The Top 10 Tasting Menus Near Bar Kaiju
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Rank 1. Ogawa
Sushi
In a warm-wood room anchored by bold art, Masayuki Komatsu's omakase unfolds with uncommon range: hay-smoked mackerel and vinegar-marinated snapper give way to pristine nigiri—needlefish with ginger, flash-fried shrimp, cuttlefish caviar—each piece a small argument against convention.
- Michelin Guide 1 Star
- Miami New Times 2024 · Best Japanese Restaurant · Best of Miami New Times
- Miami New Times 2023 · Best New Restaurants
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Rank 2. Hiden
Sushi
Behind an unmarked Wynwood door that requires a code, Chef Seijun Okano composes spare, deliberate omakase from fish flown in multiple times weekly, each piece pressed into rice he tempers at the start of service. The counter moves with balletic precision and encourages conversation, leaving you wondering how the city outside remains unaware.
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Rank 3. Edan Bistro
Basque Spanish
- Miami New Times 2024 · Best Basque Restaurant · Best of Miami New Times
- Eater 38 Essential Restaurants in Miami
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Rank 4. NAOE
Japanese
- AAA Five Diamonds
- Forbes Travel Guide Forbes Five Star
- Miami New Times 2023 · Best Restaurant When Someone Else Is Paying · Best of Miami New Times
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Rank 5. Palma
Contemporary
A narrow concrete box in Little Havana where a five-person team executes an inventive, frequently changing tasting menu with impressive efficiency. Grilled baby corn wrapped in aged sirloin and roasted-plantain brioche with coconut butter justify the spare, candlelit setting.
- Miami New Times 2025 · Best Restaurant (Little Havana) · Best of Miami New Times
- Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant
- The New York Times The 25 Best Restaurants in Miami Right Now
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Rank 6. Elcielo
Colombian
An open kitchen and backlit bar frame chef Juan Manuel Barrientos' elevated Colombian cooking, where tableside theater—charcoal buñuelos with black truffle, a "Tree of Life" bread service—matters as much as the food itself. The progression unfolds through small bites and palate cleansers designed to heighten each course, a deliberate architecture of flavor and spectacle.
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Rank 7. Shingo
Sushi
Chef Shingo Akikuni commands a 14-seat counter in Coral Gables with the ease of someone orchestrating an intimate dinner, his knife work decisive and his rice vinegar sharp. Japanese fish arrives in uniform slices, barely adorned with nikiri, the menu shifting with the seasons—recent specials have included Aomori tuna and matsutake chawanmushi.
- AAA Four Diamonds
- Michelin Guide 1 Star
- Miami New Times 2024 · Best Omakase · Best of Miami New Times
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Rank 8. Ariete
French-influenced New American
Beltran's Coconut Grove dining room marries new American cooking with classical French technique, its dimly lit patio draped in greenery. The tasting menu showcases his gift for creative combinations and silky sauces, from fluke with conch escabeche to venison tartare with bone marrow sabayon.
- Michelin Guide 1 Star
- James Beard Awards 2023 · Semifinalist · Outstanding Restaurant
- James Beard Awards 2026 · Semifinalist · Best Chef: South · Michael Beltran
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Rank 9. Sushi by Scratch Restaurants
Omakase Sushi
- Miami New Times 2023 · Best Omakase · Best of Miami New Times
- Eater 38 Essential Restaurants in Miami
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Rank 10. Chef's Counter at MAASS
Contemporary
Perched at the kitchen's edge in the Four Seasons, Chef's Counter offers a ringside view of precise, ingredient-driven cooking that weaves French technique through Japanese staples and Florida produce. A single seared scallop or a bowl of koshihikari rice become small monuments to restraint and balance, each course whispering rather than shouting its ambitions.