COTOA Restaurant

"A casual Ecuadorian counter offering Latin American cuisine, known for its standout ceviche and tropical flair. Chef Alejandra Espinoza delivers dishes like chicken stew with sweet plantain dough and local fish wrapped in banana leaf." - The MICHELIN Guide

"Miami is no stranger to ceviche, but the one at this casual Ecuadorian counter inside a cheery food hall in downtown stands out among them. Pristine mahi mahi in a smooth blend of coconut, ginger, and peanut and garnished with thin strips of watermelon radish is a winning combination with plantain chips. Across a nicely curated menu, Chef Alejandra Espinoza has other ideas that show equal levels of tropical flair. Her riff on traditional chicken stew using sweet plantain dough is as satisfying as her local fish wrapped in banana leaf. A scoop of ice cream or a mug of frozen cacao juice make for a refreshing send-off. One bit of housekeeping: Diners are seated and can order from any of the restaurants in the court from their server." - Michelin Inspector

"You may be new to Ecuadorian food, since Cotoa makes up about 25% of all the Ecuadorian restaurants in Miami. But even if you’re familiar with the cuisine, Cotoa’s food is truly unique. This place extracts oil from palo santo to make ice cream, injects tortellini with sweet plantain, and makes citrusy crudo with a passion fruit sauce you’ll want to shamelessly lick off their beautiful ceramic plates. Cotoa is open for lunch but dinner is more exciting. Order the entire menu (very doable for four people) and have a lovely time learning about the different manipulations of cacao fruit, while tasting flavors you can’t taste anywhere else in this city. " - ryan pfeffer, mariana trabanino

"Cotoa is an Ecuadorian restaurant that’s opened inside a sort of mini food hall (they’re officially calling it a “chef’s collective”) in Downtown Miami called B100M. For dinner, they have a four-course tasting menu with things like watermelon ceviche, fish cooked in banana leaves, and crudo with passionfruit and goldenberries. " - mariana trabanino, virginia otazo

"Cotoa is an impressive restaurant trapped inside a bizarre food hall. That’s the only downside to this exciting Ecuadorian spot, which is making truly unique food (and not just because they’re only one of four Ecuadorian restaurants in the whole county). This place turns palo santo into ice cream, fills tortellini with sweet plantain, and makes citrusy crudo with a passion fruit sauce you’ll want to shower, swim, and snorkel in. But all of this passion fruit excitement would be so much better if Cotoa wasn't shackled to such a disorienting concept. photo credit: B100m photo credit: B100M photo credit: B100m Cotoa is part of a Downtown mini food hall branded as a “chef’s collective.” It’s called B100M  (pronounced bloom)—which is also the name of one of the restaurants inside—and it’s made up of three restaurants and a bar. They have counter service where you could theoretically walk up and order, but if you're here for Cotoa, you’re dissuaded from doing that because it confuses the servers (who seem more related to B100M than Cotoa). Each course comes with a fresh set of silverware wrapped in a paper towel. This is a nice touch until you reach course number four and now have a wad of napkins on your lap. The concept is confusing, the space is confusing, the servers are confused, but at least you're well-prepared for a tsunami spill on your table. Despite the chaotic concept Cotoa finds itself within, dinner here is still worth it. That’s how interesting this food is. You’ll witness plantain become the main character, fish and fruit honeymoon together, and meet a dessert section that will forever set an unrealistic standard for post-dinner sweets. It’s also the best Ecuadorian restaurant in Miami (we know, we’ve tried all four of them). Plan a visit to Cotoa not to make sense of this nonsensical food hall, but to have a lovely time learning about the different manipulations of cacao, while tasting flavors you can’t taste anywhere else in this city. Food Rundown photo credit: Cotoa Humita De La Abuelita This corn loaf is topped with a thick shaving of fresh parmesan and comes with a side of whipped palo santo butter. Someone should make a palo santo butter candle so our house can constantly smell this good. photo credit: Cotoa Wahoo Salsero We’d go back to Cotoa three more times just for this crudo. The star here is not the fish, but the bright yellow passion fruit sauce below it. Your server will recommend you douse each piece of wahoo with the sauce. Listen to them. photo credit: Cotoa Tortellinis De Maqueño Cotoa is out to prove that plantains are more than just a side dish. These pillowy pasta pockets are stuffed with sweet grilled plantain and would be the headliner of a pasta concert. photo credit: Cotoa Chivo De Muey Tender goat ragú and dollops of goat cheese are all mixed in with housemade al dente pasta. It’s so good, you may never look at standard bolognese with the same affection again. video credit: Mariana Trabanino Coqueta The Cotoa team are dessert wizards. This lemony tres leches comes soaked in macadamia milk, topped with a cloudy scoop of vanilla ice cream, and sprinkled with raspberry bits. We've had somewhere around 3,000 tres leches in our lives, but never one like this. video credit: Julia Malave Palo Santo Ice Cream Palo santo is a stick of wood that people (and yoga studios) burn to clear negative energy (plus, it smells delightful). This ice cream taught us two new things about Palo Santo. One, it’s edible. And two, it’s surprisingly flavorful. We can only hope that eating it also repels bad energy from within." - Mariana Trabanino