Sushi in Miami

You might think a restaurant that keeps kosher is hamstringing itself, limiting what it can do as far as ingredients, techniques, and flavors. You understand how wrong you are shortly after starting a meal at Surfside's stark-white 26 Sushi & Tapas. The place is run by the Chang family, and patriarch Fernando has long been trusted by Miami's religious Jewish community as the city's best kosher sushi chef. Yet it's his children — Valerie and Fernando — continuing his legacy. The siblings butcher more than a thousand fish a week while deploying sweet-and-sour pickled daikon and carrots to spin and deepen the flavors of a classic corvina ceviche. The biting, round notes meld beautifully with piquant leche de tigre, while the nutty crunch of crushed peanuts with a dash of sesame oil fills out each bite.

5 articles

2B Asian Bistro

1444 SW 8th St. Little Havana

786-235-7600

Sushi, Thai, Best Of, Menu

From the same energy and passion that Bond Trisransri brought Calle Ocho Mr. Yum comes 2B Asian Bistro. In the same Little Havana neighborhood, filled with art galleries, Cuban cuisine, cigar shops, and markets, 2B Asian Bistro stands out. A former architect, Trisransri added touches to the modest space that includes bamboo floors, a contemporary minimalist ambiance, and house music that brings the vibe of South Beach to Little Havana. The various abstract paintings were provided by Cuba Ocho, 2B Asian Bistro's neighbor across the street and complete the feel of the restaurant. The food shows a balance of flavors and textures that enhance the play on typical Thai cuisine. The wahoo carpaccio is thinly sliced fish with garlic ponzu and dry pepper ($13.95). "The bag of gold," an appetizer, features delicately fried parcels stuffed with shrimp, shiitake mushrooms, and water chestnuts. These crisp purses of perfection are full of flavor and bound to please ($9.95). The Thai beef salad is Thai-style sliced grilled beef with spices, tomato, onion, and cucumber. The salad is fresh, with green leaves of Romaine, sprigs of cilantro, and traces of mint and scallions rounding out the ingredients ($8.95). The "spice crispy duck" is an entrée served with steamed buns that the guest stuffs with slices of duck, scallions, jalapeño, cilantro, and cinnamon plum sauce. The sweet taste of the plum sauce, which has the consistency of honey, provides a distinct contrast ($24.95). And be sure to save room for the light and fluffy Thai donuts ($4.95) and banana tempura with ice cream ($6.95).

3 articles

Akashi Japanese Restaurant

5830 S. Dixie Highway, South Miami Coral Gables/S. Miami

305-665-6261

Japanese, Sushi, Recommended, Best Of, Menu

If you live in or frequent South Miami, you've seen Akashi. It's that small Japanese joint nestled a block from the Shops at Sunset Place and adorned with two large graphics of a koi and a baby-like geisha. According to the restaurant's website, other than being a city in Japan renowned for its seafood, akashi means "bright stone." And though this windowless eatery is a stone's throw from bustling South Dixie Highway, the ambiance isn't very bright. It's like walking into a dim, narrow, brownish trailer lit by a glaring yet attractive fish tank behind a sushi bar. Service isn't very friendly or quick, but the food, namely Akashi's assortment of "exotic sushi rolls," is tasty, especially if you're a novice to Japanese cuisine or a fan of fried delights such as the dragon roll. Most "exotic rolls" include shrimp or crab; are packed with avocado, masago, and/or cream cheese; and come drizzled with eel sauce or spicy mayo. It's a great take-out spot for locals but not so great if one of your expectations includes a little TP while using the restroom.

3 articles

Asia Bay

1007 Kane Concourse, Bay Harbor Islands Surfside/Bal Harbour

305-861-2222

Japanese, Sushi, Thai, Recommended, Best Of, Menu

Bay Harbor Islands' Asia Bay Bistro & Sushi Bar boasts nouvelle Asian cuisine, but apart from the sushi, it's really a traditional Japanese restaurant with some token Thai tossed in for good measure. The sushi bar visually dominates the room, and its fare occupies quite a bit of the menu — to the tune of more than 60 sushi/sashimi items in almost every conceivable combination. The sushi and sashimi selections — in fact, all the Japanese dishes — exude a graceful elegance, and the fish is as pristine as its presentation. Many of the entrées are served with soup or salad — including steak teriyaki, chicken tempura, shrimp pad thai, big bowls of soba or udon noodle soup, and all sorts of sushi combos.

