KYU — Restaurant Review | Condé Nast Traveler

cuisine

Global/International

Tell us about your first impressions when you arrived. There’s an arty, cool feel to KYU that strikes you even before you enter (look out for the eye-popping mural outside). Inside, the design is industrial with polished concrete and exposed beams while also feeling intimate with wooden bookcases featuring weathered cookbooks and set to a soundtrack of old-school hip hop and funk.
What was the crowd like? The crowd here is as fashionable as its Wynwood neighborhood, so expect to see plenty of regulars and art lovers tucking into fried chicken. It's best to make a reservation if you want to snag a table, though there's usually space to squeeze in at the bar, or along one of the restaurant's communal tables.
What should we be drinking?
KYU has a well-curated selection of wine, beer, and sake, but the cocktails are hard to resist. Like the food menu, the drinks incorporate bits of the traditional with bold, Asian-inspired flavors; look no further than a sip of a spicy shiso sour.
Main event: the food. Give us the lowdown.
While you’re most likely to hear KYU described as a contemporary Asian restaurant, that feels too simplistic. Yes, the culinary foundation is Asian, but the wood-fired grill opens the restaurant’s world up a bit more. Some of the most popular dishes are the shichimi-rubbed wagyu brisket, the roasted cauliflower with shishito herb vinaigrette and goat cheese, and Mom's Coconut Cake. Don’t sleep on the duck breast “burnt ends” and Thai coconut cream spinach, which show off the menu's southern influences.
How did the front-of-house folks treat you?
For some diners, the flavors and items included on KYU’s menu can be a totally new experience. Fortunately, the restaurant’s servers are total pros who can walk you through everything you need to know and help you construct the ideal meal.
What’s the real-real on why we’re coming here?
Though we’re all for KYU as a date spot thanks to the intimate space, it’s even better with a group—for all the plate-sharing reasons you might imagine.
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