Makoto Has a Brand New Restaurant Space | Eater Miami

"Stephen Starr’s longstanding Japanese restaurant Makoto has debuted a new outpost on the third floor of the Bal Harbour Shops, and I found chef Makoto Okuwa’s namesake restaurant completely reimagined with a colorful, contemporary indoor and outdoor space that departs from its previous location. The revamp, planned for two years by designer India Mahdavi, blends a French brasserie, Japanese restaurant, and American diner into a soft palette of coral pink, orange, and sandalwood, with supersize floral motifs meant to make guests feel as though they are entering a landscape at sunset; outside, a terrace populated with nostalgic 1930s-era chairs and palm trees reinforces that mood. Mahdavi describes the project as an effort to “redefine the Japanese restaurant typology” and to create a more feminine experience where the ephemeral memory of the atmosphere is as delicate as the experience of taste. The relocated Makoto offers indoor and outdoor seating for 244 guests, an expanded outdoor terrace and bar, and a new exclusive 16-seat sushi counter, while retaining its popular all-day menu with dishes like the spicy tuna crispy rice, rock shrimp tempura, miso sea bass, and spicy yellowtail rolls." - Olee Fowler