2 articles

Azabu

161 Ocean Dr., Miami Beach South Beach

786-276-0520

Japanese, Sushi, Recommended, Best Of, Slideshow

Long before every other Miami restaurant was a New York transplant, Tribeca-based Azabu opened an outpost at the Stanton Hotel in Miami Beach. The sleek restaurant, with origins in the Azabu District of Tokyo, comprises three areas: a lounge offering more than 40 different whiskeys, the main dining room, and a hidden room called "the Den." The main room offers sushi and izakaya items from Azabu's robata grill, while the Den serves an incomparable omakase experience for fewer than a dozen diners per seating. The Den's pristine seafood, flown in from Japan, earned it a Michelin star.

20 articles

B-Side

143 NW 23rd St. Midtown/Wynwood/Design District

786-780-2750

Sushi

If you crave impeccable sushi in all its permutations and without the pomp and price of most local dens, B-Side is for you. The sushi offshoot of Miami's beloved modern Japanese-Peruvian restaurant, Itamae, the counter-style setting presents a short and sweet menu of snack-sized dishes, maki, and bowls-style meals that wow with simple yet flavorful presentations. The short list of rolls rotates frequently, and you'll often find them paired with housemade sauces that range from a leche de tigre cream sauce to yuzu-shoyu to a spicy ponzu. And there's more going on here than sushi — try snacks like an octopus tiradito, barely marinated slivers of tender mollusk doused in leche de tigre and artfully plated with botija olive sauce, fried capers, and red onion.

15 articles

Bangkok Bangkok

12584 N. Kendall Dr. West Kendall

305-595-5839

Thai, Sushi, Recommended, Best Of

One reviewer called this place "so nice they named it twice." Bangkok Bangkok is synonymous with good Thai food. It's an institution in both Kendall and Coral Gables. Servers with charmingly coy smiles are efficient but never shy away from friendly chitchat, and they carve a whole fresh fried and chili-sauce-covered red snapper (a signature dish called Little Big Man) with such skill you're left wondering if they moonlight as Shaolin monks. The place might seem a bit hokey, but after one bite of any dish, you'll approve. Try the duck curry, roasted in a spicy golden sauce complemented by green peppers and pineapple. For guests who aren't in the mood for Thai, Bangkok Bangkok also offers a sushi bar.

1 article

Benihana Japanese Steakhouse

1665 NE 79th St. Causeway Miami Shores/Biscayne Park

305-866-2768

Japanese, Sushi, Best Of, Menu

Benihana is the perfect place for diners who want a strip of steak cooked exactly as desired. Because everything is prepared on an open grill at the center of each table by a hibachi chef, patrons can make specific requests in real time. Still, it's not really about the standard Japanese cuisine so much as the entertainment. Food is cooked teppanyaki-style, which is a fancy term for flying shrimp, onion volcanoes, and knives spinning through the air before groups of delighted families and friends. Each chef varies in his or her ability to captivate, but it's safe to say there's a merry vibe. With a private dining room on the top floor, this two-story location feels ready-made for sake-bomb-infused parties, though smaller groups can also partake in the entertainment at shared tables with other diners. Each entrée comes with a soup or salad, an appetizer, vegetables, steamed rice, and green tea. Popular options include the land 'n' sea ($32.10), filet mignon with lemon butter scallops; and the Benihana excellence ($26.35), teriyaki beef julienned with scallions and shrimp. There is also a sushi menu, along with a special area (with a shorter wait time) for people who want the food without the antics.

5 articles

Blade

4441 Collins Ave., Miami Beach Mid/North Beach

305-538-2000

Asian, Japanese, Sushi

5 articles

Blue Ribbon Sushi Bar & Grill

336 21st St., Miami Beach South Beach

305-800-0404

Sushi, Japanese, Critics' Pick, Slideshow

Located in South Beach, Blue Ribbon Sushi Bar & Grill serves a menu packed with traditional vegetable rolls that can be difficult to find amid Miami Beach's cacophony of sushi spots. One roll is loaded with threads of loamy enoki mushrooms. Another wraps rice and seaweed paper around crunchy matchsticks of burdock root that taste like a hybrid of jícama and sweet potato. The best contain the slightly slimy yet nutty fermented soybean called natto. Meanwhile, each day, a printed menu insert lists the special and seasonal varieties of fish on hand. Only a few other places in the city offer many of the species you'll find at Blue Ribbon. There's a proclivity for silver-skinned fish, which in America are often overlooked because of their sometimes fishy flavor profiles. More important is this place's vast, evolving nigiri and sashimi offerings, which could be a gateway for legions of diners to move beyond tuna, salmon, and shrimp.

