Sriracha House Is Coming to South Miami

Miamians will no longer have to make the trek all the way to South Beach to get their Sriracha House fix.

After a decade in business serving South Beach and, most recently, the Shoma Bazaar food hall in Doral, the fast-casual, pan-Asian eatery is officially opening its second brick-and-mortar location in South Miami on Thursday, January 25.

Sriracha House was founded in 2014 out of the love husband-and-wife owners Emilio Benzadon and Jessica Knopf share for Southeast Asian street food.

When the couple first opened the original location in South Beach along Washington Avenue, the name immediately attracted locals, but the delicious pan-Asian cuisine kept them coming back. Due to its success, the restaurant recently became a vendor at the Shoma Baazar food hall in Doral.

Now, Benzadon wants to share the food he loves so much with his neighborhood — South Miami.

"Whenever I go to the other locations, my kids always ask me to bring back food," says Benzadon. "My friends do the same, and they always say, 'I wish there was a location closer to us,' so I am very excited because we're gonna have friends and family come in for the public opening."

While Benzadon was in charge of the operational front, Knopf curated the pan-Asian menu, which has heavy influences from various cuisines, including Japanese, Malaysian, Chinese, Thai, and Vietnamese. Plus, in a unique twist not seen at many pan-Asian fast-casual eateries, all aspects of the menu take into consideration dietary restrictions since it's an issue faced by members of their own family.

While creating the menu, Benzadon and Knopf wanted to promote healthy and freshly made dishes. Since opening in the notoriously health-conscious region of South Beach, a large demographic of their audience consists of millennials looking for a healthier, fast-casual spot.

Millennials in South Miami, this will be a safe space for you.
As a solution, the build-your-own meals have become the highlight of the restaurant. Guests can customize their dishes by choosing from a selection of noodles, proteins, vegetables, and a variety of sauces. Of course, dishes include vegan, vegetarian, and gluten-free options.

"My favorite sauce is the Sriracha sauce," says Benzadon. "It's not from the bottle — we create our own sauce. That sauce and the Thai peanut are my favorite sauces, but all of them are homemade and prepared every day with fresh ingredients."

After picking all the ingredients, you can watch the chefs prepare your food from the open cooking counter.

For those who don't know what to order in a build-your-own bowl setting (and may get anxious when put on the spot like I do), try the restaurant's signature dishes including the "Karmayaki" made of egg noodles, roasted chicken breast, broccoli, and Japanese teriyaki sauce, the "Sobe Sweet and Sour" with jasmine rice, pork, pineapple, and Chinese sweet and sour sauce, or the "Bring the Heat" made with udon noodles, steak, baby corn, cilantro, and Sriracha House's hot chili sauce.

At the South Miami location, there will be a bunch of new menu items to check out. These include a new kimchi fried rice, spicy noodle bop (a rice and ramen noodle blend with flank steak topped with a sunny-side-up egg and sweet and spicy bacon), a chilled Thai noodle salad, and the "Street Fare Platter" (available only for dine-in orders), which is made of four Sriracha House favorites, including gyozas, Szechuan chicken wings, yuzu-salted edamame, and veggie spring rolls.
The food menu pairs with a selection of drinks from their lemonade bar. Plus, they sell sake, local beers, and bubble teas, including taro, golden milk tea, and fruit tea options.

From the food to the design, the eatery tries to resemble the busy street food markets the couple loved when traveling abroad. Lighted signs are hanging from the ceiling, the main dining area features communal tables with board games along with smaller tables, the walls are covered with graffiti, and the main dining room area features a mural by artist Rey Jaffet.

Quieter tables are available in the back of the restaurant for when remote workers need a change of scenery and a healthier meal.

"Right now, we're open until midnight," says Benzadon. "Hopefully, in a few months, we will stay open until 3:05 a.m. because restaurants around here close at 10 p.m., but we like to offer a sort of hangout place; we have beers and games, and it's a lot of fun."

Sriracha House. 5966 S. Dixie Hwy., South Miami; srirachahouse.com. Daily 11 a.m. to midnight.