New Miami Restaurant Openings Include Balloo Walllah, El Turco, and Huacachina at the Oasis

It’s not quite summer, but things are continuing to heat up on Miami’s growing dining scene.

The first week of June delivered a number of new restaurant openings, including a new cocktail bar at the Oasis in Wynwood and Ch’i at Brickell City Centre.

Know of any openings that aren’t on our list? Email [email protected].

Chef Timon Balloo brings Indian-inspired comfort food to Miami with his delivery-only restaurant, Balloo Wallah.

Photo courtesy of Balloo Wallah

Sugarcane Raw Bar Grill partner and executive chef Timon Balloo brings Indian street food to Miami with his new delivery-only restaurant in partnership with Miami-based Reef’s NBRHD Kitchens. Balloo Wallah’s the menu offers up a mix of Trinidadian, Indian, and Chinese culture with dishes like samosas, Mumbai spiced chicken wings, and sesame-dusted sweet-and-sour cauliflower fritters. Larger meals like chicken tikka masala, vegetable curry, and saag paneer are served over rice or fries but become handheld when delivered in burrito form. Delivery available from 6 to 10 p.m. daily.

Mushroom ceviche at Ch’i in Brickell City Centre.

Photo by Michael Pissari

Located in Brickell City Centre, Ch’i fuses several immersive concepts into one. The 12,000-square-foot indoor/outdoor space boasts three full-service bars, two DJ booths, multiple lounge and dining areas, and a menu of Chino-Latino cuisine inspired by the Chinese cafés that once dotted the streets of Latin America (and later New York City and Miami). The experience begins with the Garden, a verdant open-air terrace with cozy cabanas and plenty of seating, and the adjacent Asian-themed market, Mercado, offering dim sum and other casual bites. This week, patrons can preview both the Garden and the Mercado. The main dining room, helmed by executive chef Rafael Perez Cambana, opens to the public on Friday, June 18. Advance reservations are now available online via Open Table. Hours through June 18 are Sunday through Wednesday from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m., and Thursday through Saturday 11 a.m. to midnight.

El Turco serves Turkish coffee.

Photo courtesy of El Turco

This cozy café has brought a small slice of Turkey to Upper Buena Vista. The kitchen operates all day long, but be sure to go for the kahvalti — a traditional Turkish breakfast that’s made with mostly imported ingredients. The meal is best represented by the breakfast platter; priced at $19, it’s piled high with tomatoes, cucumbers, olives, homemade jams, a house-baked, pita-style bread known as poga?a, and ezine, (a white pickled cheese). Add hard-boiled eggs and simit (a sesame seed-studded bread) and authentic kahve (Turkish coffee) and you’ve got a hearty morning meal. Open Sunday through Thursday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Friday and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.

The Huacachina cocktail bar is the newest addition to the Oasis.

Photo courtesy of Huacachina at the Oasis

Huacachina is the newest venue to open inside the Oasis, Wynwood’s hip new outdoor food hall. With its unique libations and an array of weekly DJ performances, the cocktail-focused bar offers a lively and more elevated atmosphere than the space’s outdoor Tower Bar. Among the highlights on the list of more than a dozen specialty cocktails: the frozen “Blue Steel” (vodka, basil, blueberry, coconut-berry Red Bull, and lemon) and the “Dirty Flamingo” (vodka, raspberry, lychee liqueur, citrus juice, and mint). The bar also offers a curated selection of wine, sake, and beer. Food vendors operate Sunday through Wednesday from noon to midnight and Thursday through Saturday from noon to 2 a.m. Bar open 11 a.m. to 3 a.m. daily.