The best sushi in Miami right now, from omakase counters to casual spots

Ogawa isn't so much a Japanese restaurant as it is an embassy of Japan, a Shinto shrine of sorts with a zen garden out back and a sushi counter where 18 courses or so will turn anyone into a Japanophile. 

Time Out tip: Master sushi chef Masayuki Komatsu will tailor his menu to your wants, but if you’re ever going to try new things, this is the place.

The Wynwood restaurant with the stunning ceiling that evokes a whale’s ribcage feels transported from Tokyo’s trendy Ginza neighborhood. The whole affair feels upmarket, and while there are tables available, the real score here is a spot at the sushi counter for a full view of the artists at work. 

Order this: The formal, $250 omakase experience is among the best in the city.

One of Miami's Michelin-starred restaurants, Azabu’s main dining room serves an expansive selection of sushi and sashimi, as well as a full Japanese menu of meat, veg and composed fish dishes. But if you’re here strictly for the raw stuff, turn your attention to The Den, Azabu’s secret omakase hideaway. 

Time Out tip: The Den boasts a large space so couples and small groups can section off to enjoy a little privacy while participating in the communal dining experience.

James Beard Award winner Tyson Cole’s smash-hit Austin restaurant expanded to Wynwood and instantly became a favorite here too. Uchi’s reputation for superior sushi and innovative preparations precedes it. The menu is challenging to navigate but trust the wonderful service staff to steer you in the right direction. Or you can skip all of that and go right for the market-price omakase, which I highly encourage. It’s a chef’s tasting of hot and cold dishes that provides a solid introduction to the Uchi ethos. There’s also a vegetarian omakase on offer, truly a rare thing. 

Time Out tip: Uchi’s happy hour is an incredible value, available daily from 5 to 6:30pm.

New York City export Kissaki offers affordable omakase from a lounge-like space at the southern tip of South Beach. It’s not authentically Japanese, instead offering a more entertaining experience headlined by a fusion menu. The vibe is Clubrestaurant Lite, the beats kept low enough for conversation, and the space all very attractive. 

Try this: The 15-course omakase is a relatively affordable $150, but I’d suggest going for happy hour, when deals from 6-8p Wed-Sun are pretty stellar too, with $10 martinis and $5 sushi. 

Scout this top-secret sushi den in Wynwood (hint: it’s behind an unmarked door at the Taco Stand) for an unforgettable omakase experience. You’ll receive a code at the time of your reservation and punch it into the keypad to enter. Take your seat at the intimate counter and prepare for more than a dozen courses of some of the freshest fish you’ve ever tasted. From toro and king salmon to handrolls and Wagyu rib-eye, Japan’s most delectable seafood and cuisines are served up made to order. 

Time Out tip: Sake isn’t part of the prix-fixe experience but is worth ordering.

If the main thing you’re interested in tonight is simply a great piece of sushi, this is the place to find it. Chef Yasu Tanaka just might be the best knife-wielding sushi master in town, and he left The Den to hold court in a food court. His spots at MIA Market and B100M will cost you—$59 for a 10-piece chef’s choice nigiri and a hand roll—but it could be used as a barometer by which to measure all other experiences. 

Time Out tip: Sure, it’s pricey for an experience where you’re ordering from a humble food hall counter, but hey, you said you wanted the finest sushi in town, right?

Stephen Starr made me rethink mall food with this upscale Japanese restaurant inside the Bal Harbour Shops. Even if you’re not fresh off a shopping expedition, this place is worth a stop. Makoto put crispy rice on the map in Miami and, here, it still tops the others with the perfect rice-to-fish ratio. The sushi is supremely fresh here and best enjoyed as a combo platter, which includes a chef’s choice variety of the day’s top picks. It’s the instant-gratification version of omakase dining.

Order this: Makoto started the crispy rice trend, and here it’s executed expertly.

The unassuming Aoko is a refreshing addition to the Miami sushi scene, a city where flashy, triple-digit-priced omakase menus currently dominate (with more to come, I'm sorry to say). Not only is the tasting option here under $100 ($75 for sashimi and $85 for nigiri), but it holds up against the other higher-priced options in taste, creativity and execution, with rice that is always somehow the perfect warm temperature. (Frequent enough omakase spots and you’ll quickly notice the difference.) What’s most inspiring about Aoko is the team, a crew of young, diligent chefs helmed by co-owner Daniel Vanh, a veteran of Miami’s top sushi restaurants and a South Florida local. 

Time Out tip: Grab a seat at the counter to see the talent and synchronization at play.

Located in the charming Shorecrest neighborhood, Wabi Sabi serves some of the best sushi in town. The restaurant’s easygoing style works in partnership with its sleek menu, a blend of fresh sushi bowls that are big on flavor, craft and authenticity. Each dish is an arresting arrangement, artfully organizing lovely combinations of fresh tuna, salmon, crab, rice, seaweed and more. Maki rolls are available for diners who aren’t into deconstructed sushi, and they’re just as fresh.

Like its sister restaurant Wabi Sabi, Midorie is tucked away in a quiet, mall-like building you probably didn’t know existed, with just 22 seats and a goal to simply serve very good sushi. The place is all fairly simple and tidy (except for the pretty art piece of rainbow fish on the wall), as are the dishes. 

Order this: Omakase is a solid choice here and priced well: 12 pieces over rice is $50, $90 for sashimi and $100 for nigiri. That’s a bargain some of the most meticulously sourced and prepared fish anywhere. 

The internationally renowned eatery from Lima shows why there’s such an appetite for the Peruvian-Japanese trend, with an exhaustive menu that runs the gamut from sushi and seafood to traditional anticuchos. The sashimi platter is $215, and the omakase platter starts at $190 and goes up to a full tour of premium, Tokyo and Lima-imported ingredients that’ll set you back a cool $315.

