This sushi spot transformed a Miami Beach neighborhood — and it just keeps growing

When it opened in 2010, the original Pubbelly gastropub was the first in a trio of restaurants from chef José Mendín and his partners, designed to bring life and light to Miami Beach’s quiet and mostly forgotten Sunset Harbour neighborhood.

In 2011, sister restaurant Pubbelly Sushi opened a few doors down, along with Barceloneta on the corner. And though the original Pubbelly closed in 2019, Pubbelly Sushi is still growing, much like Sunset Harbour itself, with locations in Aventura, Brickell, Dadeland, Pembroke Pines, Mexico City and most recently West Palm Beach.

Pubbelly Global, the hospitality group created by Mendín, Sergio Navarro and Andreas Schreiner, celebrates Pubbelly’s 15th anniversary this year (Schreiner is no longer affiliated with the group, and neither is Barceloneta). Mendín, who also owns and operates the cozy Italian restaurant Casa Isola a few doors down, says he feels blessed to still be thriving in this much-changed corner of Miami Beach.

“I really love this neighborhood,” says the Puerto Rican-born Mendín, who worked at Nobu London and Nobu Miami as well as various Sushi Samba locations. “And the older I get, the more I find out the impact I had opening this place. It was the kind of place that brought a lot of people together.”

“We set out to make people happy through food, create good jobs, and build a place where our team could grow,” says co-founder Navarro. “Seeing cooks become sous chefs, managers become operators, and families supported by this work is the most meaningful part of the journey.”

Originally designed to appeal to local chefs and restaurant folk as a comfortable spot to gather, Pubbelly Sushi was a concept always designed to grow, Mendín says. Industry types were fond of hanging out there after a hard night, playing ping pong and winding down with food and drink.

But Pubbelly Sushi drew guests outside the industry, too. In fact, the original Pubbelly, a gastropub known for its pork-forward menu, closed because Pubbelly Sushi became the crowd favorite. “We had to decide because people were confused by the too-similar names,” Mendín says. “They’d make a reservation at Pubbelly, but then there wasn’t sushi on the menu.”

The idea was to create a restaurant that fell somewhere between the high-end elegance of Nobu, the upscale, energetic sheen of Sushi Samba and simple, affordable neighborhood sushi spots. Mendín, who counts Miami culinary royalty Michael Schwartz and Michelle Bernstein among his inspirations, wanted to serve a chef-driven menu of Japanese fare with Latin influences that remained inviting to every palate.

“It’s very approachable,” says Mendín. “We wanted to be a Miami sushi brand that blends cultures, a blend of things that are Miami.”

Most of all, it had to be a place that locals wanted to eat and hang out. A sushi tavern, if you will.

“We like to call it a place that’s always going to be there for you,” he says. “It’s incredible, how after 15 years, I meet people who learned to eat sushi here. It’s become — well, not a cult, but a lifestyle for them.”

Pubbelly Sushi regulars quickly learned about life beyond the spicy tuna roll, though make no mistake, the big eye tuna roll is technically a spicy tuna roll with crispy rice and truffle oil, and there are plenty of classic rolls. The menu now includes items in which Latin and Caribbean flavors mesh nicely with Asian style, like hamachi taquitos, tostones with ceivche or wagyu beef tartare roll with gochujang mustard, avocado, sesame and truffle poached egg.

Loyal diners also made the Butter Krab Roll famous, a unique offering born when Mendín wanted to create a sushi-style lobster roll. Trademarked and made with goma soy paper, imitation crab and ponzu and served with warm clarified butter for dipping purposes, it’s still one of the most ordered items on the menu.

“I never thought it was going to be so popular,” Mendín admits, adding that a West Palm Beach customer recently told him his Butter Krab Roll was different to one she’d had at another restaurant. “If someone has a Butter Krab Roll on the menu, we have to send a cease and desist order,” he says, laughing. “But really, I’m proud of that. Think about Nobu — everybody copies their rolls. I want every sushi restaurant to have a Butter Krab Roll. They just have to put a different name on it.”

The menu, which is the same at every Pubbelly Sushi, changes every two years or so, evolving to meet the creativity of its chefs and the desires of its customers. Korean fried chicken, for example, has returned because of demand.

Keeping the locals coming is always foremost in Mendín’s mind, especially at the end of a summer during which many area restaurants have struggled.

“Miami Beach has become very seasonal, obviously,” he says. “And now it competes with other neighborhoods on the mainland. Wynwood came in, and the Design District, and Brickell blew up. People off the beach aren’t coming here as much.”

This isn’t to say that Mendín objects to the slew of national and international restaurants that have descended on the Miami area over the past several years.

“You have to welcome them because they’re making the city better, but they are hurting the local chefs a little bit,” he says. “Friday comes, and you have a list of 25 restaurants to try. Are you going to go back to the local chef you already know, or are you going to try one of these new chefs? At the same time, they’re putting Miami on the map and bringing more people here.”

Still, Pubbelly Sushi has found success in the areas tourists rarely visit.

“The Dadeland store started slow but has become so popular,” he says. “It’s incredible. With the team based there treating people the way we want to treat people now it’s one of the best stores. Same thing in Pembroke Pines: A slow start, but little by little we’re building that community. People will come if you treat them right and give them a good product.”

Mendín would love to open a Pubbelly Sushi in Puerto Rico, where he opened Mar y Rosa San Juan at the Alma Hotel in Old San Juan in 2024, a see-and-be-seen magnet for locals and tourists alike. The opening was his culinary return to the island; his last restaurant closed because of the devastation wrought by Hurricane Maria eight years ago. His foray into Puerto Rican cuisine with actor Julián Gil in Miami, La Placita, closed in 2022 in the MiMo neighborhood after battles with the city over a giant Puerto Rican flag painted on its exterior.

Pubbelly Sushi, though, would be a hit in Puerto Rico, he believes. The brand has hit its stride, figuring out the formula to building a comfortable culinary community.

“Pubbelly Sushi is a restaurant that has been so special,” he said. “You can put it in any town.”

Navarro said the plan is to keep the menu evolving and sharpening staff training as the brand opens more Florida locations and eventually restaurants in other states.

“We keep the food fun, the quality consistent, and the hospitality genuine — and protect the DNA that Florida fell in love with.” he says. “One neighborhood at a time, with the same quality and community focus that brought us to year 15.”

Pubbelly Sushi

Where: 1424 20th St., Miami Beach; also locations in Aventura, Brickell, Dadeland, Pembroke Pines, Mexico City and West Palm Beach

More information: www.pubbellyglobal.com

This story was originally published September 23, 2025 at 4:30 AM.