Restaurants
Liquid Gold, Greedy Angels and the Rum Putting India in a Bottle
Camikara Is Turning Fresh Indian Sugarcane, Brutal Northern Heat and a Nearly Empty Barrel Into a Pure Cane Juice Rum Determined to Give India Its Own Place in the Global Rum Conversation.
Imagine putting a barrel of rum away for 12 years, patiently waiting while the spirit matures, develops and takes on the character of the wood.
Then you finally crack it open.
Ninety-four percent of it is gone.
Welcome to making rum in northern India, where apparently even the angels drink heavily.
That extraordinary loss to evaporation is also where the story of Camikara, meaning “Liquid Gold” in Sanskrit, really begins.
“When we decided to launch our product, the first expression was the oldest rum we matured at our distillery,” explained Madhu Kanna, Director of International Sales. “Our pure cane juice rum was matured for 12 long years in the extreme climate of northern India, where summer goes up to 122 degrees F and winter goes down to 32 degrees F.”
By the end of those 12 years, Kanna said just six percent of the original liquid remained.
“Every drop of this pure cane juice rum with no additives was equivalent to GOLD,” he said. “Hence, ‘Liquid Gold’ and thus the name Camikara.”
Suddenly, the name doesn’t sound like something dreamed up during a marketing meeting. When 94 percent of your barrel has vanished into the atmosphere, you may be tempted to put the remaining six percent in a vault.
Rum With an Indian Passport
Camikara’s story starts with something India has had in abundance for a very long time: sugarcane.
Kanna points to India’s enormous sugarcane industry and a much older history of local rum production, including traditions he says predate British rule. Yet modern Indian rum largely moved in another direction.
“Post independence, no distillery in India made a pure cane juice rum,” Kanna said. “The art, science, patience, and cost that goes into making a pure cane juice rum with no additives is not easy.”
Instead of beginning with molasses, Camikara is distilled from fresh, locally grown sugarcane juice. There is no added sugar or coloring.
For producer Piccadily Agro Industries, the goal was not simply to release another bottle carrying the word “rum.”
“At Piccadily, we wanted to revive the age-old tradition and restore the ancient and true spirit of Indian ‘Rum’ to its original form,” Kanna said. “Hence, we decided to do Camikara, which is 100% pure cane juice with no additives.”
That naturally invites comparisons to rhum agricole, the cane juice rum tradition most famously associated with the French Caribbean.
But India is not Martinique with a different label slapped on the bottle.
Camikara uses an indigenous variety of locally grown sugarcane, and then there is that northern Indian climate. Those wildly different conditions change how the liquid interacts with its barrel and how quickly it matures.
“We think your question has the answers,” Kanna said when asked what makes the spirit unmistakably Indian. “It is an indigenous variety of sugarcane that is locally grown that we use, plus our climate and terroir are very different.”
In other words, the passport matters.
The Angels Have Expensive Taste
Even the younger Camikara expressions can lose roughly 10 to 12 percent of their volume annually during maturation, according to the producer.
That is the famous “angel’s share,” the romantic spirits-industry term for evaporation from a barrel.
Romantic, perhaps, until it is your rum disappearing.
So, naturally, we asked Kanna whether Camikara lovingly accepts the angel’s share or occasionally considers sending the angels an invoice.
“We would love to call our angels greedy, but they are also generous,” he said. “While they take away all the liquid, they give us back rich flavors and characteristics in a short time, which in any other part of the world would take a much longer time.”
Fair enough.
Greedy angels. Good rum. We’ll call it even.
Three Years Young
The Camikara 3-Year-Old, bottled at 42.8% ABV and carrying a suggested retail price of about $30, spends its maturation in American oak.
This is the expression that stays closer to its agricultural beginnings.
“The 3-Year-Old still retains the earthy, fresh cane juice notes,” Kanna explained. “The impact of the barrel in the liquid is less.”
Expect fresh sugarcane, vegetal character, melon, honey and vanilla on the nose, followed by subtle oak, char and delicate smoke.
But the three-year-old is not merely the kid at the grown-ups’ table.
At the 2025 Rum & Cachaça Masters in London, it earned a Gold medal in the Gold Rum, Aged up to 7 Years category, putting Camikara alongside international producers in a blind-tasting competition.
For a company trying to convince drinkers that premium Indian rum deserves international attention, that carried some weight.
“Earning a Gold at Rum & Cachaca Masters means you are competing against some of the best in the world and competing with regions who have mastered the art of rum making more than us,” Kanna said. “For us it is simply humbling and gives us a pat on the back that we are doing something right.”
