According to a report by Commercial Observer, in 2021, renowned restaurateur Jeffrey Chodorow and his company, China Grill Management, secured a deal for a "first-floor unit at the exclusive Bal Harbour Shops in the greater Miami area," according to public documents and state records. “It’s going to be one of my classics,” Chodorow told Commercial Observer at the time.
Now, more than two years after this initial announcement, New Times can confirm the restaurant in question is none other than the once-shuttered China Grill.
China Grill will reopen within the next 12 to 24 months at its new home at Bal Harbour Shops. New Times can also confirm that it will replace Stephen Starr's French bistro Le Zoo on the first floor.
What happened to China Grill in South Beach?
In 2012, China Grill, the restaurant that essentially started Miami Beach's dining renaissance in 1995, closed its doors after 17 years in business and announced a move to Brickell.In 2014, Chodorow and China Grill Management decided to halt the plans for the reopening in Brickell once Chodorow was presented with the opportunity to open a Southeast Asian-inspired restaurant in partnership with Miami hot spot restaurateur David Grutman — and the rest is history.
The pair instead opened Komodo in 2015, which has been a mainstay in Miami's dining scene ever since and essentially kickstarted Brickell's fine-dining renaissance.
Asian-fusion dishes from China Grill posted to Facebook in 2012 still seem relevant nearly 12 years later.
China Grill photos
A Blueprint for the Asian Fusion Spectacle
China Grill Management was established in 1987 by Chodorow, who founded the first China Grill in Midtown West Manhattan. After the restaurant's success in Manhattan, the group leaped to open China Grill in 1995 on the corner of 404 Washington Ave. in South Beach.Little did the restaurant group know then what impact it would have on Miami's dining scene nearly 30 years later.
Noted as one of the most beautiful dining rooms in the Magic City throughout the 2000s, even securing its throne as New Times' Best Restaurant Decor in 2005, the restaurant pushed Miami's former perception of what an Asian fusion restaurant could feel, taste, and look like.
In the late 1990s and early 2000s, China Grill was the place to see and be seen. Paparazzi swarmed the restaurant for snaps of the city's heavy hitters like Sly Stallone and other former Star Island residents. Thanks to its "global-inspired" menu, high-end flare, and nightlife atmosphere, China Grill was a major pioneer in the Asian fusion space. It can even be seen as the inspiration behind the nightlife-inspired restaurants that have become such a huge part of Miami today, including Komodo, Papi Steak, Gekko, and others, many of which are still Asian fusion-inspired today.
(This review by then-New Times restaurant critic Lee Klein from 2002 is a blast from the past and describes his experience at the restaurant in a manner that could be used to describe so many flashy restaurants popping up today.)
Although the chain, which at one point had locations around the world, closed in South Beach 12 years ago, Chodorow never lost sight of a reopening. Soon, Miami will get a taste of China Grill 2.0, and once it reopens, New Times will be the first to report on whether its opulent magic is still there.
China Grill. Inside Bal Harbour Shops, 9700 Collins Ave., Bal Harbour.
