For all of its great shopping, Lincoln Road still has a shortage of high-end restaurants. Spots like Shake Shack and Books & Books offer quick places to grab a bite, but besides Juvia and Meat Market, where does one go for something more upscale on the pedestrian strip? Enter new Nikkei restaurant Chotto Matte, an upscale Peruvian-Japanese concept that comes to Miami by way of London.
Opening its doors April 16, Chotto Matte (1664 Lenox Ave, Miami Beach), whose Japanese moniker loosely translates to “wait a minute,” is a massive, 219-seat restaurant adjacent to 1111 Lincoln Road. Though unlike its starkly modern neighbor, the Andy Martin Architects-designed space pulls in natural elements more in line with the Japanese sensibility. There are hanging gardens, Shou Sugi Ban wood ceilings (basically burned cedar that’s fire retardant) and an Irimoya-zukuri-style retractable roof (the pointy, sloped roof associated with Japanese architecture) that opens year-round—weather permitting, because nothing ruins a perfectly good spread of sushi and Robata-grilled meat quite like sweltering heat, the roof
Tying in design with the Nikkei menu (think ceviche, grilled lamb and gyozas) is a 19-ton lava stone by the bar, a commanding structure and the focal point of the entire restaurant. “Volcanic rock is symbolic of Japanese cooking as it’s able to retain high temperatures,” explains Chotto Matte’s owner and founder Kurt Zdesar. And in case there was ever any confusion as which city you’re actually in, there’s a huge mural by local graffiti artist Ahol Sniffs Glue to clear up any doubts.
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