The best omakase in Miami serves up art on a plate

The Wynwood restaurant draws from the eateries of Ginza, Tokyo’s posh entertainment district. It’s upmarket but not stuffy, and so is the omakase experience. Priced at $250, it includes four appetizers, 10 pieces of nigiri, one maki, a miso soup and a dessert. It’s quite a lot of food and a great way to sample the restaurant’s heavy hitters. Omakase is served at the counter while a-la-carte dining is available at the table.

While other omakase experiences these days bring in fusion flavors and thumping music, Shingo is a serious affair that feels like a visit to the church of sushi. Formerly the head chef of Hiden when it won a Michelin star, Chef Shingo Akikuni is behind the counter here, deftly slicing fish imported from Japan. Also imported? The entire 850-square-foot place was built in Kyoto, Japan, before being disassembled and shipped to Coral Gables. The 18 courses served at the 14-seat counter will never feel like the funnest omakase in town, but it will certainly feel true to Japanese traditions.

One of the first hidden omakase restaurants on the scene, Hiden is tucked behind Wynwood’s Taco Stand, past an unmarked door that guests need a passcode to enter. Punch in the numbers sent with your reservation confirmation and you’ll find an eight- seat counter, where you’ll be greeted by two chefs ready to make your sushi dreams come true. Expect lots of whispering in the quiet space but also engaging conversations as you’re guided through hot and cold dishes, featuring ingredients flown in from Japan. Dinner runs $300 per person before drinks (which are pricey) and must be paid at the time of booking.

Hidden below Lincoln Road's ultra-trendy MILA rooftop lounge, MILA Omakase delivers everything you'd expect from a high-end chef's counter experience—and a few extras you'll hate to live without going forward (if only every omakase came with your own personal cherry blossom tree). The second-floor room curtained off from the dimly lit, members-only MM Lounge is highly exclusive, with just 10 seats. At times it feels like there are more people behind the counter, bent over intricate dishes with tweezers in hand or deftly molding rectangles of sticky rice for your next amazing course. Whether you opt to pair your meal with sake, wine, cocktails or tea, rest assured your glass will never go empty here.

Michelin-starred Japanese restaurant Azabu is home to an omakase experience offered in its secret room aptly called The Den. It’s spacious by speakeasy standards and boasts a large, three-sided counter that allows for a little privacy in a communal setting. Tokyo-trained chefs helm the decadent tasting menu comprising a variety of fresh sashimi and a rotating selection of grilled items for $250. Guests have the option to add uni and toro toro courses, and everyone absolutely should—the Den’s fish is about the freshest around.

You can thank Kevin Cory for bringing omakase to Miami. For more than 10 years, the chef/owner has been skilfully at work in his Brickell Key restaurant, NAOE, and is among the few to repeatedly receive a rare Forbes Travel Guide Five-Star. His authentic approach and meticulous attention to detail are unparalleled: Cory uses both locally sourced fish and products flown in from Japan and even goes as far as to make his own sauces. (His relatives in Kanazawa make the soy sauce and sake which he then uses to create his own sashimi soy sauce, sushi soy sauce and more). Seatings are limited to five people and reservations are tough.

Sushi by Scratch doesn’t bother trying to be authentically Japanese. It’s not stuffy, like those omakase places that feel as fun as a German art museum, where you’ll whisper to your dining companions out of fear of offending the knife-wielding chefs right in front of you. No, Sushi by Scratch is about experimenting with some of the rarest pieces of fish that can be sourced, in a vibe that’s so fun it feels like entertainment. It’s omakase turned into dinner theater.

How might a chef work mojo or mamey sapote into sushi? Head to Sushi | Bar, located inside the Esmé Hotel on Española Way, and you just might find out. The lineup here consists nearly entirely of nigiri or, generally, fish on a bed of sushi rice served in ways you probably wouldn’t think possible. Along the way, there are options for drink pairings, but definitely spring for the sake option. Of course, the ending arrives all too quickly, even if it has lasted two hours. That’s a testament to how much fun it is at Sushi | Bar, and also to the fact that nobody has figured out how to avoid omakase’s awkward endings.

After a 25-year career behind sushi counters, sushi chef Yoshikazu Ebinanow has his own place, a six-seat counter behind Hachidori Ramen. The 15-course menu leans toward traditional and changes nightly with what seafood arrives that day from Japan. With two seatings a night, it runs $160 per person, an entirely reasonable price tag for the intimate experience of watching, and tasting the final product, of a master at work.

