Katana Japanese Restaurant — Restaurant in Miami Beach

My sisters and I have been very curious to try Katana for some time after several friends' recommendations. We came around 5:23 pm just to see where the place was and where we could park and got a surprise went we notice there was a line already! The restaurant opens at 6 pm at closes at 11 pm ( Monday through Sunday )

We found a parking lot just behind the restaurant ( $1 per hour and after 6 it’s free) just have to make a right and it’s there! There are also a few parking spots in from of the restaurant but they were all taken ( people who are used to going there and making turns between the line while waiting)

Thankfully we have water and umbrellas in the car to make the line but to be honest, it will be a good idea for the restaurant to have at least some chairs and umbrellas for their customers while they are waiting, currently, the heat is unbearable even for locals!

Once they open there is a nice guy who gives numbers to customers ( the place is tiny and only has 25 seats, you can wait inside but there’s no place for seating) and asked for your name and phone number so they can call you when it’s your turn ( it would be nice to have an app to make a reservation and received and message 😉) * ( see the note at the end)

Is a very small place so we have to wait for one hour to be seated but a least this time we were inside with A/C!

The place is a little bit outdated but everything is clean including the restrooms. It has a rotary sushi bar, there is a chef in the middle making the most amazing sushi we’ve ever tried, now I understand why people make lines to get in! The hot delicious appetizers also came from the kitchen to the rotary bar. You can grab the plates you like ( each one has a price) or you can order from the menu ( there’s a QR code on each table)

Katana has by far some of the best sushi and sashimi we’ve had in a long time. So fresh! The best sushi rice we have ever eaten!

The staff was also really nice. 10/10 we would go here again maybe after the heat comes down a little bit.

• I found out yesterday, that From this Monday 25th July, they are getting a digital waitlist for their customers so you can make an online reservation!! This is fantastic!!! The link and information would be available on their site...

I wish I only had to review the food because when it comes to that there’s nothing else that could be said other than it was delicious and worth every penny.

Now, to the rest. We got to Katana around 7:40PM. The place was already crowded and a line formed inside, by the door and to the right of it. After waiting 15 minutes and seeing people coming in and getting seated before us, we asked the lady for a table for two. Only then we are told to scan the QR code hidden behind the people in line in order to get on the waiting list.

After waiting for an hour and 10 minutes, standing inside because it says that if when they call our name we are not there we will forfait our turn, we hear something that sounded like “James” be called by one of staff members. We repeated him the name and are at this point just indicated to go seat in an area with empty seats. As we are finishing our deserts and our meal overall, the same staff member comes to us and tells my husband “this reservation was for Chase. Why did you say you were Chase? You took their reservation” He could probably see our confusion on our faces but still argued and implied that we lied and just took someone’s turn. At this point, it is hard to not feel shame and disrespect when it clearly, for us at least, was due to a lack of communication and misunderstanding.

We clearly repeated our reservation name. If someone is to blame it should not be us but this whole waitlist system that makes it difficult to navigate for new customers. It can’t be the first time something like this happens.

Due to that experience, this is probably the last time we will ever go there just because nothing was done to be able to have a proper discussion. As I tried to speak to the staff member to apologize for this situation as we were paying the check he just ignored me...

NOT WORTH THE 2 HOUR WAIT. NOT FOR EXPERIENCED SUSHI LOVERS. There are too many people allowed inside of the small restaurant. People have kids sitting on the floor next to tables, people standing along the front window, and people crowding the door. It looks like a fire hazard. Once seated, we noticed that the server washed the dishes (barely) in a single sink and quickly rinsed them. His hands dripping with dish water while serving people dishes, one was bowls of soup (for sure water dripped into their soup). We ordered 2 yellowtail and scallion hand rolls and requested the yellowtail to be chopped up small (which is what we always order at every sushi restaurant without issue), the server looked confused, said something in his language to the sushi chef, then a few minutes later says they do not have negi hamachi (which is not what we asked for). He then he asked if we want hamachi sashimi and we say ok. We asked how many pieces does an order of ikura come and he could not understand the question so we just ordered 4 (which is our usual order) and he says that’s too much but writes it down anyway. The ikura was very salty and had an undesirable aftertaste. The tako sashimi was fresh, we asked for 2 pieces and he didn’t explain 1 order sashimi comes with 4 pieces and brought us 8 pieces (2 orders). The shrimp shumai was disgusting and did not taste like any shrimp was inside. We received 2 yellowtail hand rolls even though the server made it seem like we weren’t going to get them.. The negitoro and yellowtail hand rolls were 80% rice but the fish was fresh. 4 hand rolls, 2 tako sashimi, 4 ikura sashimi, 1 shrimp shumai, 1 hamachi sashimi came to $103 and $125 with tip. Definitely not worth it. We will continue to drive 45 minutes to Matsuri...