Then came the part that sounded less like celebration and more like a challenge:
“Now the world needs to discover us.”
Eight Years Older, Bolder and Woodier
If the three-year-old still has dirt on its boots, the Camikara 8-Year-Old has had some time to dress up.
Also bottled at 42.8% ABV, with an SRP around $40 to $45, the eight-year expression is distilled in copper stills and matured in American oak.
Kanna skipped the usual parade of tasting adjectives when asked to imagine the two expressions as personalities walking into a party.
“The 8-Year-Old is like a bold personality that has matured over time, taking more characteristics from the wood and more nuance to produce,” he said.
Honey, ginger, caramel, prune and leather lead into vegetal character, banana, marshmallow, ginger and sweet spice before wood and caramel settle into the finish.
And that older sibling has been collecting hardware of its own.
At the 2026 Rum & Cachaça Masters, the Camikara 8-Year-Old earned a Master medal in the Agricole Aged Rhum category, while the three-year-old collected another Gold. Judges cited the eight-year’s bright estery qualities, creamy character and tropical fruit.
The eight-year also earned a Master medal at the 2026 Asian Spirits Masters, where judges praised its richness, complexity and balance. The three-year took Gold there as well.
Not bad for a country Kanna says nobody expected to enter the premium pure cane juice rum conversation in the first place.
“I don’t think anyone expected a pure cane juice rum to come out of India, especially with no additives,” he said.
The company’s earlier 12-year expression helped announce Camikara internationally when it scored 95 points at the IWSC, according to Kanna.
“I think we took the world by surprise,” he said. “People are happy that finally a pure cane juice rum has come from a sugarcane growing country like India. It was long overdue.”
Before You Reach for the Coke…
Rum has spent plenty of years fighting an image problem.
For some drinkers, it remains something sweet that gets buried under fruit juice, cola or enough crushed ice to build a small snowman.
Camikara would rather introduce itself before the mixer does.
“Rum has more deep-rooted history than any other spirit in the world,” Kanna said, pointing toward its historical roles in trade and barter. “I think Camikara is all about bringing back the roots, heritage, and respecting your local crop.”
So how would he serve it if we were sitting together in India after a long day?
No elaborate ritual. No umbrella. No blender roaring in the background.
“We would want you to drink Camikara without adding water or ice,” Kanna said. “It is pure clean sipping rum, which has great character and body.”
More importantly, he would want the first impression to trigger something beyond an analytical checklist of vanilla, oak, caramel and spice.
“You would notice the smell of fresh sugarcane juice in Camikara,” he said. “It would instantly take you back to your childhood or your memories of your first sugarcane juice you ever had.”
Then Kanna offered perhaps the best description of Camikara in the entire conversation.
“You would notice India in a bottle.”
But We’re Still Making a Cocktail
We respect the neat pour.
We really do.
But eventually somebody is going to find the pineapple juice.
For that moment, Camikara suggests the Sandhya, a tiki-style cocktail inspired by the transition from day into evening.
Combine 45 ml Camikara, 30 ml falernum, 20 ml lime juice, 45 ml pineapple juice and two dashes of Angostura bitters in a shaker with ice. Shake until chilled, strain into a tiki glass and garnish with a pineapple slice.
The pineapple brings the tropics, lime supplies the bite, falernum contributes spice and sweetness, and Camikara provides the cane and oak underneath it all.
The angels already took their cut.
You might as well enjoy yours.
More Than Another Medal
There is an obvious scoreboard for a spirits company trying to expand internationally: awards, distribution, sales and bottles appearing behind bars thousands of miles from home.
Kanna wants all of those things.
But when asked what success for Camikara would look like five or ten years from now, the answer eventually returned to India.
“What is more important is people awakening to the fact that India makes such high-quality spirits and how they shine amongst the best in the world,” he said. “For us, we feel proud that we are creating products that make our country proud.”
That may be the bigger story developing inside these barrels.
Camikara isn’t asking consumers to forget the great rum traditions of the Caribbean or anywhere else. It is making room at the table for another one, built from Indian cane, Indian climate and an Indian sense of place.
There is something wonderfully stubborn about taking a crop that has grown across the country for generations, patiently watching a ridiculous amount of it evaporate into the heavens and then bottling what survives.
Call it terroir.
Call it patience.
Call those angels greedy.
Camikara calls it Liquid Gold.
Sweetwaters brings coastal dining, creative cocktails and New River views to Fort Lauderdale’s newly reimagined Huizenga Park.
