Best Sushi in Miami (2026)
A ranked guide to Miami's best sushi, omakase, izakaya and robata rooms, from Sexy Fish and Zuma to Uchi, built from the rooms our guests ask for most.
Why we wrote this guide
Sushi in Miami is not a quiet counter with a stack of hinoki and a whispered menu. The city took Japanese cooking and ran it through its own current, so the rooms that matter here are social by design: robata grills flaming at the counter, omakase built for a night out, sashimi platters landing in the middle of a dressed-up table, and DJs picking up where the last course leaves off. It is see-and-be-seen dining with genuine technique underneath. The good news for anyone who cares about the fish is that the best of these rooms take the sushi as seriously as the scene, from Edomae-trained chefs to omakase counters that hold their own anywhere.
This is our ranked guide to the best sushi and Japanese dining in Miami in 2026, built from the rooms our guests ask for by name. Every venue below is one we know well and send guests to. Last updated September 2026.
Looking for the table, not the reading? Each restaurant's page below has its booking link. The order below blends the quality of the fish with the occasion each room fits best, so a pure omakase counter and a dinner-into-lounge stage sit on the same list for different nights.
The ranked guide
1. Sexy Fish
The most theatrical Japanese room in the city, and the Miami outpost of the London institution, set in the core of Brickell on South Miami Avenue. Chef Director Bjorn Weissgerber anchors a menu built on Japanese technique - sushi, sashimi, and robata-grilled meats - with signatures like caramelized black cod and premium omakase tiers running from Hiro to Sekushi to Premium. The room is the other headliner: Damien Hirst artworks, Frank Gehry fish lamps, and a show-stopping aquarium set an underwater-surreal tone that shifts from daytime elegance to late-night energy fueled by international DJs. It is glamour first, but the raw bar and the omakase back it up. See Sexy Fish.
Best for: the big-scene sushi dinner that turns into a night out.
2. Zuma Miami
The city's benchmark izakaya, and the room we send anyone who wants serious Japanese cooking with a real view. Chef Rainer Becker's contemporary izakaya concept made its United States debut here in 2010, set on a riverfront terrace inside the Kimpton EPIC Hotel that looks out over passing yachts. The kitchen is built around three stations - a main kitchen, a sushi counter, and a robata grill - where fish, meat, and vegetables cook over open flame at the counter. Order to the format: the miso-marinated black cod is the dish the kitchen is known for, the rock shrimp tempura is the reliable opener, and both are meant to be shared alongside sushi and robata. The energy climbs toward sunset when the river view peaks. See Zuma Miami.
Best for: the polished izakaya dinner with a waterfront table.
3. Uchi Miami
The purist's pick, and one of the few rooms in Miami that treats non-traditional Japanese cooking as a genuine discipline. Set in Wynwood's arts and gallery district, Uchi is the Miami outpost of the brand founded in Austin by James Beard Award winning chef Tyson Cole. The format is built for sharing, moving between cool and hot tasting plates, sushi, and sashimi. It rewards ordering the signatures: the hama chili pairs yellowtail with Thai chili, ponzu, and orange, and the akami crudo sets bigeye tuna against aji amarillo and blood orange. For the full arc, the kitchen runs a ten-course omakase, a somakase, and a six-course vegetarian tasting. See Uchi Miami.
Best for: the serious omakase dinner where the fish is the point.
4. Makoto
The destination sushi room hiding inside a luxury mall, tucked into Bal Harbour Shops just north of Miami Beach. Makoto is the modern-Japanese room of chef Makoto Okuwa, who trained in Edomae sushi and reshapes that tradition for a Miami crowd. The kitchen works across three registers: pristine raw fish at the sushi counter, soulful skewers over a charcoal robata grill, and premium beef, with an omakase for anyone who wants the chef to steer. Anchor an order with the whole grilled branzino, A5 wagyu from Miyazaki, robata skewers off the charcoal grill, and a full caviar service for the table. The India Mahdavi redesign - bright walls, floral wallpaper, an expanded terrace - is dressy-casual and best suited to guests who care about the sushi as much as the setting. See Makoto.
Best for: the polished power lunch or a date-night omakase at the sushi counter.
5. Yamashiro Miami
The Hollywood icon's rooftop debut, and one of the most atmospheric places to eat Japanese in the city. Nine floors above Downtown, the century-old brand carries its Japanese-garden sensibility onto an open-air terrace of reclaimed wood, bonsai, and koi ponds, with the skyline behind you. The kitchen runs sushi and robata alongside the design, so it delivers a genuine Japanese dinner without asking you to trade the view. See Yamashiro Miami.
Best for: sushi with a rooftop and a skyline, not a quiet counter.
6. Novikov Miami
The international heavyweight of the group, and the first U.S. outpost of Novikov, the Chinese-Japanese restaurant and bar. It sits on a lively Downtown corner on South Biscayne Boulevard. This is a concept built around an open kitchen, a robata grill and wok dishes, and an extensive list of dim sum and sushi. The plates span dim sum, sushi, and larger grill dishes: Hamachi Carpaccio with shaved truffle, Snapper Two Ways, and seasonal runs like Toro Tartare with caviar and A5 Wagyu and foie gras gyozas. The crowd is dressy and social, and the energy builds through the night. See Novikov Miami.
