Chef Dani García is not afraid of creating headlines nor dreaming big. A protégé of Spanish Michelin culinary royalty, Martin Berasategui, Garcia first built his trailblazing reputation with an avant-garde restaurant in his hometown Marbella. Now he is conquering the US with his technically daring, wide-angled approach to Spanish and Mediterranean cuisine. His philosophy is “local thinking and global cooking that has no barriers.”
At least two openings are planned for 2025, in LA and Miami, and García is clearly thrilled. Closest to his heart is Casa Dani (a location of which already exists in NYC), whose name is derived from Southern Spain’s tradition of naming small family restaurants as if they were the chef’s home. The menu focuses on traditional Andalusian dishes, especially seafood, given a fresh edginess. Think truffle and onion tortilla, cod bunuelos, and fried artichokes in an Iberico ham emulsion. Fresh Andalusian tuna belly cooked in a salt crust, glistening over crisp pan con tomate is likely to be a huge draw. Casa Dani will open in LA’s Westfield Century City this Spring (that is the aftermath of the dreadful fires allowing). It is a flagship location, a high end culinary hub facing Santa Monica Boulevard. Its design will evoke an Andalusian dining room arranged around a garden courtyard.
Come fall, Leńa Miami is scheduled to debut on Miami Beach, as a temple for grill lovers revolving around intense flavors and the tradition of cooking over embers, charcoal, flames, and smoke with meat the star of the show. It will showcase Iberian specialties from sobrasada (paprika spiced, spreadable pork sausage from the Balearic Islands) to charcoal-grilled top loin of Iberian pork marinated in koji. The dramatic decor using stone and wood as primary materials will evoke a sense of the primal.