Ni Burmese Quietly Closes in Bay View
Mother-daughter led restaurant offered unique connection to Myanmar culture and food.
Ni Ni (left) and NyoNyo Lin, co-owners of Ni Burmese. Photo by Sophie Bolich.
Ni Burmese appears to have quietly closed its Bay View restaurant after almost two years in business.
The restaurant, 2140 S. Kinnickinnic Ave., was dark Tuesday during its posted business hours, though no sign or other notice announced a closure. Its phone number has been disconnected, and a call to co-owner NyoNyo Lin went unanswered.
Lin opened Ni Burmese with her mother, Ni Ni, in January 2025. Before welcoming the public, the family held a traditional monk’s blessing intended to bring prosperity and good fortune to the new business.
The restaurant specialized in recipes passed down through the family, including dishes previously served at restaurants operated by Lin’s relatives in Myanmar, formerly known as Burma. Ni Ni, who began cooking alongside her mother as a teenager, led the kitchen.
Its menu included mohinga, Myanmar’s national dish, made with fish soup, rice noodles, boiled eggs, crispy fritters and cilantro. Other offerings included coconut chicken soup, curries, fermented tea leaf salad, samosas, Burmese tempura and fried pork rolls.
In a March profile, Lin described the restaurant as Milwaukee’s only fully Burmese establishment and said the mother-daughter team was committed to introducing the cuisine to a broader audience.
“It’s been up and down, because it’s new to Milwaukee,” she said at the time.
The business had earned favorable reviews. Urban Milwaukee dining critic Cari Taylor-Carlson praised the restaurant in December, calling its unusual flavors “delightful” and highlighting its contemporary atmosphere, traditional cuisine and excellent service.
Ni Burmese also received a $10,000 Milwaukee County Building Bridges grant in 2025. The county said the business planned to use the money for maintenance and updates to its restaurant and kitchen.
The restaurant occupied a first-floor commercial space at KinetiK, an apartment building overlooking Zillman Park. Neighboring businesses include Mochinut, Rollup MKE, Eyes on the Lake, 17th Ward Cocktail Lounge, JB Nails & Spa and Paloma Taco and Tequila (Bay View).
No signage has been posted at the business announcing a change, and the restaurant’s interior shows no sign of a closure, but customers have posted online about encountering a shuttered restaurant for at least a week.
Ni Burmese’s Facebook and Instagram accounts have been dormant since May. A judgment for defaulting on an auto loan was also entered that month against Lin.
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