Throw out the idea you might have gotten from other, stuffy omakase spots because Sushi by Scratch doesn’t bother with formality. That’s true in both the presentation—sushi chefs here lean hard on the entertainment factor of the genre—and in the dishes, where some of the rarest pieces of fish and wagyu beef get paired in all kinds of new combinations, leaning heavily on locally sourced ingredients.

Sushi | Bar set up shop in a tourist-trod area of South Beach, hidden inside the boutique Esmé Hotel at the Washington Avenue end of Española Way. What follows next is a fun, freewheeling trip into Japanese-inspired omakase, where what’s on the fatty tuna or wagyu beef or some crazy thing you’ve never heard of will surely be new and original and quite possibly amazing. 

Time Out tip: Don’t be surprised when the hostess leads you down an alley to find the place.

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 I found the middle option to be perfectly satisfying. 

Time Out tip: Drinks are available á la carte and you get to pick your own ochoko from a selection of adorable glassware when you order sake.

Boca Raton-bred chef David Bouhadana made a name for himself in New York’s restaurant scene before taking his one-hour omakase experience nationwide. In Miami, it began at a six-seat counter set up in Gianni Versace’s former bedroom. Now, it’s with the Arlo Wynwood’s third-floor cocktail bar Higher Ground, where there’s a 12-course, $65 experience or 17 courses for $125.

Time Out tip: The omakase here ends almost on the dot at an hour, making for a much-loved and speedy night out.

Boca Raton-bred chef David Bouhadana made a name for himself in New York’s restaurant scene before taking his one-hour omakase experience nationwide. In Miami, it began at a six-seat counter set up in Gianni Versace’s former bedroom. Now, it’s in a more permanent spot on the ground floor of the SLS Brickell, where there’s a 12-course, $60 experience or 17 courses for $100, both of which end almost on the dot at an hour (making for a much-loved and speedy night out).

Katsuya is Philippe Starck’s chic sushi restaurant where South Beach’s well-heeled crowds go for just-caught sashimi that’s so fresh it’s served alongside the actual fin and head. While the Brickell location is no more, head to the South Beach outpost for the resounding “Irashaimase!” greeting from the enthusiastic sushi chefs lets you know you’re home for the next few hours.

Pubbelly Group’s runaway sushi hit—with locations in South Beach, Aventura, Brickell City Centre, Dadeland and Pembroke Pines—takes the gastropub concept into Japanese territory. Expect bold Latin flavors and surprise ingredient combinations. 

Time Out tip: Take a chance on truffle corn with cotija cheese, big-eye tuna with basil vinegar and sushi pizza.

This flashy spot attracts celebrities with its famed miso black cod, yellowtail jalapeno, rock shrimp tempura and other Nobu signatures. But just because it glitters doesn’t mean Nobu isn’t worth its weight in sushi gold. It’s fantastic and has become less of a scene since it moved to the Nobu Hotel Miami Beach. 

Order this: The Nobu cheesecake comes with an almond miso shortbread with apricot yuzu jam.

The posh London transplant does Japanese izakaya in a roomy, ultramodern space. Arriving at the waterfront restaurant by yacht? Someone on staff will bring the sushi to you. Diners looking for value will want to book brunch, which brings endless pours of premium champagne, rosé and sake (and are priced accordingly). Post lockdown, the buffet selection is now available to enjoy at your seat. Choose from an array of sushi, sashimi and small plates, plus an entrée, and a server will see to your steady flow of Japanese dishes.

At both its Wynwood and Coconut Grove locations, Omakai pairs a chill vibe with reasonably priced nigiri and omakase offerings. To go all-in, order the Omakai Experience, a $95 tour through all that’s fresh. 

Time Out tip: If that sounds too baller, there's a three-hour happy hour starting at 3pm Monday through Saturday with deals on drinks, nigiri and hand rolls.

Sushi Erika is the offspring of a pair of absolutely beloved local Japanese eateries, Sushi Deli and Japanese Market. The daughter of the former owner launched Sushi Erika and serves up the same fresh, flavorful sushi options to a long line of hungry diners. This place doesn’t do reservations, so you may have to wait up to an hour, and the hours aren't necessarily convenient but you'll want to carve time out of your schedule to make it here. 

Order this: The sweet shrimp alone is worth it.

In a town where everything is constantly changing and shuttering, South Beach’s first sushi restaurant has been alive and kicking since 1987. Toni’s wood-paneled look is more retro than dated and its cozy, sunken booths are a nice throwback to when people welcomed sitting on the floor. Bonus: These won’t make your legs cramp after the appetizer course. 

Order this: Throw in some hand rolls, uni and assorted nigiri and you’ve got a budget sushi option that’s fresh and could easily pass for something more expensive.

For more than 30 years, this wood-paneled gem in one of the many nondescript strip malls along Bird Road has lured in-the-know Miamians with fresh, reasonably priced sushi. Quality doesn’t come at a premium here: Beautifully arranged platters of bluefin toro and other specialty fish are actually affordable.

Time Out tip: Complete Dinner Specials could feed a family and start at $36. 

One of the original New York imports to find a home in South Beach (there are many now), Blue Ribbon is a solid choice in the neighborhood. It’s small but offers outdoor seating by the pool (it’s inside the Plymouth Hotel) and a comfortable sushi counter where you can watch the pros go to work on your rolls. Omakase is served platter-style here, which is a great choice for first-timers. 

Time Out tip: Ordering á la carte? You’ll want to double-down on orders of the toro (the silkiest tuna you’ll ever eat) and signature Blue Ribbon roll.