{"id":161130,"date":"2026-02-19T12:53:23","date_gmt":"2026-02-19T12:53:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/161130\/"},"modified":"2026-02-19T12:53:23","modified_gmt":"2026-02-19T12:53:23","slug":"gaia-opens-in-miami-beach-with-chef-izu-ani-at-the-helm","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/161130\/","title":{"rendered":"Gaia Opens in Miami Beach With Chef Izu Ani at the Helm"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\"\"Gaia will open in Miami in March. Gaia<\/p>\n

Gaia,<\/a> which will make its United States debut when it opens its Miami location in March, is a glamorous, globally minded restaurant where everything just blends.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Gaia<\/a> launched in Dubai in 2018 and has expanded to Monaco, Doha, London and Marbella; it serves Mediterranean food with an emphasis on Greek flavors. The restaurant is led by Nigerian-British chef Izu Ani<\/a>, who cooked at some of Europe\u2019s most avant-garde and elite restaurants before realizing he wanted to do something simpler and more nourishing.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Gaia, which is complemented by a late-night lounge called Nyx<\/a> at all its locations, has attracted A-listers like Tom Cruise<\/a>, LeBron James<\/a>, Naomi Campbell<\/a>, Roger Federer<\/a>, Idris Elba<\/a>, Lewis Hamilton<\/a>, Peggy Gou<\/a> and the Dubai royal family. It makes sense that a restaurant with this kind of clientele will open on South Pointe Drive in Miami Beach\u2019s buzzing South of Fifth area, where lively blockbuster restaurants like Joe\u2019s Stone Crab, Carbone<\/a> and Catch<\/a> call home.<\/p>\n

\"\"\"\"Nyx. Gaia<\/p>\n

\u201cAt the end of the day, the essence of what we do is good food,\u201d Ani tells Observer. \u201cAnd when we built the concept, from day one, it was all about building something that would last. It\u2019s not about being fashionable. We have a festive restaurant. We have a vibe in our restaurant. But that\u2019s not the basis of our restaurant. We need to build something of substance.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ani loves the \u201csimplicity\u201d of Greek food and thinks Miami will appreciate the way he cooks.<\/p>\n

\u201cMiami suits our kind of food,\u201d he says. \u201cIt\u2019s a happy place. It\u2019s a sunny place. It\u2019s a place where you want to eat a Greek salad. You want to eat a grilled fish. You want to have tzatziki. You want to have the sea bream carpaccio, the food that keeps you light. Not food that weighs you down. People are looking for great food that\u2019s healthy. Miami really fits our kind of food and culture.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gaia\u2019s sea bream carpaccio is a beautiful example of how Ani\u2019s food is simple while also being technique-driven, globally influenced and exquisitely plated. The exacting knifework on every sea bream is inspired by Ani\u2019s love of Japan.<\/p>\n

\"\"\"\"The sea bream carpaccio. Artur Begel<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m a big fan of Japanese culture,\u201d Ani says. \u201cIt\u2019s about the preciseness, but also the less is more. Everything is minimal. That\u2019s what I love about it. I\u2019ve designed my home to be Japanese because I hate clutter. I like to see less things so I can enjoy the things I see.\u201d<\/p>\n

What guests might enjoy seeing most at Gaia is its signature \u201cice market,\u201d with a daily selection of fish and other seafood. You can choose the fish you want and how you would like it prepared, with options including raw, baked (with spiced tomato, Greek herbs and potatoes), grilled (in a charcoal oven with lemon oil), salt-crust, harissa-style and pan-fried.<\/p>\n

\"\"\"\"The \u201cice market.\u201d <\/p>\n

Ani cut his teeth at modernist restaurants like Arzak and Mugaritz in Spain, but he wants to do something much more straightforward for a mass audience at Gaia.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cOur food is all based on ingredients,\u201d Ani says. \u201cIt\u2019s about leaving as much alone as possible.\u201d<\/p>\n

At the same time, \u201cI added my Nigerian heritage, which is spice, to the Greek cuisine because I felt that sometimes you need a little heat to wake up the palate,\u201d Ani adds. \u201cIf you\u2019ve ever tried the broccoli at Gaia, it\u2019s with chili, ginger, lemon and oil. That\u2019s it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ani always considers the setting he\u2019s in when he opens a restaurant, so he\u2019s thinking about palm trees, the beach and the diversity of residents and visitors in Miami.<\/p>\n

\"\"\"\"The Greek salad. BegelART<\/p>\n

\u201cMiami is a place that is vibrant with a lot of international people,\u201d he says. \u201cWhenever we choose a location, it has to fit the soul of what we\u2019re trying to offer because the food is eaten by the environment. If food goes into an environment where it doesn\u2019t belong, it doesn\u2019t have the same impact.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ani\u2019s looking forward to cooking with seasonal ingredients in Miami, and letting the ingredients take the lead.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe adapt to the environment because we want to be part of the environment,\u201d he says. \u201cWe do not impose our will. If a tomato is different in Miami, we will adjust. It might be a bit sweeter, so maybe we will give it a bit more acid. One thing I\u2019ve learned is that your palate changes everywhere you go because of the different mixture of oxygen in the air. We\u2019re going to adapt with the ingredients we find in Miami because the soil is different. You work with nature. You don\u2019t work against nature.\u201d<\/p>\n

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