I would love to give this place 5 stars but the service was horrible. We had to wait an hour to get the food and then finally when the food came we had no utensils for the sushi lol and another 30 minutes to get our drinks. Coffee without milk, absolute disaster; but once we got the food it was absolutely delicious, the ambiance was amazing and the belly dancer was superb!!! I would go back there just to see the show again. And hopefully get better service.
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Sawa is the perfect mix of middle eastern and Japanese fare, hence it's name that means together in Arabic. The food is always perfect, drinks are always on point. Xoxo Martini is my favorite. The atmosphere is great, servers and staff are always going above and beyond to please guests. On the weekends you can catch one of the many bellydance shows by the finest performers in Miami. Kid friendly, dog friendly, vegetarian and vegan friendly.
Fabulous! My husband and I went for dinner on a Monday night to celebrate our wedding anniversary and we were extremely impressed. The ambiance, food and service were absolutely outstanding. Kudos to our server, Luana, who was attentive, professional and all-around awesome. The food was exceptional and we will definitely be back. This restaurant is a must!
Great place for a Happy hour, the price is really competitive and the food is definitely good! Good service, definitely a place to go a few afternoons and taste different things every time.
First and last time I'm ever going to this restaurant. The server we had was nice, but tables that arrived after we did had their food before we did and the food runner was absolutely awful. We ordered steamed dumplings and he brought out fried dumplings to our table, but we didn't want to make a big deal of it so we didn't say anything. Then he comes back to our table to and rudely asks what we had ordered and when we say we had asked for steamed not fried he gets upset and just walks away clearly upset. If that wasn't enough this man-child walks back in and gave us the dirtiest look. The food and drinks were decent, but not that great that I'd ever return for that kind of service.
Food, good Service, bad Order NORMAL fries get some overused onion and cheese fries. 30 minutes latter, pays for bill. Waiter goes, "ummm, do you still want your fries?" I said "no", at least the lady then took off the 9.99$ Fries! Also outside seating is limited, and even though their is share, one of members will get sunburned.
My college professor recommended this place saying that it is the best restaurant for Mediterranean food. Nope. The atmosphere is nice but if you want to spend 25+ dollars for a bland and mediocre moussaka then go ahead. I've had better hummus, lamb and kebabs from Publix. It was a nice little experiment and the servers were incredibly nice but I would not go back, and I would not recommend this place to anyone who would like an authentic Mediterranean or Japanese food experience.
Asked for draft got a bottle... And charged $7.50 for a Stella. Long wait for the hummus. Asked for more carrots got charged $2. Good but not that special.
Excellent service - they were able to handle a party of 20 flawlessly, and were able to keep the food and drinks coming. Very interesting house drinks and sushi - definitely recommend the Merrick Park roll. There's also a ton of Mediterranean dishes too. Comfortable and large outdoor dining area with belly dancers at night and convenient street and garage parking too. There's also hookah!
Enjoyed our lunch here and loved every dish we had. Didn't order cocktails or drinks, stayed with signature rolls and salads. Servers were attentive and explained to us all the info. Worth to visit if you are in the area
Great outdoor surrounding. Hint of Paris feeling, Mediterranean vibes with a touch of Japan. Our waiter Roli(Rolando) was amazing! Very polite staff. Plus a belly dancer..kids friendly environment. Great date night!
The sushi was not bad. The parillada sampler was highly recommended if you would like to try multiple samplers. The service was good. The dessert was delicious. Although the souffle tastes more like a lava cake to me, it was still good.
I can't believe that SAWA offered the worst service that I had in my life ! I think last sunday was my unluck day ! The waiter was so rude, slowly and doesn't care to attend the clients with satisfaction. The filet mingnon and the lamb seemed like piece of cheap meat ! The meat was cold, hard and over cooked like a stone. When I complained about the service the manager tried to solve my problems but it wasn't enough because they make my lunch in the Mothers day the worst experience that I had in restaurants in Miami ! I can recomend it for you ! There are better options.
Went for lunch for the first time since I've enjoyed their happy hour food and drinks many times. The lunch menu price for the kafta kebab is too much for the small portion. One of the rolls my friend ordered looked dry and dark like the tuna was out all day as a sample. I will not go back for lunch.
I sat down to eat and I was not attended, I decided to go for another option and when I did not see anything light I returned for a sushi and ordered a table on the terrace. The lentil soup really good, it was very small and with a lot of rice and at the end I ordered a salad with ginger dressing that was so bad that I can not eat it being this my favorite salad. The dressing looked more like honey, I did not eat it and even though the innkeeper was very attentive, he did not even have the courtesy to ask what had happened, and that he had previously asked about the ginger dressing since another one had been put on it. The bill came with the salad and paid for it without problem, but it's not a place to go back
Service was great, which is why I gave them 3 stars. The grilled octopus was delicious, filet kebab bento box was just ok, vegetarian kibby was not good at all. Its hit or miss.
