Six Great Miami Tasting Menus Under $100

If you’re like us and crispy rice is secretly your favorite part of any sushi meal, this stylish hand roll bar in Coral Gables is likely to be up there with your go-to omakase experiences in Miami. Miss Crispy Rice offers several tasting menu options, and luckily, they’re available for under $100. Lunch starts at 7 courses for $35, while dinner starts at 11 courses for $70 per guest (though you can upgrade to the 16-course omakase, or add extras to your meal from the excellent a la carte menu). Ingredients here are flown in from Tokyo’s fish markets, and the sushi ranges from the simple (hello, classic spicy tuna crispy rice) to the all-out gourmet (who can say no to the chef’s signature hand roll of pork belly, fatty tuna and caviar?). Make sure to book a spot at the 16-seat omakase bar for the tasting menu experience. For those after a quick turnaround, there’s a 4-seat Kaisedon Bar exclusively for their express dining service, which includes bountiful chirashi bowls and dumplings.

Palma is the only restaurant on this list without an a la carte option, so dining here follows the classic tasting menu format most closely. Here, the chefs surprise guests each night with a boundary-pushing tasting menu, so you’ll be served small tasting plates of unexpected flavor pairings that are difficult to define as a familiar dish or set style of cuisine — but are always delicious. Florida-born chef Juan Camilo Liscano weaves his magic with ingredients to highlight local flavors and farmers with culinary techniques he’s gathered from across the globe. And while we can’t tell you exactly what will be on the menu the day you’re dining at Palma (other than a signature sweet plantain brioche bread and butter course that comes out mid-meal), the plates will range from memorable and inventive to wildly delicious. Palma’s evolving multi-course menu performance runs $85 per person, a steal in Miami, especially for a restaurant whose entire concept revolves around a tasting menu.

One of the best Italian restaurants in town also offers one of our favorite tasting menus. At this beloved family-run trattoria, you get rustic Italian fare from chef Mike Pirolo, inspired by his time cooking in New York and Italy, plus an impressive wine program of natural-leaning Italian wines curated by beverage director (and Mike’s sister) Jacqueline. Macchialina is where locals go when they’re craving a perfect bowl of housemade pasta, and elsewhere on the menu, plates of polenta, gnocco fritto (fried bread), and veal Milanese are equally comforting. The chef’s four-course tasting menu for $70 makes for an ideal introduction to Pirolo’s signature dishes for any first-timer, but heck, we’d happily take advantage of this deal on every visit.

Though it’s beloved by regulars and those who have graced its intimate dining room, this sushi sanctuary in Edgewater remains a relative secret compared to other sushi hot spots (perhaps it’s the fact that there’s no name on the door). Aoko’s warm wood tones, soft lighting and soothing music all welcome you in for an almost-meditative meal of pristinely prepared raw fish, which makes it the perfect pick for an approachable omakase experience. Aside from an a la carte menu of nigiri and sashimi by the piece and maki and temaki by the roll, Aoko offers an excellent 10-piece nigiri omakase for $75 or 14-piece sashimi selection for only $10 more. And if you’re looking for an expedited selection of the chef’s choosing, opt for their “omakase” version of a chirashi bowl – a colorful, jewel-like arrangement of the day’s best sashimi atop warm sushi rice – for $38.

Now with three locations across Miami (in Midtown, Brickell and South Beach), you could say that beach-themed Bondi Sushi has one of the city’s most accessible omakase menus. This growing upscale-meets-casual sushi chain is known for their quality fresh fish offered at fair price points, including a speedy 12-piece omakase tasting available at their central sushi bar for $75. You can also order nigiri, sashimi, hand rolls, and specialty rolls like surf & turf or toro & scallop, along with their cult favorite crispy rice. And don’t miss out on Bondi’s cocktails, which were curated by NYC-based Michelin-starred sister concepts, Noda and Shinji’s.

COTE’s Butcher’s Feast is the ultimate tasting menu for meat aficionados and the perfect entry point to a meal at this Michelin-starred Korean steakhouse. Here, guests gather around a tabletop grill meant for searing raw steak cuts, but instead of cooking it on your own like this is some sort of commoner’s Melting Pot, the servers work in mezmerising unison to season, flip and grill your steak like a perfectly choreographed dance. For $78 per person, you’ll get four different cuts of Prime and American Wagyu beef, along with a whole slew of Korean accompaniments that make it a real feast, like spicy stews, a savory egg souffle, salads, rice and banchan (lightly pickled and seasoned vegetables). It’s more than enough to leave you feeling satisfied (and spoiled), and there’s also a much more elaborate steak omakase option if you’re looking to splurge.