October 7, 2026
If your ideal South Florida evening involves cocktails, seafood, a table by the water and boats casually passing by while you decide whether you really need dessert, Sweetwaters Fort Lauderdale may have just figured you out.
SFL Insider got an early look at the brand-new waterfront restaurant during its VIP opening celebration, and honestly, this is exactly the kind of place that makes living in South Florida pretty fun.
Sweetwaters officially opens October 12 inside the newly reimagined Huizenga Park, right where Las Olas Boulevard meets the New River in Downtown Fort Lauderdale. And while the food definitely deserves attention, you have to start with this location.
Because it is really good.
The nearly 10,000-square-foot restaurant was designed to take full advantage of the waterfront, with a huge indoor dining room, open kitchen, raw bar and two outdoor terraces. One patio stretches toward the New River while the other faces Huizenga Park, so basically, pick your view.
For the opening celebration, guests moved around the restaurant with cocktails in hand while trying passed hors d’oeuvres, chef-curated stations and selections from the raw bar.
Which, for the record, is a pretty excellent way to introduce yourself to Fort Lauderdale.
Okay, But Let’s Talk About the Food
Executive Chef Nicco V. Salanitro and Culinary Director Matthieu Godard are behind a menu that leans into Sweetwaters’ South Florida setting with seafood, sushi, shareable dishes and some menu items that clearly aren’t interested in being boring.
You can start relatively civilized with Yellowfin Tuna Crudo, made with mango, tangerine, ponzu and pickled Fresno, or the Castaway Roll with shrimp tempura, sashimi, avocado and yuzu aioli.
Or you can immediately commit.
The Grand Seafood Tower arrives loaded with East and West Coast oysters, chilled shrimp, mussels, clams, tuna tartare, crab salad and half a Maine lobster.
Yes. Half a lobster.
There is also a Chef’s Sushi Tower stacked with signature rolls, spicy tuna crispy rice, nigiri, sashimi and tuna crudo.
And things only get more interesting from there.
The Whole Crispy Local Snapper comes with coconut-cilantro rice and aji verde. Lobster Spaghetti pairs an entire Maine lobster with spicy tomato vodka sauce. The Pink Brick features wagyu flat iron with black truffle butter and chimichurri and gets scorched tableside.
But our attention immediately went to two words:
Nuggets & Caviar.
They are exactly what they sound like. Free-range chicken nuggets topped with yuzu crème fraîche, Osetra caviar, gold flakes and lime zest.
It’s fancy. It’s ridiculous. We want it.
And apparently vegetables are allowed to have personalities here too, because one of the sides is literally called Spinach, But Sexy.
We appreciate the commitment.
@RomainMaurice
Save Room for a Cocktail. And Probably Dessert.
The cocktail menu is equally playful.
Tiffany combines tequila, bergamot liqueur, citrus and coconut and gets finished with limoncello sorbet and white pearls. Paid Vacation mixes passion fruit and tarragon-infused vodka with purple basil and Szechuan flower, while Cloud Nine brings together ginger-infused vodka, yuzu sake and orange-ginger tea with lychee caviar and citrus-aloe foam.
And because Sweetwaters apparently understands that sometimes we shouldn’t have to choose, there’s an Affogato Martini with vodka, espresso liqueur, espresso and a scoop of Madagascar vanilla bean gelato.
Dessert isn’t exactly subtle either.
Going Bananas is a giant shareable sundae with brûléed banana, chocolate, strawberry and vanilla bean gelato, salted caramel, candied pecans and cherries.
Then there’s Miss Trunchbull, an 11-layer chocolate cake.
If you know, you know.
@RomainMaurice
This Might Be Your New Las Olas Happy Hour Spot
Sweetwaters comes from Specialty Restaurants, the family-owned hospitality group behind Miami’s longtime waterfront favorite, Rusty Pelican. This is the company’s first Fort Lauderdale restaurant and its first Florida expansion beyond Key Biscayne.
But Sweetwaters doesn’t feel like it is trying to recreate Miami in Fort Lauderdale.
The restaurant feels made for this particular spot.
Huizenga Park, the Riverwalk and the New River are right outside, and the restaurant was designed so you can move between the dining room, terraces, park and waterfront instead of feeling closed off from everything happening around you.
Chef Salanitro described the idea as somewhere guests could walk through the park, stop for oysters and cocktails while watching the boats pass and then stay for dinner after sunset.
Yeah. We can work with that.
The VIP opening brought out plenty of familiar South Florida faces too, including fashion designer Rene Ruiz, former Miami Mayor Tomás Regalado, real estate developer Ramola Motwani, developer Luis Birdman and Specialty Restaurants President and CEO John Tallichet.
But once the party is over, Sweetwaters has to become somewhere locals actually want to come back to.
And with waterfront tables, a weekday happy hour, an inventive cocktail menu, seafood towers, lobster spaghetti and literal caviar-topped chicken nuggets?
We don’t think convincing people to come back is going to be the hard part.
@WorldRedEye
Sweetwaters Fort Lauderdale Opens October 12
Sweetwaters officially opens October 12, 2026, at 58 E. Las Olas Blvd. in Downtown Fort Lauderdale.
Dinner is served Sunday through Thursday from 4 to 10 p.m. and Friday and Saturday from 4 to 11 p.m. Even better, happy hour runs Monday through Friday from 4 to 6:30 p.m. at the bar. Sweetwaters_Pre-Opening Release… Sweetwaters_Pre-Opening Release…
So yes, we got to see Sweetwaters before everyone else.
Now it’s your turn.
Grab a table outside, order something from the raw bar, get a cocktail and stay long enough to watch the New River change as the sun goes down.
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Forget sweater weather. Palace Miami Beach’s new Fall Harvest Menu is bringing pumpkin season to South Beach, and one dish was genuinely one of the best things I’ve ever eaten.
September 4, 2026
Miami has never needed changing leaves, chilly temperatures, or a reason to order another cocktail.
So when Palace invited us in for an early taste of its new Fall Harvest Menu, launching September 21st, I was curious. Pumpkin on Ocean Drive? Sure. Pumpkin in cocktails, arepas, gnocchi, tres leches, and flan?
Now you have my attention.
The idea is actually perfect for Miami. Palace wanted to capture that nostalgic feeling of fall for a city where September still feels very much like summer. Rather than throwing pumpkin spice into everything and calling it seasonal, the kitchen challenged itself to use actual pumpkin across cocktails, savory dishes, and desserts in ways that made sense for the Palace.
And after tasting the menu, I can tell you this: do not dismiss this as a pumpkin-spice gimmick.
Because I am still thinking about that gnocchi.
Let’s Talk About This Gnocchi
I need to start here because pretending otherwise would be dishonest.
The Brown Butter Pumpkin Gnocchi was not simply my favorite dish on the menu.
It was one of the best things I have ever eaten in my entire life.
Yes, I realize how dramatic that sounds.
I stand by it.
Roasted pumpkin, Parmesan, crispy sage, and pancetta come together with brown butter in what can only be described as a ridiculously good bowl of fall comfort food.
It is rich. It is savory. It has that warm nuttiness from the brown butter, saltiness from the Parmesan and pancetta, and just enough pumpkin to make the whole thing unmistakably seasonal without turning dinner into dessert.
And the crispy sage? Do not underestimate the crispy sage.
This was one of those dishes where I took a bite and immediately had to make sure everyone else at the table understood what was happening.
If you order one thing from this menu, order the gnocchi.
Actually, Palace, I have a request: please don’t take this one away when fall ends.
Yes, We Had to Try the Pumpkin Espresso Martini
If there was ever a cocktail designed for Instagram in September, this is probably it.
The Pumpkin Espresso Martini combines fresh espresso, Licor 43, and house-made roasted pumpkin syrup.
Palace predicted this would be one of the stars of the new menu before it even launched, and I understand why.
The important distinction here is that this isn’t simply an espresso martini buried beneath pumpkin spice. The roasted pumpkin syrup makes it seasonal while the espresso and Licor 43 keep it firmly in cocktail territory.
It feels like fall.
It also feels like Miami.
Which is basically the entire point.
Then Palace Put Pumpkin in a Margarita
Because of course they did.
The Harvest Pumpkin Margarita takes reposado and roasted pumpkin, adds Ancho Reyes and finishes everything with a Tajín-cinnamon salt rim.
And I love that Palace didn’t make its two pumpkin cocktails variations of the same drink.
The espresso martini leans into cozy fall flavors. The margarita goes straight back to Miami with tequila, chile and Tajín.
This is pumpkin season with absolutely no intention of putting on a cable-knit sweater.
Burrata, Hot Honey and Pumpkin Walk Into an Arepa…
This might be one of the more unexpected combinations on the menu.
The Pumpkin & Burrata Arepa brings together hot honey, toasted pepitas and crispy sage with pumpkin and burrata.
And this is where I started appreciating what Palace was trying to do with the menu.
