Little Lotus Miami

Flower Power

A Hidden Downtown Izakaya

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UD - Little Lotus Miami Let’s play a game. (Trust us, beer and grilled meat are involved.) You’re on a secret mission.

Target: deliciousness.

Course of action: duck into a jewelry mall hidden in the bowels of a downtown building and emerge satiated by Indonesian curries, deep-fried chicken gizzards and sushi from a Morimoto alum.

Introducing Little Lotus Miami, a Tokyo-inspired hideaway specializing in obscure Japanese tapas and Indonesian delicacies, now open downtown.

This isn’t some upscale Asian temple where you and your date will swirl ginger saketinis while admiring sleek Zen decor. It’s just a modest lunch or post-work spot—similar to the underground izakayas you frequented in Osaka—where salarymen go to drink beer and commiserate over sea urchin pasta. The team: a raw fish prodigy who trained with Morimoto and a wok master from Yakko-San.

You’ll sidle up to the four-seat sushi bar or one of the mod white tables in the tiny dining room, give instructions to keep the sake coming and proceed to savor plate after plate of Iron Chef–level cooking: hamachi sashimi topped with fried shallots, jalapeños and capers, fiery Nasi Rendang made with beef and coconut milk, and triangular Spicy Tuna Sandwich maki reminiscent of your childhood PB&J.

And right after Mother’s Day, no less.

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