Raised in Boca and trained in Japan, sushi chef David Bouhadana now has more than a dozen Sushi By Bou restaurants, including an intimate, 650-square-foot space with just 12 seats at the SLS Brickell. The place hits all the notes that have made omakase popular, like blowtorching their wagyu nigiri and handing guests single-servings of well-sourced sushi.  Choose between a 12-course $60 experience or a 17-course affair for $100—both of which will end promptly at a one-hour cutoff, making this a breezy, sometimes-rushed and also much-loved omakase experience.

A welcomed alternative to the stuffier omakase spots in Miami, Mr. Omakase is a laid-back counter-style restaurant in the heart of Downtown. Here, sushi chefs roll maki to an old-school hip-hop soundtrack while folks look on from the eight-seat bar. Dinner is available in three price tiers: 10 courses for $89; 14 courses for $109 or 18 courses for $149. It all depends on how hungry you are and your penchant for fancy proteins, but
we found the middle option to be perfectly satisfying. Drinks are available á la carte and you get to pick your own ochoko from a selection of adorable glassware when you order sake.

Chef Tyson Cole’s legendary sushi restaurant from Austin offers an omakase that’s a frequently changing selection of cold and hot plates as well as sashimi. Items are seasonal and fresh but some past favorites you might expect to see are the wagyu ringo (short rib with smoked apple kimchi) and curried cauliflower with raisins, gruyère and cashews. There’s also a six-course vegetarian omakase, a rare-for-Miami tasting for the non-meat eaters.

The Den’s chef Yasu Tanaka struck out on his own with Sushi Yasu Tanaka By Masumura at MIA Market. His spot inside the Design District food hall serves an affordable—and delicious—10-piece omakase that’s just $59 and includes fish options like akami, chu-toro and double-smoked salmon. The casual setting allows for a lower price point without sacrificing quality. Similar to a chef’s choice menu, the eatery offers a number of nigiri platters with assorted tuna, salmon and the day’s fresh catch.

Miss Crispy Rice occupies an 11-seat counter in the back of Oasis Wynwood, feeling very much like a fast-food version of omakase. That isn’t meant as an insult: Miss Crispy Rice strips away much of the formality surrounding omakase and instead serves excellent bites for affordable prices. The omakase here spans several rounds of crispy-rice-topped items, crudo, hand rolls and nigiri. You’d never need more than the 14 courses for $87, but there’s also a 16-course option for $125.

You’ll want to buckle in for this experience because it is most certainly a dining event. Your journey begins at Koa Poke and Burrito, where you’ll receive instructions on how to find the omakase speakeasy. Once you do (we won’t spoil the surprise), you’ll be ushered into a secret bar for a welcome cocktail and then guided to your final destination, an expansive omakase counter with spotlights hovering over each seat. This meal was designed for Instagram and the lighting isn’t the only hint: Each course is painstakingly prepared by executive chef Sebastian Labno and stars top-notch ingredients, like the smoking lobster sashimi, uni with black truffle on crispy rice and A5 wagyu nigiri. From Tuesday to Thursday, about 17 courses of nigiri runs $180 per person, while Friday and Saturday night the "signature omakase experience" hits $375.

This inviting, unassuming restaurant in Shorecrest is known for its exquisite chirashi bowls—big, delicious plates of artfully assembled fish and rice. The omakase here is more of the original definition of the word, chef’s choice. That plays out with a chirashi option that's 12 pieces of sashimi over rice for $50, 12 pieces of sashimi for $90 or 12 pieces of nigiri and one cut maki roll for $100. While it’s not the fanfare of single pieces delivered one by one like others on the list, it’s hard to find a selection of fresher fish anywhere.

Chef Bas’ unassuming omakase restaurant is just up the street from his buzzy Thai spot, Lung Yai, and the two couldn’t be more different. Ahi is a six-seat counter serving sushi and poke bowls for lunch and a tasting menu at dinnertime. It’s a traditional omakase experience with nigiri and sashimi plates, plus the option to add á-la-carte dishes if you’re looking for a meal that’s more substantial (you know who you are). A sous chef will show you a picture of the fish you’re about to eat before the sushi chef puts it down—admittedly weird at first but amusing as the night wears on. One very important detail to note: Ahi is a BYOB restaurant and servers will gladly chill as much sake, champagne and wine (or whatever you pair your sushi with) to enjoy with your meal.