Niu Kitchen — Restaurant in Miami

NIU Kitchen is currently operating out of their sister restaurant, Arson. The restaurant is on the smaller side with about 10 tables, but they do have outdoor seating. The menu seems to have a large # of options, but when you drill into the plates, they do not have too much variety. We tried asking for recommendations for food, so the server spit out like 10 different dishes he recommended in rapid fire order so we only caught like 3 of them. When we asked about the wine options, they had run out of almost all the red wines by the glass and he couldnt recommend one that they did have available- it just wasnt very helpful and made our ordering experience less pleasant than it could have been.

The highlight of our meal was a delicious octopus carpaccio, which came atop what tasted like hummus with some lemon flavoring. The chicken canelloni-type dish (forgot the name) was a cheesy, creamy, shredded chicken served in a skillet. It was a hearty dish with some nice flavors, although I got a few chunks of chicken that took away from the dish a little. Next was the artichoke side, which felt like eating a dip with a spoon (creamy artichoke + pieces of artichoke were in each spoonful)- it sounds nice, but it was anticlimactic. To close out, I ordered the sponge cake upon receiving our last dish, and it still took 20 minutes to come to our table. Once we got to try it, I learned it was not at all like the olive oil cakes i've tried elsewhere- this one was a bit on the drier side, which they seemed to try to mask by drenching it with chocolate sauce. The other 2 dessert options sounded tasty, so maybe we just didnt choose wisely. 🤷🏻‍♀️

All in all, the food was hit or miss, and the service was not...

A refined, flavorful experience available in downtown Miami, NIU Kitchen offers a variety of unique tapas specifically designed for sharing between small groups of people in a cozy, modern environment.

The menu is creative and offers high-quality servings of popular and somewhat experimental dishes at an upper-middle tier of pricing.

MAKE RESERVATIONS. We were somewhat lucky to walk in. They seated us, but did state that we'd need to finish within an hour to make room for those with reservations. We saw other couples try, and they were turned away. It is not a large establishment.

Service speed was pretty quick. We finished in just short of an hour, probably fifty minutes, and that didn't leave us feeling rushed because the food and drink were served rather promptly.

For our appetizer: A savory octopus carpaccio served over garbanzo bean paste with apple aioli, and lemon zest. The octopus was wonderfully tender.

Entrees: Our favorite: Ous - Deliciously creamy creation with poached egg, truffled potato foam, jamón ibérico, and black truffle. The bread it was served with was great on its own, but the egg and truffled potato foam sent this dish into the stratosphere...and our bellies.

Clams "Deme's Mom's Recipe" - Open whole shell clams in a delicious sauce composed of jamón ibérico, tomato sofrito, picada sauce, and sherry vinegar. They're perfect. I just preferred the ous.

We did not try dessert, but I can only assume the flavors would be just as nuanced and the creations just as brilliantly rendered as the appetizers and entrees proved to be.

They offered wine and beer, but we did not explore the variety. We drank a bottle of sparkling water with...

Enjoyed dinner here with friends. The menu is not your typical tapas place (i.e. just patatas bravas, gambas, etc.). They have specialties and unique dishes, like an octopus carpaccio (which was DELICIOUS).

Our table of 4 ordered 5 small dishes -Pan Tomate -Anchovies from Santona: Anchovies that had been cured in salt for 2 years. I loved it. Salty and oily. -Cold Tomato Soup: Very interesting and different with the mustard ice cream. It was delicious -Octopus Carpaccio: Fantastic. So much different from the normal grilled octopus you see everywhere else. I strongly recommend this. -Artichokes. Was just OK for me.

And 4 large dishes: -Clams "Deme's Mom's Recipe": It was decent. A bit salty. -Ous: Our favorite dish. Rich, hearty egg dish served with bread. -Arros sec: Paella with sausage. It was very good -Bavette steak: The steak was tender and well cooked.

The server recommended 2-3 dishes per person and he said he'd tell us if we got too much. We also got 2 sides: Bread and Olives. We probably didn't need to get those. We got 2 desserts too, both of which were good, not too rich, and the right amount at the end.

It was the right amount of food. 2 bottles of wine which weren't overpriced. Overall a great meal, and I can understand how it's stayed popular even after all these years. It wouldn't be my top tapas/Spanish restaurant in Miami, but I enjoyed it. 4-4.5 stars on Yelp.

In the fwiw category, people dine here late. We sat down at 7pm and were one of 3 tables. When we left at 9pm, the place was filled and there were...