Sushi ZeY — Restaurant in Aventura

The service was SO friendly and welcoming, they really went out of their way to be great hosts. But the proposition is confusing. TL;DR this feels like more of a "sushi concept" for people who like the idea of sushi but find authentic Japanese sushi too exotic. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, but the branding is a bit misleading if you're really expecting a "traditional" sushi experience, whether that means authentic Japanese or standard Americanized sushi.

Examples: The menu has an entire page dedicated to different variations of a traditional "Philadelphia" roll (i.e. salmon, cream cheese). At the same time, there is no nigiri. I'm not sure I've ever been to another sushi restaurant in Asia or North America where there were rolls but no nigiri. The only raw fish I saw on the menu was salmon (the "safest" fish in terms of adventurousness. The limited other seafood (eel, tempura shrimp, crab) is all very benign/safe. There's a very heavy focus on dairy (cream cheese, melts, etc.) which are limited in North American sushi restaurants and basically non-existent in Japanese sushi. The focus for many of the rolls is unexpected. Some rolls are covered in toasted sesame seeds (they made a point to say they're toasted in-house). But freshly-toasted sesame seeds are very strong in flavor, and the rolls are completely caked in sesame, so almost no other flavor is detectable. Another roll might have a big piece of tempura shrimp (which is well done, certainly), but the other ingredients are much more sparse, so the tempura one-dimensionally takes over the roll. Literally every other group other than us (probably 5 groups while we were there), including the staff, spoke Russian. Being half Slavic myself, the food reminded me of how that side of my family would prefer their sushi to be made (safe, mild, largely cooked, and heavy on dairy). It all made sense in that context.

Again, none of these are bad things in of themselves. The ingredients were fresh. The rolls were well-plated and well-assembled, even if the choices of ingredient ratios were head-scratching. Great care was put into the food. The staff were so incredibly friendly. But all of the branding is for an authentic/standard sushi restaurant, which this is not. That makes for a lot of disappointment if those are your expectations.

Also to note: Google Maps advertised the restaurant as one "$" with a range of $1-10/per person. The reality is that this is one of most expensive sushi restaurants I've been to (though I have very limited experience with sushi in Miami). Either way, expect this to be $30-75 per person...

Sushi ZEY — a place you’ll want to return to again and again!

Today, I discovered a true gem of coziness, beauty, and gastronomic delight in the heart of Aventura — Sushi ZEY.

Although this establishment is only three years old, it has already gained so much popularity that my friends and loved ones highly recommended I visit. And you know what? They were absolutely right!

Every detail here — from the stylish design to the impeccable cleanliness — is filled with care and professionalism. But what truly makes this place special is the amazing people behind it.

Chef Unus — a true master of his craft, capable of impressing every guest with his culinary masterpieces.

Administrator Sati — an incredibly friendly and attentive person who makes every guest feel like an old friend.

Bartender Jevson — a charismatic conversationalist whose stories can take you to sunny Haiti in just minutes.

My time here flew by. I enjoyed the most delicious coffee I’ve ever tasted and spent two hours chatting with this wonderful and creative team.

I am truly happy to have visited Sushi ZEY and can confidently say: this is one of the best places in Aventura! I will definitely come back and recommend this place to all my friends.

Thank you, team, for your work and the atmosphere! May your business flourish and continue to delight guests for many years to come.

#SushiZEY #AventuraFoodies #BestSushi #AventuraEats #AventuraDining #CozyPlace #TopSushiSpot #SushiLovers #AventuraRestaurants #FoodieExperience #SushiArt...

Ok. I’m confused. How can this place legitimately have a 4.8 rating?

My wife and I used to go to the previous sushi location here (5 years ago), saw Sushi ZeY pop up, and decided to give it a try.

I can only recommend this place if you like cream cheese and salmon. No disrespect meant, but I just don’t think this is very authentic Japanese cuisine.

This is a Russian take on Japanese sushi, which is OK, but just not something I’m willing to pay premium dollar for.

The good: the staff is very friendly! The location is tight to get in and out of (both parking and restaurant), but once you get parked and seated, the ambiance is very nice. I will say that it LOOKS higher quality than the previous sushi place.

Overall, the size of the rolls is 8 slices, but the slices are larger than what one would expect from a grocery store sushi cart. I could still fit the entire slice in my mouth, no problem. I would say I was still hungry after one roll, but probably wouldn’t be able to eat 2 whole rolls comfortably.

The bad: as mentioned earlier, most of their dishes are some sort of spin on salmon + cream cheese. I think they have a total of 4 different types of fish - tuna, salmon, eel and bonito flakes?

For two rolls, as the only people in the restaurant, we waited about 25 minutes. I think this is a bit of a long wait…

The ugly: the prices. Oh man, $17-$27 for a salmon roll with cream cheese and eel? Hmm…

We didn’t try the alcoholic drinks, which many people have given praise to, so I can’t...