Pumpkin isn’t being treated like a flavor that automatically needs cinnamon, sugar and whipped cream. It’s an ingredient.
That was intentional. Palace’s team told us they specifically didn’t want pumpkin to feel forced. They started with dishes and flavors that already made sense for the restaurant and incorporated pumpkin where it could complement them rather than take them over.
That philosophy makes a lot more sense once you’re actually sitting there eating your way through the menu.
And then you remember you’re on Ocean Drive.
In September.
Eating pumpkin and burrata.
Miami is weird. I love it here.
Save Room. Seriously.
Just when you’ve eaten enough pumpkin to reasonably believe you’ve reached your limit, Palace brings out dessert.
And apparently, no, you have not reached your limit.
The Pumpkin Tres Leches Cake layers those fall flavors with mascarpone, dulce de leche and candied pecans.
Then there’s the Pumpkin Coconut Flan, finished with coconut caramel, toasted coconut and candied pepitas.
I particularly like the decision to bring coconut into the flan because this menu works best when it stops trying to imitate fall somewhere else and starts asking what fall should taste like here.
Pumpkin and coconut?
On South Beach?
That makes sense.
This Is What Fall Looks Like in Miami
There is something inherently funny about celebrating fall in South Florida.
Our leaves aren’t changing.
Nobody needs a fireplace.
And if you wear the cute fall outfit you saved on Pinterest in September, you’re probably going to regret it before you make it from the parking garage to the restaurant.
But we still want the season.
That’s exactly what Palace tapped into.
“Miami is full of people who grew up somewhere else,” the Palace team explained, noting that there’s a nostalgia surrounding fall even when South Florida’s weather refuses to participate. The Fall Harvest Menu is their way of bringing some of that feeling to Ocean Drive.
And honestly?
I’ll take brown butter pumpkin gnocchi over sweater weather.
Come for Palace. Stay for the Food.
Palace obviously doesn’t need an introduction when it comes to entertainment. The restaurant has built its identity around the larger-than-life drag experience that has become synonymous with the venue.
But there’s another message behind this menu that Palace clearly wants people to hear:
Pay attention to the food.
The team acknowledges that many guests initially know Palace for its drag and entertainment, but they want the cocktails and dishes to become just as memorable as the show.
After this tasting, I get it.
Because I expected a fun seasonal menu.
I did not expect to leave contemplating how quickly I could reasonably return for another bowl of pumpkin gnocchi.
And yet, here we are.
What You Absolutely Need to Order
If you’re heading to Palace for the Fall Harvest Menu, the Brown Butter Pumpkin Gnocchi is non-negotiable. I don’t give “one of the best things I’ve ever eaten” status lightly.
The Pumpkin Espresso Martini is the obvious cocktail order if you want the full fall experience, while the rest of the menu proves pumpkin deserves considerably more culinary respect than we’ve given it after years of turning it into coffee syrup.
The Fall Harvest Menu launches September 21 at Palace Miami Beach, bringing pumpkin cocktails, savory dishes, and desserts to Ocean Drive.
No sweaters required.
Just please save me some gnocchi.
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UKIYO Miami Beach Is About to Make Conveyor Belt Sushi Seriously Sexy
September 2, 2026
There are new restaurant openings we want to check out, and then there are the ones that immediately make us think: I NEED TO GO.
UKIYO is definitely the latter.
Opening this October at 818 Lincoln Road in Miami Beach, the newest concept from NOAH Hospitality Group takes Japan’s iconic kaiten, or conveyor belt sushi, tradition and gives it a Miami makeover.
We’re talking premium seafood from Japan traveling through the dining room on a custom-designed conveyor belt, live culinary performances, tableside cooking, a roaming dumpling cart and a gorgeous 7,431-square-foot space designed to keep the experience moving all night.
And judging by the first renderings and menu details, UKIYO already has our attention.
UKIYO’s custom kaiten conveyor belt will serve as the centerpiece of the new Miami Beach restaurant. Courtesy of Casa Medina Design Studio/UKIYO.
Not Your Average Conveyor Belt Sushi
Inspired by the Japanese concept of ukiyo, meaning “the floating world,” the restaurant is designed around movement.
The conveyor belt isn’t simply there to deliver sushi. It’s essentially the stage.
Handcrafted nigiri, sashimi and specialty rolls will continuously circulate through the dining room, while chefs work in view of guests and new creations make their way from the sushi counter onto the belt through choreographed presentations.
Live culinary performances will add another layer of entertainment throughout dinner.
