Inside Gianni's Suite at the Versace Mansion, an intimate four-seat sushi bar will debut Monday, February 4, complete with a self-service sake machine, a fireplace, and 60-minute omakase experiences.

Think of Sushi by Bou, which includes three locations in New York City, as an incredibly small Japanese speakeasy. For $125 per person, customers will engage in an hourlong meal with numerous small dishes, which might range from smoked lean tuna to uni sea urchin or a scallop topped with lightly smoked charcoal salt.

The counter is the suite's bar, which is set up with four snug stools. In the corner, customers can serve themselves three types of sake for an additional $30. There's also an option to add a curated sake pairing or sip a cocktail from Gianni's regular bar.

Every Sushi by Bou dining experience will begin almost immediately when guests enter the Versace Mansion in South Beach. Once they're checked in at the front desk, an attendant will hand over a keycard and escort them to the 500-square-foot Gianni's Suite, which houses the makeshift restaurant.
If you're wondering why Sushi by Bou isn't opening inside a larger space, owners Michael Sinensky and Erika London say it's on purpose. The two, who run the hospitality company Simple Venue, are in constant search of underutilized spaces within existing hotels to transform into unique experiential concepts. As with Sushi by Bou's NYC locations, chef David Bouhadana will lead the operation.

This isn't the first undercover sushi bar to open in Miami. In the past year, Hiden — an eight-person omakase restaurant — secretly opened behind the Taco Stand in Wynwood and now requires reservations months in advance. There's also Sushi Azabu in South Beach, which includes its own secluded sushi bar.

Only time will tell if Sushi by Bou will garner the same kind of attention. Right now, the restaurant is accepting bookings for February.

Sushi by Bou, Gianni’s Suite at the Versace Mansion. 1116 Ocean Dr., Miami Beach; sushibybou.com.