Renowned Ecuadorian chef to expand her Miami restaurant

After appearing on Apple TV’s Knife Edge, renowned Ecuadorian chef Alejandra Espinoza will expand her Michelin Miami restaurant, Cotoa.

Provided by Cotoa

If somebody dances while eating your food, you’re probably doing something right.

At least, that’s how chef Alejandra Espinoza, owner of North Miami Michelin Bib Gourmand restaurant Cotoa, views it. “People feel happy eating our food,” Espinoza tells New Times. “And for me, being able to deliver that level of happiness in such a hard world makes all of the work we do worth it.”

It’s a heart-based measurement, but it’s working for her.

The Ecuadorian native recently appeared on Apple TV’s “Knife Edge: Chasing Michelin Stars,” executive produced by Gordon Ramsay. Just weeks after its Sept. 25 premiere, she will expand her restaurant. Cotoa will move into a larger, 80-seat space at 1111 NE 125th St., Ste. 200, in North Miami on Oct. 22.

It’s safe to say 2026 has been a tremendous year for the chef. And she’s only getting started.

Chef Alejandra Espinoza combines traditional Ecuadorian ingredients and flavors with a modern approach.

Ecuadorian flavors with modern delivery

Cotoa, which centers Ecuadorian cuisine through a modern lens, has given Espinoza a platform to introduce diners to the food of her home country while still creating an emotional connection for those who grew up with it.

“If you are Ecuadorian, I still want to be able to get tears out of you. I want you to feel like, oh my gosh, this reminds me of that Sunday with my grandma, or this reminds me of a lunch with my mom,” Espinoza tells New Times. “So there’s a lot of emotional dishes that have a specific flavor that I look into putting into my preparations.”

Those flavors come through in dishes such as cassava muchines, tortellini con seco de pollo and cangrejada con patacón, which combine traditional Ecuadorian ingredients and flavors with Espinoza’s modern approach.

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From a tiny kitchen to the big stage

While Cotoa has quickly made a name for itself, earning a spot in the Michelin Guide before receiving a Bib Gourmand and being recognized among New Times’ Best New Restaurants of 2025, the small space has also presented some limitations, including a kitchen so small that the team could only plate four meals at once and a dining room that couldn’t accommodate parties larger than six.

For somebody who stresses over creating an experience rather than simply writing a recipe, Espinoza believes the larger space will give her more room to bring those ideas to life.

“It’s a process to create a memory,” she explains. “A dish, an ingredient and a moment can make clients feel something.”

Her larger space will accommodate more returning guests

She wants regulars, not just recognition

Espinoza and her restaurant have spent the past year surrounded by TV cameras, Michelin inspectors, and plenty of attention, but she’s less interested in becoming a place people try once than one where families keep coming back to, something the larger space should make easier.

“What we really worked on is, like, getting those clients not only hooked because of the recognition, but because of the food that they were eating and the experience they got,” Espinoza says. “Because for me, if you only come once, it’s like, ‘For what?’ I need them to come at least once a month to fully experience it. So we really fight for that consistency. I want you to become obsessed with our empanadas, with our pande yuca. That when you get home, you’re like, ‘Oh my God, I really want that.’”

She sees the newfound attention as an opportunity to bring more recognition to Ecuadorian cuisine.

Putting Ecuadorian food on the global stage

Cotoa’s new location will include a 60-seat main dining room, an eight-seat private dining room called TOA, and a 10-seat bar, while veteran Miami bartender James MacInnes develops a new cocktail menu to expand the restaurant’s beverage program.

Curated artwork from Ecuador will complement Espinoza’s cooking, creating a distinctly Ecuadorian experience that takes guests on a journey through the country’s flavors, creativity and culture.

As Cotoa grows alongside her profile, she also sees the attention as an opportunity to bring more recognition to Ecuadorian cuisine.

“I feel a great responsibility because Ecuador does need a shot to sit at that global table with other countries and their gastronomy,” Espinoza adds. “We don’t take that for granted, and we work really hard to represent what Ecuador has to offer in the best way.”

Cotoa. 12475 NE Sixth Ct., North Miami; 786-328-1460; cotoa.rest. Opening at 1111 NE 125th St., Ste. 200, North Miami on Oct. 22.