The Best Sushi Restaurants In Miami

If you're looking for the best sushi in Miami, you've come to the right place. The places on this guide range from casual spots where you can wear flip-flops to special occasion restaurants that flew the fish in from Japan this morning. Although we did try to keep Miami's growing number of wildly expensive omakase options off this guide—we have a whole other guide to the best sushi omakase restaurants in Miami. So rest assured that you will be able to find an option on here that doesn't require a $300 deposit.

THE SPOTS

If we’ve got time to spare and are in need of a lunch that’s 100% going to put us in a good mood for the rest of the day, we’re going to Sushi Erika. Yes, there will be a wait at the North Bay Village spot (unless you come 10 or 15 minutes before they open). But it’s well worth it for some of Miami’s best casual sushi. This place nails straightforward, minimal nigiri as well as busier rolls with a small novela of ingredients. And the daily specials are always worth paying attention to.

Sushi Yasu Tanaka is a Design District food hall vendor run by a chef who used to work at one of Miami's most expensive omakase spots, and that will make sense when you taste the fish here. It's the kind of nigiri that practically evaporates in your mouth. It's not a cheap meal (the 8-piece platter is $40 and the 10-piece omakase is $59)—but it's still our favorite under $100 omakase option in town. And one of the best reasons to set your Slack status to something cryptic and take a long lunch break on Friday.

Momi Market is light-years more casual than most of Brickell’s sushi options—but it’s also better than nearly all of them. This little spot does donburi alongside a small menu of nigiri, rolls, and sashimi. The fish is sliced beautifully, and exactly what you want when you’re craving chutoro on a Wednesday. The salmon ikura don is one of our favorites, and comes with generous portions of both. We like this place for a walk-in dinner, but the donburi options are also perfect for a lunch break (the counter seating is great for eating alone).

B-Side is the best place to eat sushi in Wynwood that isn't a $300 per person omakase. The little counter is smack in the center of 1-800-Lucky, an indoor/outdoor food hall with no shortage of alcohol options. But you don’t have to be in a party mood to appreciate B-Side. They have great sushi rolls, and some other Peruvian-inspired dishes, which makes sense since this place is related to the best Peruvian spot in town: Maty's. B-Side is a perfect call for a casual dinner, or for cocktails and sushi rolls before bar-hopping.

Katana is a blast, even if it can be a restaurant that requires patience. There is almost always (especially on weekends) a long wait to eat here because the restaurant is small and it’s a sushi boat experience, in which you slowly graze on passing nigiri and sashimi while sipping sake. Also, they don’t take reservations. But the novelty of floating sushi boats isn’t what makes Katana great. It’s because the sushi floating by on those boats is actually really good—and you can eat a decent amount of it without blowing through your annual restaurant budget.

The hype behind this Austin-born sushi spot is well-deserved, because—in addition to other great dishes—they’re making some of the best sushi in Miami. There are several “market price” omakase options, and you can expect to probably spend at least $100 per person if you go that route. But you can also just order a la carte. The menu is large, but anything here is going to be great, from the spicy hama chili to the unagi and bluefin akami. Uchi is more of a special occasion spot, good for romantic and business celebrations of all kinds. Just know that portions here aren’t designed to get you stuffed, so don’t fast for 24 hours before your reservation.

An outstanding sushi spot that’s casual, affordable, and consistently excellent is rare in Miami. But Matsuri is exactly that kind of restaurant, which is probably why you will absolutely have to wait for a table at this classic Bird Road spot. It will, however, be very worth it. If you’re here with a friend, get the masa special for two. It’s a platter of over 30 pieces of the day’s best sashimi, nigiri, and maki.

We said we'd try to keep omakase spots off this guide, but we're making an exception for Mr. Omakase. Like Goldilocks and her porridge, it can be hard to find an omakase that’s “just right”—one that hits that sweet spot between formal and informal, suspiciously cheap and give-your-accountant-a-heart-attack expensive. But Mr. Omakase in Downtown walks that line perfectly, and the 10-course option comes in under $100 (at least before service, taxes, and sake). The price point isn’t why we love Mr. Omakase, though. The two-hour dinner here is an unforgettable blur of nigiri and sashimi so delicate you barely have to chew it.

Poke OG is Mr. Omakase's much more casual sister restaurant, located right next door. And while it won't blow you away like its sibling, the sushi here is reliably good, quick, and travels surprisingly well in their sturdy takeout containers. They have several sushi box options, which are packaged perfectly and even include a little paintbrush so you can distribute your soy sauce with the precision of Bob Ross. They also, as the name implies, offer poke bowls—but there is nothing wrong with coming here just for a roll or nigiri. There's a location in Wynwood too.

Most folks know Wabi Sabi, an excellent Japanese restaurant in the Upper East Side, for its donburi bowls. But the menu has expanded over the years, and now they offer maki, nigiri, and sashimi—and it's all really good. You can order nigiri and handrolls by the piece, but they also have several omakase options that hover at or just below $100. The nigiri omakase comes with 12 pieces and one maki. The sashimi omakase comes with 12 pieces of fish. And the chirashi omakase (the cheapest at $50) is 12 pieces of sashimi served over a lovely bed of sushi rice. You can enjoy all of the above in Wabi Sabi’s quiet, lowkey dining room, but they’re all available for takeout as well.

Midorie is a casual Coconut Grove sushi spot by the Wabi Sabi folks, and the two menus are nearly identical. This simple sushi counter is hidden in the little courtyard on Main Highway. Inside, there’s white oak furniture, a school of tiny ceramic fish on the green wall, and a couple of tables outside. But what you really need to know about Midorie is that you can come here for high-quality sushi and not spend more than $25 on a filling donburi bowl. If you’re willing to spend a bit more, we love the handrolls—each with a perfect ratio of rice, fish, and wasabi.

Hiyakawa is a Wynwood sushi spot that wins the award we just made up for “Most Interesting Ceiling In Miami.” But, architecture aside, Hiyakawa is also just a tremendous restaurant. You’re going to spend money here, especially if you want to do the stunningly delicious $250 per person omakase. If you're going a la carte, try to hit just about every section of the menu. The tempura is excellent, and the sugata-mori appetizer is a must-order too. Sushi should be on the table as well. You can order by the piece, but they have a few platter options ranging from about $70 to over $100 that'll make life easier on you.

Omakai in Wynwood (there are also locations in Aventura and Coconut Grove) is a good choice if you want to have an omakase experience without paying $200. They offer a few different omakase options ranging from about $26 for six courses to $95 for over ten courses. Don’t expect to sit at a sushi counter and receive your pieces of sushi directly from the chef. It’s table service here, and you can’t even see the kitchen. But the sushi is very good and the $50 Oma Deluxe menu—which comes with 10 pieces of sushi, sashimi, an appetizer, and a couple handrolls—should be enough to fill you up.

Ahi Sushi is right in the busiest part of Calle Ocho, and approximately the size of Tyler Herro’s walk-in closet (we’re guessing, but it feels right). The sushi counter, run by the Lung Yai team, seats six to eight people comfortably, and they have a small a la carte menu as well as an excellent omakase for a little over $100. The maki, nigiri, and sashimi are all excellent and fairly straightforward. Plus, this place is smack in the middle of Calle Ocho’s beating heart, so it’s a trip to watch the carnival happening outside the window while enjoying a quiet meal here.