"Salud!" to Pari Pari, Wynwood's new hand roll bar
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Talk about a gorgeous way to start a meal. Photo: Sommer Brugal/Axios
Well, folks, I now have a reason to go to Wynwood after Gramps closes in January.
- Spoiler: It's Pari Pari, the new hand roll bar that opened earlier this month.
The vibes: The 25-bar seat restaurant features a bright, sleek interior, complete with the light wood countertops and a beautiful assortment of pottery for serving.
- My friend Natalia and I went for lunch over the weekend and enjoyed the approachable, casual feel. I could see it having a more intimate, romantic vibe at night.
The intrigue: The restaurant's name roughly means "crispy crispy" in Japanese.
- Each roll is made only after the previous one has been eaten. Guests are encouraged to eat the roll as soon as it hits the table to ensure "optimal freshness."
State of plate: The menu is split into categories: appetizers, hand rolls (classic and signature) and three set combos that offer three, four or five hand rolls. There's also veggie options and drinks.
- We started with the seaweed cucumber salad ($8) and the hamachi jalapeno with ponzu ($15) to share.
- The salad was refreshing and light, a nice pairing to the slight kick we got from the buttery hamachi.
We both ordered The Three ($23), which came with the salmon avocado, akami tuna cucumber and hamachi chimichurri.
- The hamachi was my fave, but don't ask me why. We were too busy yapping with the chef about the sauces to take notes! (We asked, they're not for sale.)
- Then we ordered the A5 wagyu miso ($17) from The Signatures at the chef's recommendation. Simple, but incredibly flavorful.
We ended the meal with a sample of sparkling sake, courtesy of our chef, who joined in on a group "Salud!"
The bottom line: Miami is no stranger to hand rolls, but Pari Pari's menu —created by Chef Yasu Tanaka of Michelin Guide's Sushi Yasu Tanaka — checked off all the boxes for us. We'll be back.