NAOE

We knew going into Naoe that this was going to be an experience. With only five seats, an omakase menu, and a reputation as one of Miami’s most exclusive dining experiences, you know we had to secure a reservation. 

When we could not find the front door we knew this was going to be a wonderful experience as this is usually a very good sign when it comes to a Japanese restaurant.

Naoe is tucked away on Brickell Key Island in Miami, and is incredibly discreet. However, anyone who knows Miami food knows the deep history and respect for this resturant. And with only five guests seated at the counter, it almost feels less like going to a restaurant and more like being invited into Chef Kevin Cory’s home kitchen.

We learned that Naoe first opened in 2009 in Sunny Isles before relocating to Brickell Key in 2012. Chef Cory, a Miami native, has spent years creating something that is deeply connected to both Miami and his Japanese heritage. In 1999, he traveled to Japan to train with his uncle, Executive Chef Yasushi Naoe. It was very clear from our first greating how deeply that family history is woven throughout the restaurant.

Chef Cory’s family has also been making Naogen shoyu in Oono, Kanazawa, since 1825, and relatives operate Nakamura Shuzou in Ishikawa, the sake brewery behind the family's Nichiei sake.

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The accolades surrounding NAOE are extraordinary. The restaurant has earned Forbes Travel Guide Five-Star recognition for more than a decade as well as the AAA Five Diamond designation. It is currently Miami's only restaurant to hold both distinctions. After experiencing it ourselves, the recognition makes perfect sense.

The evening began with NAOE’s signature bento box, an incredible collection of both hot and cold preparations. before we transitioned into the nigiri portion of the evening. And then Chef Cory began serving us piece after piece across the counter.

There is something particularly special about an omakase this intimate. With only five seats (remember we had three of them), there is nowhere for the experience to become impersonal. You watch everything. You ask questions. You learn. Chef Cory prepares every course himself, and the interaction becomes as important to the evening as the food itself.

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The details throughout the restaurant were extraordinary.

We learned many of the  pottery has been personally collected and carried back from Japan by Chef Cory and his aunt hand-crocheted the placemates

The sake…..

We were able to taste bottles we had never experienced before, including a Genshu Yamahai Ginjo Library Release, but one of the most meaningful pours of the evening was the Nichiei “Saisei” Daiginjo from Nakamura Shuzou in Ishikawa Prefecture.

This is where Naoe becomes particularly personal. Nakamura Shuzou is connected to Chef Cory's family, and Nichiei sake itself has a remarkable family history. His family's Nichiei sake has traditionally been offered at Tsurugaoka Hachimangu, the symbolic shrine of the ancient capital of Kamakura, Japan.

Drinking a sake is one thing. Drinking it while the chef explains his family's connection to the brewery and the history behind what is in your glass transforms it into something entirely different.

And then came perhaps the most interesting bite of our entire evening, Kamenote or gooseneck barnacles. We have eaten some amazing things over the years, but this was a first and we hope not the last. Part of what made them so fascinating was learning about how they are harvested. Gooseneck barnacles grow attached to rocks in areas battered by waves, which makes collecting them entirely by hand both difficult and dangerous. They were absolutely delicious. To say we could have eaten a bucket full would be an understatement. They tasted like the ocean in the best possible way: intensely briny and somewhere between lobster and crab in flavor, with a texture that reminded us a little of calamari. 

One of our favorite Japanese desserts is Kasutera (sponge cake), and Chef Cory baked it fresh right in front of us and served alongside NAOE’s signature ice cream.

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And this is where Emma once again proved that her palate might officially be better than ours. At City Social, she surprised us by correctly identifying the flavor of an ice cream when the rest of us could not quite place it. At Naoe, she did it again, soy sauce.

This was easily one of the best and most memorable omakase experiences we have had. 

Trust us. Find the door.