Dashi Miami

Dashi is the recently-opened restaurant presided over by Chef Shuji Hiyakawa at the River Yacht Club in the Brickell area of Miami. It is exceptional and should be at or near the top of the list for any lover of authentic, refined Japanese cuisine. My wife and I can't say enough good things about them. First of all, a tip: although everything on the menu looks delicious, ask for the chef to prepare for you whatever he wishes. This trust will be rewarded with an extraordinary tasting menu with a variety of beautiful flavors. Just let him know your budget and they can tailor a meal to that. Before I wax poetic about the food, I need to give a shout out to the serving staff, as well as the interior design. As you might expect from an eatery that is part part of the Miami River Yacht Club, was extremely lovely and well thought out. It had an elegant, modern feel about with touches of Japanese aesthetic without become theme-y. The restaurant is inside the Miami River Yacht Club, so from the front street entrance, there's no signage for Dashi. Also, although the inside faces the Miami river and is beautiful, the area right in front of the street entrance is quite sketchy. Recommend valet, and to not be put off going inside. The service was far above average across the board. Each time we finished a dish, a server immediately came, asked permission to take it away, and did so. No plates or bowls were left hanging around, and nothing was taken before we were done. I want to give special kudos to our main server Mimi. She had just recently (as it's recently opened), but had already developed a very good knowledge of each dish and was warm and friendly, and willing to explain anything we had questions about. Also, she was prompt and efficient. Of course, the best service of all was provided by Chef Hiyakawa, who came out and presented the dishes to us! Not sure if he does this all the time, or because we asked for this 'tasting menu' at his discretion, but it was a great experience. We had an 10 course plus dessert meal, served family style for the three members of our party, so bear with me while I go through them: Ocean Scallops: served in a bowl set over seaweed in dry ice, the scallops are accompanied by Russian osetra caviar and yuzu. It was redolent of the sea and pleasantly briny. Hamachi Ponzu: little rolls of delicate hamachi, cucumber, cilantro, shio-kobu. Great! Toro Tartar: This was minced into a very smooth, creamy paste and again topped with Russian osetra caviar. You then spread them with small provided wood spoons onto nori-baguettes (baguettes dusted in nori seaweed). Very astutely, they didn't salt the tartar, allowing the saltiness of the caviar and nori to serve this purpose. It was delicious. Heirloom Tomato Salad: Beautifully presented, the tomatoes were sweet but what really stood out wa the yuzu wasabi dressing, which had a bit of pleasant creaminess to it. Cha-Soba Salad: really nicely presented, and mixed with shitake, asparagus and edamame. Tempura: it was as simple as it sounds. Our dining companion declared it the best tempura he had ever had. Chilean Sea Bass Kara-age: fish powdered and fried in cornstarch with nori and spices. It has a strong flavor to it, and the opinion of our table was a bit mixed on this one, but I like it quite a bit. Chilean Sea Bass Miso: opinion however was not mixed about this dish. Everyone raved about it. The fish was perfectly cooked, and the miso sauce was delicious and a great balance of sweet and tart. Lamb: This was a table favorite, which is interesting because we don't usually think of lamb when you think Japanese cuisine. However, this was literally perfectly cooked, thinly sliced and lean without gaminess. It melts in your mouth. Delicious. Spicy Seafood Udon: We were informed that Udon noodle soup is the traditional way that you end many meals in Japan.