When he decided to take over the former space of Paya on Miami Beach, restaurateur Mohamed Alkassar knew he was going to make a big change.

“If you’re going to take a risk, you want to do something that 100 percent feels like you and matches what you value and what you love to eat and how you like to dine,” he says. “I think your best work comes out when you’re putting out a product that represents who you are.”

Alkassar has taken a big leap in the Sunset Harbour neighborhood, transforming the former island-forward restaurant into a completely different place with Cho Funky Asian Bistro. Everything is new, from the menu to the music to the look and feel of the space.

Alkassar, who managed Paya along with chef Niven Patel, his partner in Feal Hospitality, managed a startling change in a short time. Feal closed Paya on March 2, and Cho opens April 9, a quick turnaround for a complete makeover.

“We had a good month and a half of prep pre-flip,” he says, “but still! I can’t believe what we accomplished.”

‘I just wanted it to be everything I love’

Cho arrives with the motto “Eat Vibe Drink,” giving off the atmosphere of a cozy but cool Asian restaurant tucked away on a dark alley in a big city, maybe Tokyo, maybe Bangkok. The restaurant doesn’t represent a single Asian cuisine but touches many cultures, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Thai, Vietnamese and Indonesian among them.

The menu, the Syrian-born Alkassar says, is quite simply based on what he loves to eat.

“Usually when you stick to one cuisine, you’re from that country bringing what you know,” he explains. “At Cho, it’s my personality on display. I just wanted it to be everything I love. For example, I love to eat cabbage salad with wasabi green apple vinaigrette. It’s not a traditional dish at all, but the flavors are Asian. I wanted to give people a chance to eat all their favorites.”

You’ll also find scallop crudo with red curry oil and miso beef tartare, Khao Soi lam neck, Korean fried chicken and bone-in short rib with lemongrass soy glaze. There are wok dishes like pad Thai and pad see ew, duck fried rice and shrimp nasi goreng, an Indonesian fried rice dish that’s one of Alkassar’s favorites.

Diners can also snack on shareable plates like dumplings and bao buns. And if all you want is to order a couple of cocktails and dumplings, that’s just fine.

Cocktails are a big part of the Cho experience, too, with drinks like the Golden Triangle (gin, Pisco, Thai basil, yuzu and prosecco); Ume Blossom (rum, sake, plum and ube); or the Silk Thai Manhattan (with Thai tea, banana and cardamom bitters). There will also be frozen cocktails and shareable drinks like Spill the Tea, a punch with vodka, nigori sake, lychee, jasmine and citrus.

A new experience

Cho marks the first time Alkassar has opened a Miami restaurant on his own. As part of Feal, he and Patel will continue to work together on Ghee Indian Kitchen, which recently opened its third restaurant in Atlanta and is looking for a fourth location there. But opening Cho has been a new experience.

There are pros and cons to going it alone, he acknowledges. When your partner is a chef, the menu takes on that chef’s qualities, so building the Cho menu by himself was new. But there are also benefits, especially if time is short.

“What’s easier about it is you can not waver on your vision and make quicker calls,” he explains. “You don’t have someone to check in with, so you can move faster. The hard part is Niven and I have worked together for seven or eight years, and there are things I’m used to him doing and not even thinking about. Then I realize, ‘Oh, no, he’s not here, I have to be the one to do this!’ ”

Alkassar calls Cho a “high-energy” restaurant, but don’t expect DJ sets (although he has spent a lot of time creating the playlist, he says). To him, “high energy” means a potent blend of warmth and hospitality, with an invested staff and a vibrant, interesting space that offers eye-catching surprises without coming off as tacky or trying too hard.

Co-designed by Cuban American artist Mokibaby, Cho has many such devices designed to catch your eye. The restaurant is lit with neon and filled with eye-catching vintage cultural artifacts, many of which are highlighted on a light-box art wall to grab your attention.

A window on 17th Street now allows passersby to peer into the busy restaurant, inviting the question: What’s going on in there? A camera captures guests entering the restaurant and projects them onto a TV, a more imaginative selfie moment than the usual wall of flowers. There will even be a photo booth because who doesn’t love a photo booth?

A reason to come to Miami Beach

Always, though, the food comes first.

“I don’t want to become just an entertainment spot,” he explains, adding that he does intend to continue the block parties that Paya became known for, possibly next season or next year.

What Alkassar, who lives on South Beach, does hope to do is lure not only Miami Beach residents and tourists but locals who have in recent times proved reluctant to cross the bridges from the mainland.

“ “You have to give people a reason to cross the bridge these days, a little bit more than just great food and great cocktails,” he said. “You need to offer a little bit of an experience, too.”

Cho Funky Asian Bistro

Where: 1209 17th St., Miami Beach

Opening: April 9

Hours: 6-10:30 p.m. Sunday-Thursday; 6 p.m.-midnight Friday-Saturday

Reservations: OpenTable

More information: www.choasianbistro.com or 305-281-9328

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