Sushi Bar Miami Beach

Sushi Bar Miami Beach is a 12-seat omakase speakeasy tucked into the ground level of the Esme Miami Beach hotel on Washington Avenue, a few steps from the Espanola Way pedestrian mall. Behind an unmarked door, guests sit directly at a marble-topped counter while chefs hand-prepare a 17-course, nigiri-driven tasting menu built around fish flown in from California, Japan, and Australia. The concept comes from Adept Hospitality, the group behind the original Sushi Bar in Montecito, California, and its Austin expansion, with executive chef Ambrely Ouimette leading the Miami Beach kitchen as one of the few female omakase chefs working in the United States.

Where to Find Sushi Bar Miami Beach

The restaurant sits at 1438 Washington Avenue, Miami Beach, FL 33139, inside the Esme Miami Beach boutique hotel building rather than as a hotel-operated restaurant; Sushi Bar runs its own kitchen, staff, and reservation system independent of the hotel’s front desk. The entrance is easy to miss by design, consistent with the speakeasy format described on the official Sushi Bar Miami Beach location page. Valet parking is available for a fee at the hotel’s main entrance on Washington Avenue or Drexel Avenue, and metered street parking can be found along the surrounding South Beach blocks.

The 17-Course Omakase Experience

Every seating follows the same core format: a chef-directed procession of nigiri and small plates served one piece at a time at the counter. Reporting on the restaurant’s September 2022 debut described dishes such as kanpachi dressed with pineapple and passionfruit and aged bluefin akami finished with dehydrated red miso, part of a menu that leans on new-wave nigiri technique rather than a traditional sashimi-first format. Expect torched, cured, and lightly sauced preparations rather than plain raw cuts, and expect the chef working the counter to narrate each course as it is served.

Inside the Counter: Technique and Presentation

The counter-level detail is what defines the format here: nigiri hand-glazed with a brush before plating, an open-flame torch searing a cut of fish at the counter edge, and pieces finished with fresh herbs and citrus in the last seconds before they are set in front of a guest. That course-by-course, plated-to-order style is why seatings move at a set pace rather than a self-directed dinner pace, and it is also why the room only turns three times a night instead of running continuous walk-in service.

Signature Omakase vs. Exclusive Omakase

Sushi Bar Miami Beach offers two menu tiers. The Signature Omakase is the core 17-course seasonal tasting menu. The Exclusive Omakase builds on the same 17 courses, adding two further courses plus a sake and wine pairing selected to match the progression of the meal. Both tiers are served only at the counter and only during a scheduled seating; there is no à la carte ordering and no bar-only menu for guests who want to eat without committing to the full tasting format.

Seatings and What to Expect at the Door

The restaurant is open seven days a week with three nightly seatings, at 5:30 PM, 7:30 PM, and 9:45 PM, seating up to 12 guests at the counter per seating. Arrive close to your seating time rather than early, since the speakeasy-style entrance is not staffed as a waiting lounge. Because the room is a single 12-seat counter, large last-minute walk-in groups cannot be accommodated, and the kitchen paces every course to the whole table rather than to individual diners.

How to Book a Reservation

Sushi Bar Miami Beach takes reservations exclusively through Tock, its assigned booking platform. New reservation windows open on the first of each month for the following month, which means a specific Friday or Saturday seating can sell out within the first day that month’s dates go live. Booking directly through Tock is the only way to secure a seat; the restaurant does not hold same-day phone reservations for the counter given its fixed 12-seat capacity per seating.

Who Sushi Bar Miami Beach Suits Best

This is a destination meal built for guests who want a full chef-led tasting experience rather than a casual sushi dinner: special-occasion diners, sushi enthusiasts chasing an omakase counter comparable to the brand’s original Montecito and Austin locations, and travelers staying in South Beach who want a reservation-only, low-walk-in-traffic dining room. It suits smaller parties best, since the shared counter format and paced courses are less suited to large groups who want to order and eat independently, and it is not a fit for a quick, low-commitment dinner between other plans.

Planning a Visit Around South Beach

Because every seating is timed and courses are paced to the table, build your evening around the reservation rather than around a walk-up plan. Diners looking for a broader shortlist of high-end tables nearby can start with Miami Beach Drive’s Best Restaurants in Miami Beach guide, and couples treating the omakase counter as a date-night anchor may want to cross-reference Where to Enjoy a Romantic Dinner in Miami Beach for pre- or post-dinner options within walking distance of Washington Avenue.

What It Costs

The 17-course Signature Omakase runs about $185 per person, up from the $175 it opened at in September 2022, before drinks, tax and gratuity. The Exclusive Omakase, which adds two further courses plus sake and wine pairings, sits above that. There is also a shorter Greatest Hits experience of around ten courses at roughly $95, which is the cheapest way into the room and a sensible first visit if you are unsure whether a full 17-course counter dinner is worth the outlay. Prices are set on the booking platform rather than published on the restaurant’s own site, so confirm the current figure when the seating is released.

Practical Notes Before You Go

Because the restaurant is entirely reservation-based with a fixed 12-seat room, confirm your seating time on Tock rather than assuming a table will be available on arrival, and plan for the full multi-course pace rather than a quick dinner. Valet parking through the hotel is the simplest option for guests driving in from elsewhere in Miami Beach, and the Washington Avenue address puts the counter within walking distance of the rest of South Beach’s dining and nightlife corridor for anyone extending the evening afterward.