7 articles

Bond Street Lounge

150 20th St., Miami Beach South Beach

305-398-1806

Japanese, Sushi

The menu at this sleek, nightclub-like sushi spot is considerably more limited than that at Manhattan's original Bond Street, but many aficionados consider chef Hiroshi Nakahara's artfully plated sushi, sashimi, and hot or cold small plates the most sophisticated and solidly creative Japanese restaurant fare in town. Bond Street's specialties rely on imaginative yet admirably restrained fusion combinations. A roll of sesame-crusted shrimp, for instance, is garnished with drizzles of zingy orange curry-Dijon mustard sauce and a contrasting dark, rich balsamic reduction -- accompaniments that make the usual soy-wasabi soak totally unnecessary. Similarly stand-alone and unique are dishes such as thin-sliced usuzukuri sashimi garnished with bracing shiso-leaf sorbet or seaweed salad with an exotic sesame-orange dressing. Service can be spotty, verging on snotty, and prices are high, but a selection from the interesting and relatively reasonably priced sake list will mellow out the minuses.

6 articles

Bonsai

14240 SW Eighth St. West Dade

305-220-7755

Thai, Sushi, Recommended, Best Of, Menu

The "lobster bomb" (lobster tail tempura, crab salad, avocado, lettuce, red tobigo, spicy mayo, and eel sauce with a side of sautéed lobster, scallops, and sautéed mushrooms) is simply to die for at this West Dade sushi spot. There are also specialty rolls such as the "Bonsai G," with deep-fried salmon, crab, shrimp, and masago. You won't find rolls stuffed with Rice Krispies or gummy bears — Bonsai's chefs tend to stick to traditional ingredients — but you will discover fresh selections with generous protein-to-rice ratios at a cost that won't break the bank — unless your date becomes a lobster-bomb buff.

1 article

China Grill

1881 SE 17th St. Causeway Fort Lauderdale

954-759-9950

Asian, Asian Fusion, Contemporary, Sushi

Jeffrey Chodorow's famed China Grill waited 20 years to land in Fort Lauderdale, but now that it has, this glitzy pan-Asian fusion eatery is attracting the young and beautiful in droves. From the infused saketinis and Poire cocktails to the giant platters of spareribs, moo shu duck, overwrought sushi rolls, mountains of toro and Kobe, and bananas in a tuile "box," the food at China Grill is excellent even if the flavors, like a decorating scheme that relies on special effects such as a pair of glow-in-the-dark bars, can sometimes seem a little too outrageous.

CombinAsian

2324 N. Miami Ave. Midtown/Wynwood/Design District

305-705-5585

Vegan, Asian, Sushi

1 article

Crudos Fusion Art

250 NW 24th St. Midtown/Wynwood/Design District

786-238-7103

Asian Fusion, Sushi

The Den

161 Ocean Dr., Miami Beach South Beach

786-276-0520

Sushi, Japanese

Doraku Brickell

900 S. Miami Ave., Ste 133 Brickell

305-347-3700

Japanese, Sushi, Menu

5 articles

Fuji Hana

2775 NE 187th St. Aventura/North Miami Beach

305-932-8080

Sushi, Japanese, Recommended, Menu

Mainly a sushi bar, this Japanese restaurant also serves tasty Thai dishes. On the Japanese side of things, raw fish is fresh and beautifully cut. For cooked-food fiends, the salmon tempura roll is deep-fried, as is plump shrimp tempura.

Gabose Korean BBQ

4491 N. University Dr. Lauderhill

954-572-4800

Japanese, Korean, Sushi, Recommended, Menu

Navigating Gabose's expansive, meandering menu, with its myriad Korean titles, food photos, and strange-sounding offerings, is only slightly less challenging than pronouncing the place's name. Rather than be intimidated, just read the descriptions, point to the numbers, and await your authentic, delectable, spunky, sparkling-fresh, and well-priced Korean cuisine. An accessible entry point is tangsuyuk — a mound of battered, crunchily fried pork balls in a sweet/tart apple-based sauce. Dolsot bibimbap will surely appeal to those who like eating the crunchy, caramelized rice that sticks to the bottom of the pot when the cook leaves it on the stove too long. When making bibimbap, that crust is created purposefully by cooking the rice, along with vegetables, chopped beef, and egg, in a scorching-hot stone pot. Read our full review of Gabose.

6 articles

GoBistro

315 NE 25th St. Midtown/Wynwood/Design District

786-332-3597

Asian Fusion, Sushi, Ramen

1 article

Hannya

1063 Brickell Plaza Brickell

305-808-5833

Japanese, Sushi

Hiden

313 NW 25th St. Midtown/Wynwood/Design District

Japanese, Sushi, Recommended, Best Of, Slideshow

Inside the Taco Stand in Wynwood, a small silver keypad hangs next to a bare copper wall. Enter a secret code, and the wall becomes a sliding door. It opens slowly and carefully, revealing a covert room fit for no more than ten people. This is Hiden, a mysterious omakase restaurant where $150 will get you 15 courses of fish flown in from Japan. There are no menus. Your meal will be in the hands of Brazilian-Japanese executive chef Tadashi Shiraishi, who will decide what to serve only hours before your arrival. Traditionally, he offers two cold appetizers, a soup, seven to eight sushi courses, a hot item, and dessert. The two-hour experience is limited to eight diners and requires reservations.

