A new modern Filipino restaurant in Little River is drawing crowds just weeks after its opening. Anako debuted October 22 at 8222 NE Second Ave., with partner Nidal Barake. Chefs Leicel Ros and Nancy Dominguez are the couple behind Sili, the stall at Wynwood’s 1-800-Lucky food hall.
Diners are ordering pork-and-shrimp lumpia, kinilaw crudo and oxtail kare-kare. The lumpia is made with Japanese techniques and served with chili lime. The kare-kare uses slow-braised oxtail, peanut curry, Romano beans, okra and bagoong, and Ros based it on her mother’s recipe.
Ros and Dominguez started with pop-ups in Miami during the pandemic, cooking Southeast Asian food they had missed from Los Angeles. Ros said they always wanted a sit-down restaurant. “We’re aiming to be more of a neighborhood spot, not too fine dining and not too casual, but like right in the middle,” she said.
Dominguez runs the kitchen, and Ros oversees front-of-house service. The menu also includes chicken inasal, sisig, whole grilled dorade and banana fritters for dessert. The name comes from the Tagalog phrase “anak ko,” meaning “my child.”
The team plans to add about ten dishes, a four-seat chef’s table with a set multicourse menu and optional wine pairing, and a back room later. No dates have been announced for those changes.
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