Miami Chef Raheem Sealey Will Open Shiso in Wynwood

A new restaurant aimed at marrying Asian, Caribbean, and American barbecue techniques will open winter in Wynwood.

The restaurant is a vision created by Miami chef Raheem Sealey and hospitality professional David Fuentes, who, alongside Forward Hospitality Group (FHG), will debut their passion project dubbed Shiso later this year.

Characterized as an elevated Asian smokehouse, the 11,000-square-foot venue will feature family-style dishes, a bespoke omakase experience, two cocktail programs via indoor and outdoor bars, and a rooftop nightlife entertainment component.

Sealey, known for helming the kitchen at Kyu Miami and his permanent pop-up restaurant Drinking Pig BBQ, partnered with FHG and the former Kyu general manager to present the Cleveland-based group's first foray into South Florida.

Sealey and Fuentes tell New Times they never would have envisioned opening a restaurant together when they met at Kyu in 2017. The duo admits it took years working together, hundreds of hectic dinner services, crazy Art Basel nights, and a pandemic to form a friendship and bond.

Now both men say their combined vision is bringing something unique to Miami.

"I've been working on this concept, albeit unknowingly, my entire culinary career," says Sealey, who moved to Alabama from St. Croix in 2007. "Removed from the culinary world, I remember this small restaurant close to my job site. I don't think it even had a name. All I remember was the smoked meats, and that was my introduction to American barbecue. It's what helped re-spark my interest in cooking."

Years later, Sealey was introduced to Asian cooking techniques while working at Zuma. When he began cooking at Kyu, it was all about barbecue. And when he opened Drinking Pig BBQ in 2021, he worked at mastering the art of smoking, each experience sharpening his focus for a new concept.

When Shiso opens, a wood-fired grill in the open kitchen will highlight Caribbean ingredients and dishes reminiscent of Sealey's birthplace, St. Croix. Here, family-style dishes will be prepared using an array of cooking techniques, including dry-aging, smoking, and American barbecue combined with Asian ingredients and approaches.

Although the menu is still being conceptualized, Sealey shares one item he's sure to incorporate: bite-sized slivers of uni-topped miso cornbread.

"One item I never have enough of at Drinking Pig was the cornbread," he shares. "My wife came up with an amazing recipe that had burnt honey, brown butter, and fresh corn. I wanted to honor and elevate that dish."

Moving forward, Sealey hopes to build a team of chefs to support his vision while contributing to the menu, offering young toques an opportunity to impart their personality, flavors, and essences into the restaurant.

It's a mission that will be paramount for Shiso's in-house omakase experience, adds Fuentes, an intimate 12-seat chef's counter that will offer a one-of-a-kind omakase aimed at putting the restaurant's chef team front and center.

Don't think of it as a traditional omakase — and definitely not a sushi experience. Instead, the counter will feature an array of cooking techniques from cold, hot, and raw to steamed, cured, fried, and smoked for six to eight dishes: an amuse bouche, small bites, composed dishes, and dessert. A beverage pairing will be available.

"I look at Shiso as the opportunity of a lifetime to express myself and create a space and atmosphere that exemplifies each of our distinctive approaches to hospitality, food, and service," sums up Fuentes. "We want to be the spot where you can come in for a casual beer at the bar and elevated bar bites or the place you can take co-workers for a light lunch or a one-of-a-kind dinner at our chef's counter curated by our culinary team, then finish off the evening at our rooftop terrace enjoying live music and getting the full Miami nightlife experience."

Shiso. 239 NW 28th St., Miami; shisomiami.com. Opening winter 2023.