UKIYO Is Bringing Theatrical Kaiten Sushi to Miami Beach This Fall

This fall, NOAH Hospitality Group is opening UKIYO on the second level of 818 Lincoln Road, bringing a fully theatrical take on kaiten-style sushi to Miami Beach. The 7,431-square-foot indoor-outdoor space blends architecture, landscape, and water into an immersive dining environment, with layered lighting and natural materials turning every table into its own intimate setting.

Photo Credit: UKIYOPhoto Credit: UKIYO

UKIYO takes its name and its guiding philosophy from the Japanese concept of “ukiyo,” the floating world, and turns that idea into the literal centerpiece of the room. A custom-designed conveyor belt continuously circulates handcrafted nigiri, sashimi, and specialty rolls throughout the dining room, while Japanese-inspired performances are woven directly into service. Each dish’s arrival on the belt is staged as its own choreographed presentation, treating a format usually associated with speed and casualness as something closer to theater.

Photo Credit: UKIYO

Executive Chef Nono Shigetomi sources premium seafood directly from select fisheries across Japan, rounding out the menu with imported Japanese ingredients and seasonal South Florida produce. The signature Ukiyo Roll brings together four kinds of seafood, tuna, salmon, hiramasa, and Hokkaido scallop, topped with soy-glazed wagyu and umami crunch, sourced from Tokyo’s Toyosu and Tsukiji markets. Beyond the belt, the menu includes tableside kamameshi finished with skirt steak and Jidori egg, a rotating House Dumpling Cart offering handcrafted dumplings pan-fried, steamed, or deep-fried, fire-charred robata skewers, house-made paitan ramen, and seafood fried rice.

Photo Credit: UKIYO

Casa Medina Design Studio built the space around Rosso Lepanto stone, emerald leather-finished marble, handcrafted millwork, and aged brass detailing, set against warm, Japanese-inspired lantern lighting. A tranquil water feature reinforces the “floating world” concept throughout the room, while the custom conveyor belt itself doubles as the space’s sculptural centerpiece rather than a purely functional element.

Photo Credit: UKIYO

For NOAH Hospitality Group Founder Philippe Kalifa, the project is built around a specific idea of what hospitality is actually for. “For me, hospitality has never been about simply serving food. It’s about creating emotion,” Kalifa says. “We wanted to build a restaurant people would continue talking about long after they left, not only because of what they ate, but because of how the evening made them feel. Every detail was designed to transform a familiar dining tradition into something immersive, elegant, and unforgettable.”

UKIYO will serve dinner starting at 6 p.m., with hours running 6 p.m. to midnight Tuesday through Thursday and Sunday, and until 2 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays.