Sumi Yakitori Sold to New Owners, Now Serving Sushi

Sumi Yakitori was unlike any other restaurant in Miami. Its hamachi was shipped daily from Tokyo's Tsukiji fish market. Its menu featured saut�ed tofu skin, whole deep-fried quail, skewered chicken hearts, and wild mushroom kamameshi. There was yakitori -- meats skewered on bamboo sticks and cooked over slow-burning binchotan coals...

By Emily Codik

February 6, 2014

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Sumi Yakitori was unlike any other restaurant in Miami.

Its hamachi was shipped daily from Tokyo's Tsukiji fish market. Its menu featured sautéed tofu skin, whole deep-fried quail, skewered chicken hearts, and wild mushroom kamameshi. There was yakitori -- meats skewered on bamboo sticks and cooked over slow-burning binchotan coals. It was one of the best restaurants reviewed last year.

But now, owner Jeffrey Chen has sold the restaurant, and the once-thrilling menu has been replaced with more ordinary fare: dragon rolls, chicken teriyaki, and miso soup.

"Yes, it's true. Sumi has a new operator and new menu," confirms Mei Yu, Chen's representative.

Sumi Yakitori burst onto Miami's dining scene last year, serving delectable bacon-wrapped quail eggs, chicken gizzards, and angel hair noodles in soy-based broths.

But things have changed at the tiny Brickell restaurant. Sumi's new owners, who haven't returned Short Order's request for comment, unfurled a menu featuring sushi. Among the offerings, there are rolls dubbed "Temptation," "Mr. 305," and "Sex on the Beach."

It's a stark contrast to Chen's style of cookery, which can still be savored at nearby Momi Ramen. At his noodle shop, he proffers the best ramen in Miami. Noodles are made fresh daily in-house. His tonkotsu broth -- made by simmering pork bones and chicken for 18 hours -- is a rich, tawny, perfect liquid.

And thankfully, that remains unchanged. "Jeffrey is cooking up at Momi [Ramen] every day. If you'd like to see him, he's at Momi noon to 3 a.m.," says Yu.

Follow Emily on Twitter @EmilyCodik.

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