8 articles

Hiro Japanese Restaurant and Sushi & Yakitori Bar

3007 NE 163rd St., North Miami Beach North Miami

305-948-3687

Japanese, Sushi, Recommended, Menu

Soothing jazz soundtracks and late-night hours make Hiro appealing for cocktail-hour snacks and after-movie munchies, but grilled yakitori and fresh sushi rolls are appropriate for mealtimes too. Don't pass up the spider roll (made with soft-shell crab) or the salmon, scallion.

Hiro's Sushi Express South Beach

1518 Washington Ave., Miami Beach South Beach

305-531-6068

Japanese, Sushi, Recommended, Best Of, Menu

For the coolest, quickest sushi treat on South Beach, hit up Hiro's Sushi Express. It has all the things a sushi restaurant needs, and it's a perfect stop when you're hungry after a night at the club. And it's very affordable. Try the sashimi salad appetizer with tuna, salmon, and avocado. If you want to keep it simple, there's tuna and salmon tataki. For a roll, try the "three peat," which includes six pieces of California roll, eight of salmon roll, and five of shrimp tempura. Like eel? Top your California roll with it.

1 article

Hoshi & Sushi

5401 Collins Ave., Miami Beach Mid/North Beach

305-763-8946

Sushi, Japanese, Korean, Asian, Asian Fusion

Chef Dongwook Seo thinks eating fresh seafood is one of life's richest pleasures. His first restaurant, Hoshi & Sushi, serves sushi that's a mix of simplicity and invention. Located on the ground floor of a condo building on Miami Beach's Millionaires Row, Hoshi & Sushi is a two-room, 60-seat eatery filled with hanging lanterns, wooden seating, and Japanese-themed wallpaper. Artistic Asian mirrors and contemporary pop music lend an unpretentious, friendly vibe. Standout signature rolls are the Geisha, a fusion of salmon and avocado drizzled with truffle sauce; and the Gangnam-Style, made with tempura shrimp, eel, tuna tataki, and avocado. Tempura lobster and avocado are crowned with tuna and salmon in the hearty ten-piece Godfather roll, and sushi combos range from 16 pieces to a boat for two. Pair your meal with a bottle of sake, such as the Hana Fuga Peach or Yuki Lychees. Hoshi & Sushi also delivers directly to the sands of Mid-Beach, so you can eat while you sunbathe. Read more about Hoshi & Sushi.

2 articles

Ikigai Sushi Bar

615 Brickell Key Dr. Brickell

305-456-4582

Sushi, Japanese

1 article

Inari Sushi Fusion

240 NE Fourth St. Downtown/Overtown

786-422-5800

Japanese, Sushi

1 article

Itamae

140 NE 39th St. Midtown/Wynwood/Design District

786-542-8977

Japanese, Sushi

TEMPORARILY CLOSED Valerie and Nando Chang, along with their father Fernando, are behind this tiny, no-frills restaurant in the heart of the tony Design District. Itamae marries the precision of Japanese culinary techniques with the bold flavors of Peru, making the dishes bright, flavorful, and supremely interesting. The simple menu offers nigiri, ceviche, a local grilled catch, and tiraditos — all prepared super fresh. The care the Changs put into their 40-seat restaurant has not gone unnoticed: Itamae was a James Beard Award semifinalist and earned a Michelin Bib Gourmand rating in 2022.

5 articles

Japanese Market Sushi Deli

1412 79th St. Causeway, Miami Beach Mid/North Beach

305-861-0143

Japanese, Market, Sushi, Retail

This Japanese food and sushi spot serves some of the freshest and best sushi in Miami-Dade County. Patrons flock to watch Japanese sushi masters carve, slice, and roll. Miso soup, edamame, teriyaki bowls, and bento boxes are also offered â?? and that's just in the dining area (it's way too small to call a restaurant). While you sit at the tiny counter or one of three small tables, you can see a plethora of Asian goods lining the market's aisles. There's everything from Pocky sticks (chocolate-covered biscuits) to dried seaweed for purchase.

13 articles

Kao Sushi & Grill

127 Miracle Mile Coral Gables/S. Miami

954-699-4234

Sushi, Japanese

Kaori by Walter Martino

1250 S. Miami Ave. Brickell

786-805-6006

Sushi, Asian Fusion, New American, Menu

2 articles

Sushi in Miami

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