Anako, a modern Filipino restaurant from chefs Leicel Ros and Nancy Dominguez, opened October 22 at 8222 NE Second Ave. in Little River with partner Nidal Barake. The restaurant follows the pair’s pandemic-era Miami pop-ups and their work at Sili in Wynwood’s 1-800-Lucky food hall. It is their first sit-down restaurant together, according to Made By Magazine; Miami New Times also reported on the opening and the couple’s earlier projects.
The chefs have different roles at Anako: Dominguez runs the kitchen, while Ros oversees front-of-house service and hospitality. They met while working at Jean-Georges in Los Angeles. Ros’s previous work included Nobu and four years at COTE Miami; Dominguez worked in Joël Robuchon’s kitchens, according to Miami New Times.
A family recipe at the center of the menu
One dish ties the chefs’ family histories to the restaurant’s cooking: Anako’s kare-kare, made with slow-braised oxtail, peanut curry, Romano beans, okra and bagoong, draws on Ros’s mother’s recipe. Dominguez has connected the peanut sauce to pepián, a Guatemalan braise associated with her family, as Miami New Times reported.
The opening menu also includes pork-and-shrimp lumpia and kinilaw crudo. Ros’s cooking has been shaped by study in Singapore and Thailand and travel in Vietnam; the kitchen also uses Japanese technique, according to Miami New Times. The restaurant’s name comes from the Tagalog words “anak ko,” meaning “my child,” a phrase Ros’s mother uses for her. The chefs have described the restaurant as a way to honor their parents, the outlet reported.
Planned additions
The team plans to add about ten dishes, create a four-seat chef’s table with a set multicourse menu and optional wine pairing, and open a back room in a later phase. Miami New Times reported the plans; no dates for the additions have been announced.
