Lauded Portuguese Chef Henrique Sá Pessoa Is Opening Sereia in Coconut Grove

Chef Henrique Sá Pessoa, one of Portugal's most prolific chefs known for his work at his Michelin-starred restaurant Alma in Portugal, is opening Sereia in Coconut Grove.

The acclaimed chef spoke to New Times about his highly anticipated opening in Miami, as well as his introduction to cooking and the Magic City. Interestingly so, Sá Pessoa never intended to become a chef.

Born in Oieras, Portugal, a small municipality in western Lisbon, Sá Pessoa grew up with dreams of being a basketball player. However, upon coming to the United States in 1994 as an exchange student, he decided that, although he was a fabulous three-point shooter, it was time to set his sights on a different dream. "I fell in love with cooking in my teen years. Being a child of divorced parents, I began cooking meals for myself at age 14, so while I wanted to be a basketball player and an accountant, becoming a chef didn't feel too far off," says Sá Pessoa.

And, so, he did just that.

In 1997, he completed his studies at the Pennsylvania Institute of Culinary Arts in Pittsburgh, and though he couldn't stay in the United States due to his visa, he moved to London and then Sydney, where he trained in many prestigious kitchens. Yet, home kept calling, so he returned to Portugal. In 2009, after winning multiple awards in his native country, he opened Alma. It is at this restaurant where the world came to know Sá Pessoa, as he and Alma were famously featured in the late Anthony Bourdain's No Reservations hit television series.

It was also there that his restaurant received its first and second Michelin stars in 2016 and 2017, respectively.
Meanwhile, across the pond, the founders of what would become Sault Hospitality were busy putting Wynwood on the map.

In 2015, Alan Drummond and Sven Vogtland opened Coyo Taco in Wynwood while Jourdan Binder was running the marketing agency the Workshop Collective.

During the Lisbon opening of Coyo Taco in 2018, Sá Pessoa met Drummond and Vogtland and began visiting Miami frequently, falling in love with the coastal city so similar to his own (hills not included). "I instantly felt a connection to Miami, the people, the sights. I knew I had to do a project here," explains Sá Pessoa. The owners of Sault felt it, too. "I love Coconut Grove, and a few years back, I tried to buy Sandbar and got very far along in the negotiations. The guys and I knew we wanted to bring Henrique to Miami to create an amazing upscale bar menu," says Binder.

Although the original plan didn't work out, as fate would have it, another prominent space would soon become available in Coconut Grove.

In 2023, Sault announced the purchase of what formally housed Navé, Michael Beltran's former trattoria-style restaurant next to his Michelin-starred restaurant, Ariete. Less than a month after the sale was complete, Sá Pessoa flew to Miami again, and it was then that Sereia was born. "I knew this was our chance to bring Portugal to Miami in a way it had yet to be done. Something fresh and seafood-forward with both innovation and tradition at the heart of it," says Sá Pessoa.
The menu at Sereia, which aptly means "mermaid" in Portuguese, will feature an array of imported and local seafood catches, like carabinero, a large, deep-sea prawn species that hail off the coast of Algarve in southern Portugal, finished with seafood rice, as well as other options, like suckling pork confit with black pigs, which highlight the cuisine of the Iberian Peninsula.

Everything has a nod to the ocean, but it is subtle and unpretentious, which is what Sault and Henrique are known for.
"For the design, we focused on a very suggestive interpretation of water with green and blue hues," adds Binder.

The bar program follows suit with cocktails like the "Iberian Mist" and the "Blue Port and Tonic," which reference Portugal and the ocean not only by name but with the incorporation of Madeira and port wine, two spirits eponymous with the country.

"Portugal used to be an afterthought, often overshadowed by its more famous neighbors Spain and France. It is my hope, as it is with all my projects, that with Sereia, we show Miami that Portugal is worthy and here to stay," says Sá Pessoa.

With the opening of Sereia, Drummond, Vogtland, and Binder have partnered with Sá Pessoa to create Sault Hospitality, a venture where they will go on to open many projects together.

Sereia. 3540 Main Hwy., Coconut Grove; sereia.miami. Opens Friday, March 1. Wednesday through Sunday from 6 to 11 p.m.