Just when you thought Major Food Group couldn’t do anything more exclusive than Carbone, its impossible-to-get-into Italian restaurant in South Beach, the hospitality vets introduce Miami to a new level of privilege: ZZ’s Sushi Bar. Set to open in the Miami Design District this April (possibly as soon as next week), the two-story Japanese restaurant and membership club brings a new kind of dining experience to the city—though it’s not just about velvet ropes.
ZZ’s employs some of the best sushi chefs in the country, such as Masa Ito and Kevin Kim, who earned a cult following and a Michelin star at New York’s Sushi Zo. The two will helm the omakase bar on the first floor, a fabulous marble counter adjacent to the restaurant’s main dining room offering guests dinner á la carte. The menu is a combination of classics served at the restaurant’s namesake, ZZ’s Clam Bar in New York City (reportedly the smallest eatery in the U.S. to earn a Michelin star), as well as special dishes developed for Miami diners, like stone crab sunomono and lobster dumplings. MFG’s longtime pastry chef, Stephanie Prida, will be whipping up Japanese ice cream sandwiches, chocolate matcha bombs and other Asian-inspired desserts.
ZZ’s second floor will be an expansive hangout area with a private bar, outdoor cigar lounge and a backgammon terrace. Designer Ken Fulk’s vision for the space is a late-era disco with lots of animal prints, shattered mirrors, neons, metallics and fringed stools. If that doesn’t sound like a fever dream, check out the downstairs patio conceived as a tiki bar on acid with wicker furniture and vibrant banana upholstery.
Details on the membership portion of ZZ’s Sushi Bar haven’t been released yet, though we can bet access will be no less challenging than getting a table at Carbone. Get those digits ready: reservations open up soon.
ZZ’s Sushi Bar is located at 151 NE 41st Street, and opens Tuesday through Sunday from 5pm to midnight.