Best for: the glamorous group dinner with serious sushi and robata.
7. Queen Miami Beach
The theatrical pick, where the Japanese kitchen shares the bill with a full Paris Theater spectacle. Inside the restored Paris Theater on Washington Avenue, Queen runs a robata and A5 Wagyu program alongside sushi and sashimi, served across a two-act evening that slides from seated dinner into late-night scene. Come when you want the fish and the show in the same night. See Queen Miami Beach.
Best for: sushi as part of a bigger, dressed-up night out.
8. Komodo
The dinner-to-lounge stage where Southeast Asian cooking meets a full sushi bar, set at 801 Brickell Avenue in the financial district. Komodo runs roughly 300 seats across three indoor-outdoor levels crowned by the signature floating birds' nests. The layout is the point: it opens as a proper restaurant and shifts into a high-energy, see-and-be-seen lounge as the night deepens and the music rises. The headline act is the tableside Peking duck, but around it sits a full sushi bar, dim sum such as the crispy shrimp-and-crab har gow and the Money Bag dumplings, and fried rice regulars come back for. Expect a dressed-up, cosmopolitan crowd and a volume that only climbs. See Komodo.
Best for: the dinner that is meant to become the night out.
9. Gekko
Brickell's most coveted reservation, and a Japanese steakhouse that puts a sushi bar at the center of the room. Gekko opened in 2021, and the menu balances premium Japanese technique with steakhouse tradition: A5 Wagyu hot stone for tableside grilling, miso-glazed Chilean sea bass, twin lobster tails with caviar, and signature plates like wagyu crispy rice and wagyu dumplings. The jewel-toned, dimly lit interiors evoke the moonlight the name invokes. The space flows from intimate dining to a lounge where top DJs play late-night sets, so the energy shifts toward after-hours sophistication as the evening runs on. See Gekko.
Best for: the exclusive wagyu-and-sushi dinner with a late-night lounge finish.
How to choose, fast
The pure omakase counter: Uchi Miami, or Makoto for the Edomae version.
The izakaya-and-robata dinner: Zuma Miami.
The big-scene sushi night: Sexy Fish or Novikov.
Dinner that becomes the night out: Komodo or Gekko.
The waterfront table: Zuma Miami or Novikov.
Frequently asked questions
Should I do omakase or order a la carte for sushi in Miami?
Both work, and it comes down to the night. For a focused, chef-led progression, book the omakase counter at Uchi (a ten-course or six-course tasting) or the sushi bar at Makoto, where chef Makoto Okuwa runs an Edomae-rooted omakase. For a social dinner where the table shares, order a la carte at Zuma, Sexy Fish, or Novikov and build across sushi, sashimi, and robata plates. Tell us the group and we will point you to the right format.
Which Miami sushi room is best for a group or a scene?
Sexy Fish, Komodo, and Novikov are all built for a dressed-up group that wants the room to be part of the night. Sexy Fish brings the Brickell aquarium-and-DJ spectacle, Komodo runs dinner straight into a lounge, and Novikov pairs a serious sushi bar with a Downtown corner room. Gekko is the pick when the group wants wagyu and a sushi bar with a late-night lounge attached. For quieter, fish-first dinners, steer toward Uchi or Zuma.
How far ahead should I reserve a top Miami sushi restaurant?
For a standard weekend prime-time table, plan a week or more out for rooms like Zuma, Uchi, and Novikov, and further for Sexy Fish, where prime slots and the Sexy Sunday Brunch can book a month ahead. Reservations get hard to book around Art Basel Miami Beach and the Miami Grand Prix, so stretch to two to six weeks for those windows.
Where is the best robata in Miami?
Zuma is the benchmark, with a dedicated robata grill where fish, meat, and vegetables cook over open flame at the counter. Makoto runs soulful charcoal-grill skewers alongside its sushi, and Novikov and Sexy Fish both fold robata-grilled dishes into a broader menu. For a robata-forward dinner, lead with Zuma and let the table share across the grill.
What is the dress code at Miami's top sushi rooms?
These are dressed-up rooms, not casual counters. Sexy Fish asks for glamorous dress with a sense of occasion, and Gekko, Komodo, and Novikov all skew upscale and stylish for a night out. Uchi and Zuma read a touch more relaxed but still lean dressy in the evening, and Makoto is dressy-casual by day and warmer at dinner. When in doubt, dress for a night out, not a beach day.
Booking the table
Book the table direct on the restaurant's own platform - each pick above links to its
page with the current booking link. Then tell us the night and the group and we will
build the rest of it around dinner, from the club after to the pool day before.
Build a plan with us
Want the full lineup? Browse every Miami restaurant we feature to round out the trip.
Build a custom itinerary with our concierge team. Pair the venues mentioned above into a single concierge-confirmed evening. See the full Las Vegas events calendar for every upcoming DJ and pool party across the city.
Keep reading
Plan a night in another city
Browse all MyRSVP editorials · Back to home