After the successful launch in Coconut Grove in 2021, Minty Z recently opened a second location of the popular dim sum destination in the heart of Midtown Miami at 3451 NE First Ave. Chef/owner Alex Falco launched the concept along with his wife Huimin Zhu (aka Minty Z and the restaurant’srestaurant’s muse) and partner Ignacio Lopez-Mancisdor. The new location features an indoor/outdoor seating capacity of 50 and is open daily for lunch, dinner and weekend brunch, delivering fresh plant-based cuisine.
“We consider Minty Z to be an Asian dim sum restaurant that also happens to be vegan,” Falco says. “I think that if they still exist, we are doing a great job of disproving any stereotypes about plant-based cooking. There is so much creativity and flavor and substance in all of our dishes that no one leaves hungry. You don’t need to be vegan or vegetarian to enjoy our food.”
After over a decade of working in renowned restaurants in the UK and New York, Falco’s taste buds started to change, and he adopted a vegan lifestyle in 2018. Minty, who also worked in the hospitality industry, followed in his footsteps and became entirely plant-based in 2019. Together, they decided to move to Miami and open a business that combined their twin culinary passions: plant-based cooking and Asian cuisine. After a brief stint with a vegan food truck, they started selling their creations at farmers’ markets. Their made-from-scratch kimchi, bao buns, and dumplings gained a devoted following at the Coconut Grove Organic Farmers Market. Despite the pandemic initially limiting their public-facing opportunities, it gave them time to research and develop their recipes, creating dishes that elevated plant-based Asian cuisine to the next level. In December 2020, they opened Minty Z at 3206 Grand Ave. in Coconut Grove, with an opening menu that expanded beyond their farmers market fare.
“I love to bring non-vegan or non-vegetarian friends to Minty Z just to watch their reactions when they realize how delicious the food is,” Lopez-Mancisdor says. “Once I discovered the restaurant in Coconut Grove, I knew that I wanted to be part of any future plans for the concept. Midtown is such a wonderful spot for our new location. It has a great mix of residents and visitors and is already established as a restaurant Mecca. We’re thrilled to be open and to see folks embrace what Minty Z has to offer.”
Reservations can be made on OpenTable, with takeout and delivery also available.