NOAH Hospitality Group founder Philippe Kalifa says that sense of experience was intentional.
“For me, hospitality has never been about simply serving food. It’s about creating emotion.”
His goal? To create a restaurant people remember not just for what they ate, but for how the entire evening made them feel.
We’re listening.
The Menu Is Where Things Get Really Interesting
Executive Chef Nono Shigetomi will lead UKIYO’s kitchen, with premium seafood sourced from carefully selected fisheries across Japan and fish coming from Tokyo’s Toyosu and Tsukiji markets.
The signature Ukiyo Roll alone sounds like it deserves a visit: tuna, salmon, hiramasa and Hokkaido scallop topped with soy-glazed wagyu and umami crunch.
“Freshness isn’t our goal, it’s our starting point,” Shigetomi said. “Every ingredient is selected with intention because great sushi begins long before the fish reaches the plate.”
Beyond the conveyor belt, the menu ventures into robata, tempura, crudo, carpaccio and Japanese comfort dishes.
Expect cumin-soy glazed wagyu and yakitori-glazed chicken from the robata grill, plus a rich paitan ramen loaded with braised duck, sous vide chicken, pork chashu and pork wonton.
There’s also crispy yakisoba finished with ankake sauce and seafood fried rice made with seasoned takikomi gohan rather than standard steamed white rice.
And then things get even better.
Did Someone Say Tableside Kamameshi?
UKIYO’s traditional kamameshi will be cooked fresh at the table in individual kama pots.
The rice is prepared with dashi, soy, sake, mirin, hijiki, carrot and mushroom, then finished with grilled marinated skirt steak and a Jidori egg.
But there’s another menu feature that may have already won us over.
A roaming dumpling cart. Yes, really.
A signature House Dumpling Cart will travel around the dining room carrying a rotating selection of freshly handcrafted beef, pork, chicken, shrimp and vegetarian dumplings. Guests can choose them pan-fried, steamed or deep-fried.
We have a feeling “No, thank you” is going to be extremely difficult when a cart of hot dumplings rolls up to the table.
Japanese-inspired lanterns and warm woodwork lead guests toward UKIYO’s open culinary experience. Courtesy of Casa Medina Design Studio/UKIYO.
And Just Look at This Place
The food may move, but UKIYO’s design gives you plenty of reasons to stop and look around.
Casa Medina Design Studio is behind the 7,431-square-foot restaurant, blending traditional Japanese influences with the darker, sexier energy of Miami Beach after dark.
Rosso Lepanto stone, emerald-toned leathered marble, aged brass, handcrafted millwork and warm Japanese-inspired lanterns fill the interior. A flowing water feature reinforces the restaurant’s “floating world” inspiration.
And at the center of everything sits the custom conveyor belt.
Based on the renderings, chefs will work within the heart of the restaurant as the belt winds around the dining room, placing the food preparation directly into the action rather than hiding it behind the scenes.
It looks intimate, dramatic and just theatrical enough.
UKIYO’s dramatic bar pairs sculptural stone, handcrafted millwork and softly illuminated Japanese-inspired details. Courtesy of Casa Medina Design Studio/UKIYO.
Sushi at 10. Cocktails at Midnight?
This is still Miami Beach, after all.
UKIYO isn’t positioning itself as somewhere you grab an early sushi dinner and head home.
On Friday and Saturday nights, the restaurant plans to remain open until 2 a.m.
And that gorgeous bar suddenly makes a lot more sense.
The restaurant is being designed as a meeting point between Japanese hospitality and Miami’s international, nightlife-driven personality. Traditional techniques and Japanese ingredients form the foundation, while theatrical presentations, dramatic interiors and late-night hours give the concept a distinctly Miami edge.
It’s easy to imagine coming for sushi and staying considerably longer than planned.
When Does UKIYO Miami Beach Open?
Unfortunately, not tomorrow.
UKIYO is scheduled to open in mid-October 2026 at 818 Lincoln Road in Miami Beach.
Dinner will be served from 6 p.m. to midnight Tuesday through Thursday and Sunday, with Friday and Saturday service continuing until 2 a.m. The restaurant will be closed Mondays.
And yes, SFL Insider will be getting an early look.
We’ll be heading to UKIYO ahead of its official debut to experience the restaurant firsthand, which means we’ll be back with the sushi, the cocktails, the space and, most importantly, a full investigation into this roaming dumpling cart.
For now, UKIYO has officially made our list of Miami restaurant openings we cannot wait to try this fall.
October, hurry up!
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