MIAMI
Coral Gables Gets a Sushi Spot with a Vietnamese Soul at Mai Sushi Tapas & Bar
Written by Eric Barton | June 10, 2025
AUTHOR BIO: Eric Barton is editor of The Adventurist and a freelance journalist who has reviewed restaurants for more than two decades. Email him here.
There’s a moment, somewhere between the Bone Marrow Donut and the Beef Tongue Pho Broth, when you realize that Mai Sushi Tapas & Bar isn’t trying to be just another sushi joint. It’s not trying to be anything, really—except honest to the people who run it.
You’ll find it on Miracle Mile, a cozy 31-seat hideaway with kimonos on the wall, sake bottles lined like soldiers, and a name—Mai—that means “dance” in Japanese. It’s the kind of place where locals might wander in for happy hour and end up sipping a junmai sake flight next to someone dissecting the tasting notes on uni risotto.
Behind it all is a trio who met at a Katsuya in Seattle and decided to open something together: Vietnamese-born chef Khoa Duong, his wife Annie Pham, and Japanese chef Alfred Toita. They call it Japanese cuisine with Vietnamese soul. It’s fusion, yes, but without the usual Instagram gimmickry.
Toita mans the five-seat sushi counter, slicing toro and sweet shrimp flown in from Japan with the precision of someone who’s been doing it for decades. His pintxo-style nigiri—like the uni snow crab with truffle mayo or spicy tuna with guacamole and jalapeño—feel less like appetizers and more like declarations.
Duong brings in the Vietnamese flavors, sometimes subtly, sometimes not. His Iberico pork cheek gets char siu treatment with fermented bean and pickled papaya. The Japanese wagyu burger comes with cheddar, caramelized onion, and guava BBQ unagi sauce, because, well, why not? This is Miami.
The menu flips between light and lush: a delicate hotaro ika with firefly squid and tomato-strawberry gazpacho, followed by steak skewers with nuoc cham that taste like the Fourth of July in Hanoi.
Weekends mean an $80 tasting menu with dishes like uni risotto and sashimi served alongside curated sake pairings. If you’re the type to order bluefin by the box, Mai’s got you with an akami, chu-toro, and o-toro combo for two.
Cocktails are cheeky but not too sweet—the Pinky Guava with sake and lime fizz is a standout. Happy hour hits daily, with drinks from $4 and tapas up to $16, which means you can drop by without taking out a second mortgage.
Mai Sushi Tapas & Bar is open nightly and on Instagram at @maisushitapas.
