Sushimoto is a small family-owned Japanese restaurant at 12889 US Hwy 98, Suite 103B, in Miramar Beach, and it operates by a set of rules it does not apologize for: no reservations, first come first serve, no to-go orders when the room is full, and nobody is answering the phone during a rush. Once you understand that going in, it is one of the most rewarding meals on the Emerald Coast.
Quick Facts
- Address: 12889 US Hwy 98 Ste 103B, Miramar Beach, FL 32550
- Reservations: None. Walk in only
- Hours: Tue to Thu, lunch 11 to 2 and dinner 5 to 8. Fri, lunch 11 to 2 and dinner 5 to 9. Sat, dinner 5 to 9. Closed Sunday and Monday
- Note: They may close early on slow days, and they post closure schedules on the site
- Gluten free: Not available
- Parties of five or more: Gratuity added
- Menus: All-day menu (PDF) and lunch menu (PDF)
Start With the Sashimi
The clearest signal of what this kitchen can do is the chef’s choice platters, where you hand over the decision and let the sushi bar answer. Chirashi runs $38, a spread of assorted sashimi over sushi rice. The Sushi Special is $34 for eight pieces of nigiri and a spicy tuna roll. The Sushi and Sashimi Combination goes for $45. If the table is committed, Sashimi Regular is 18 pieces at $55 and Sashimi Deluxe is 24 pieces at $65.
Ordering by the piece works too. Tuna, yellowtail, and scallop are $11 for two pieces of nigiri or $16 for three of sashimi. Salmon runs $9 and $15. There is also sweet shrimp, escolar, surf clam, mackerel, octopus, ikura, and smoked salmon on the list, which is a wider bench than most beach-town sushi rooms carry.
The Roll Names Are Doing Work
The house rolls read like a menu that has been refined by a family who finds itself funny, and they are priced fairly for the coast.
- MotoRolla, $13: shrimp tempura, avocado, bacon, krab salad, jalapeno, garlic chip, futomaki style with eel sauce
- J.O.J. Roll (Just Off The Jet), $17: tuna, boiled shrimp, avocado, cucumber, spicy mayo, fried fish and eel sauce on top
- This Is How We Roll, $17: shrimp tempura and cucumber, topped with salmon and krab salad
- Spider Roll, $16: soft shell crab, avocado, cucumber, masago and eel sauce
- Volcano Roll, $15: baked krab salad over a California roll. Add 10 to 15 minutes
- XXX Roll, $13: extra hot spicy tuna with Thai, jalapeno, habanero, and a little ghost pepper. The menu says “please only for the daring,” which is fair warning
- Vegetarian Roll, $8 and California Roll, $9 for the table members who did not sign up for any of this
The Part of the Menu People Skip
Do not miss the cooked side. Nabeyaki Udon at $23 arrives in a cast iron pot with clam, fish cake, chicken, napa cabbage, shiitake, fried tofu skin, poached egg, green onion, and shrimp tempura, which is a full winter meal in a beach town that rarely gets one. Tempura udon and beef udon are $17. Yakisoba runs $18 for chicken, $19 for beef, $20 for shrimp. Teriyaki plates come charbroiled with sauteed vegetables, two pork dumplings, cucumber salad with kimchi sauce, steamed rice, and fruit: chicken $24, salmon or shrimp $28.
For starters, tuna tataki with citrus soy is $22, the sashimi salad with red bean chili vinaigrette is $32, baby octopus in a sweet soy sake reduction is $10, and miso soup is $3.
The Sake List Is the Real Surprise
This is where a small strip-center restaurant quietly outclasses everyone. The list runs from hot sake at $8 to Wakatake Onikoroshi Junmai Daiginjo at $75, with Dassai 45, Kubota Kouju Junmai Ginjo, Kurosawa Junmai Kimoto, and an unfiltered Kikusui Perfect Snow in between. The pulpy Kikusui bottles in tangerine, pineapple, and grapefruit are $13 and are the easiest possible introduction for anyone who thinks they do not like sake. Kizakura Yuzu sparkling is $16.
Japanese beer is properly represented too: Sapporo, Kirin, Asahi, Orion, an Echigo Koshihikari rice beer, and a Coedo session IPA. Finish with fried cheesecake ($10) or mochi ice cream ($9).
How to Do This Right
Get there when the doors open, at 11 for lunch or 5 for dinner. Bring cash-flexible patience and a table of fewer than five if you would rather choose your own tip. Do not call to ask about the wait. Check the homepage before you drive over, because they post closure schedules there and will close early on a slow night. Menus and prices can change without notice.
This is not a place trying to be discovered by everyone. It is a family running a sushi bar the way they want to run it, and the reward for playing along is some of the best fish on the Emerald Coast.
Go
- Address: 12889 US Hwy 98 Ste 103B, Miramar Beach, FL 32550
- Hours: Tue to Sat, closed Sun and Mon
- Menu: destinsushi.com/menu-2
- Facebook: Sushimoto
- Web: destinsushi.com