Zitz Sum

Life can feel repetitive. Eating can feel repetitive. Restaurants can feel repetitive. This paragraph is even starting to feel repetitive.

Our point is, if you eat out in Miami often enough, menus blend together into a mash of tartares, octopus, and ​​burrata blobs. Which is fine, occasionally, when done well. But sometimes you need to uppercut life right in its repetition, and there’s no better restaurant in Miami to do that than Zitz Sum. That’s because the Coral Gables spot serves food that’s wonderfully unlike anything you’ll find in South Florida.

photo credit: Cleveland Jennings / @eatthecanvasllc

photo credit: Cleveland Jennings / @eatthecanvasllc

photo credit: Cleveland Jennings / @eatthecanvasllc

photo credit: Cleveland Jennings / @eatthecanvasllc

The menu (which changes so often, it will probably be different by the time you finish reading this parenthetical) is a whirlwind of Chinese, Korean, Japanese, Lao, and other Asian influences. Occasionally something Colombian or Italian sneaks its way on there, too. Every trip here is as joyfully unpredictable as opening a present from the most talented gift giver you know.

There's simply nothing that isn't a blast to eat. The crispy-bottomed sheng jian bao bun is one of the more satisfying things you’ll ever have the pleasure of biting into. And it is, actually, like opening a present—sometimes filled with brisket, another time with braised oxtail. The dumplings—where Zitz Sum got its start as a pandemic delivery service—are still outstanding and worth ordering. But the entire menu is complex and exciting, so make sure to get something from each section.

photo credit: Cleveland Jennings / @eatthecanvasllc

Like any great restaurant, Zitz Sum is also more than just the food. It has plenty of qualities we look for in a fun restaurant: wonderful service, excellent sake, and a playlist that’ll have you dancing between bites. Plus, its location buried inside a Coral Gables office building makes you feel like you're in on a secret.

The room is dark and windowless. It’s easy to forget you’re in Coral Gables during dinner. You may even forget you’re in Miami. Zitz Sum is truly a restaurant that deserves its own zip code. Because there’s just nothing like it in the city. And that’s the point.

Food Rundown

The menu at Zitz Sum changes frequently, but here are a few examples of the kind of dishes you might find here.

photo credit: Cleveland Jennings / @eatthecanvasllc

Bing

You are 1,000% ordering the bing bread, a cloud-soft sourdough pancake that comes with miso and honey butter. We have considered hiring a lobbyist to convince them to use it for a burrito.

photo credit: Cleveland Jennings

Bao

What do we like most about this bao? Is it the perfectly seared, crispy bottom? Or the fluffy dough waiting underneath that crispy exterior? Maybe it’s the incredible rotating protein inside? (On our last visit, that was braised wagyu oxtail.) We can’t pick. Please just order this and don’t make us.

photo credit: Cleveland Jennings / @eatthecanvasllc

Tartare

This tartare situation has evolved a lot since we first met it. The most recent version comes served in a hollowed out ramen egg with dashi aioli and little sprinkles of crispy nori potatoes. It's almost in the deviled egg family tree—but, like, the most successful, impressive branch of that tree.

photo credit: Cleveland Jennings / @eatthecanvasllc

Crudo

We always get the crudo when we come to Zitz Sum. And we don't think we've ever had it the same way twice. But order it nonetheless, because Zitz takes this restaurant cliche and infuses it with the kind of out-of-left-field flavors that make you want to ask for the menu again so you can see what exactly just made your mouth so happy.

photo credit: Cleveland Jennings

Potstickers

If we're picking a favorite Zitz Sum dumpling, it's the postickers. The preparation (like everything else) changes quite often. But it's almost always filled with delicious pork—and occasionally includes a numbing chili situation, which hurts good, like a deep tissue massage or a much-needed cry.

photo credit: Cleveland Jennings / @eatthecanvasllc

Crab Gnudi

Just when you thought the passport of Zitz Sum's menu couldn't handle another stamp, here comes Italy. We'd be happy with these fluffy gnudi if each were only dressed in a little butter. But this is Zitz Sum, so of course it's heaped with roe, Thai basil, and laid in a pool of sake beurre blanc.