi bar exclusive to the Miami outpost. Photo courtesy of Niño Gordo
The restaurant menu features items like a katsu sando made with Japanese milk bread, beef, tonkatsu, and mayo; and a hamachi dish served with bell pepper, enoki mushrooms, cucumber, and nori. Duck comes as a variation of Peking-style, with cucumber, daikon, carrots, bok choy, and hoisin sauce that can be piled into crêpes. Dumplings are stuffed with a variety of fillings including squid, veal, curry, and coconut yogurt.
“The Miami menu is not an exact replica of Buenos Aires,” Sitz said. “The idea is to work with local products and trends, taking advantage of the fresh ingredients we can access here, like Key West prawns, which are completely different from those in Buenos Aires. Of course, we’ll keep some of our iconic dishes, but the concept will adapt to Miami’s food scene.”
Bar veteran Christine Wiseman created the cocktail menu with fresh ingredients and Asian-inspired flavors. Photo courtesy of Niño Gordo
Peña, who serves as Niño Gordo’s chef, found inspiration for the menu through his travels in
Korea, Japan, Thailand, Vietnam, and Hong Kong, where he studied the nuances of each destination’s cuisines and brought them into the concept.
Dekotora is exclusive to the new Miami outpost and was inspired by Japan’s east-coast fishing villages. Visitors can expect creative drinks and a menu featuring crudo, maki, nigiri, and an omakase experience.
Miami bar veteran Christine Wiseman created the cocktail program for both Niño Gordo and Dekotora. For the main restaurant, she built a lineup of signature drinks designed to complement the food. Cocktails feature fresh ingredients and Asian-inspired flavors, with examples like the Red Bean Old Fashioned, Cherry Blossom Negroni, and a Papaya Salad Daiquiri made with rum, lime, aloe liqueur, and a homemade papaya salad cordial.
Dekotora’s drinks menu leans more into spectacle and striking visuals, with fun garnishes and vibrant colors. One standout is the bright-green, carbonated Neon Skyline that’s made with shiso-infused tequila, shochu, Midori, and citrus.