We were there Friday night, excellent food & ambience, was a lovely evening. The sevice was very attentive & we met the chef as well. They also had a belly dancer!
**SAWA SHOPS AT MERRICK PARK 360 SAN LORENZO AVENUE CORAL GABLES
ORDERED SHUT 9/18/19 12 VIOLATIONS FOUND ALSO ORDERED SHUT 12/19/18
"Roach activity present as evidenced by live roaches found. Observed approximately 10 live roaches on the wall by the dish washer area next to the dish machine inside the kitchen area. **Repeat Violation**."
"Ceiling/ceiling tiles/vents soiled with accumulated food debris, grease, dust, or mold-like substance."
Friendly service and a great varied menu offering a variety of Mideast, Japanese and American dishes. They have a wonderful 7 days a week happy hour drinks and food menu that goes 4-8 pm. The lollypop lamb chops are very delicious. The steamed pork dumplings in ginger soy sauce is also a winner.
I'm giving them 1 star because it's needed to write a review. The food was old and did not have a nice look, the taste was disgusting and the service slow and careless, we ordered drinks and they came after our entree was served, and because we asked for them again. The dessert came before the entree because they asked us what we wanted for dessert way before we even had our dinner. The drinks were impossible to drink, and we had to return them. I don't understand how people goes there with Yard House being in the same mall, I wanted something new but I'd rather eat cereal than going there again. I was sick the entire Sunday because of their food and I didn't even eat it all (because it was horrible).
All very well served ... excellent attention ... Jay took care of us ... The service was fast ... The drinks did not have much liquor In general super good
Staff needs training. Our appetizer was served to another table, replacement took forever. Staff tried giving us someone else s sushi. The whole thing became a joke between us and the two neighboring tables. And here s a tip to waitstaff: when you really screw up a meal, don t force the guest to wait 20 minutes for the check. It doesn t help your tip.
Great atmosphere and great people! Their happy hour is pretty great. It was such a great place that i went there twice on my birthday trip to miami! Scott and Trevor were great and even remembered my party when we went back.
The sushi rolls were great, food calamari, the lamb pops were good too! Try them out!
This is probably THE BEST HAPPY HOUR in all of Miami! They have over 60 full portion food items and tons of great drink options on happy hour, moet bottle specials, and their happy hour runs every day. And in addition, the ambiance is gorgeous! The patio sits under giant palm trees and the statue in the center and fountain to the side give lots of lux vibes. They have two chefs, one that makes their sushi, and one that makes their Mediterranean food so everything is made excellently. The service is way above Miami average and always quick and friendly. This is definately the place to come with your girlfriends, or even a date. Outside of happy hours the ambiance is casually posh and romantic. Every time I come, which is often, I love it.
I went for an event and Sawa surprised us with a Japanese and Lebanese Feast. They decided to preview the Miami Spice Menu that day, and it was sensational Basil Hummus: the color was so different, it was green with a hint of flavored basil. The texture was perfect as well as the taste. Regular Hummus: it was so nicely presented as you can see in my pictures. The texture was perfect as well as the taste, almost as good as mine ;) Beet Hummus: oh wow this was so pretty, that color looked beautiful on the table and the flavor was even better. The texture was perfect and I ate it without the pita bread so I can enjoy that amazing flavor. Sushi: perfect presentation, taste, and quality. Poke Bowl: one of the best I have tried, so fresh, flavorful, and filled with many ingredients. These people didn't spare into the making of this meal. Fatouch Salad: it looked so organically fresh, but I couldn't eat it. My friend said it was delicious. Falafel: great taste and they also made one with quinoa. Kibbe: with meat and the vegetarian one. I loved the veggie kibbe, this was my favorite of the day!! the flavor reminds me of my grandmother, who is from Lebanon. Chicken and Salmon BBQ: I had the salmon one, and it was perfectly seasoned with Arabic spices and made fresh right there for all of us. Chicken/Cheese with angel hair crispy pasta: tender chicken with melted cheese that went great with the crispy pasta. White and Red Sangria: served at the moment by a nice lady and a gentleman at the bar. So many fruits in each glass and so refreshing. Virgin Mojito: for those who don't drink alcohol. Knafe: this dessert was pretty and taste wise was exactly like the one I used to eat when I was young. Service was on point too, everyone helped out with huge and pretty smiles on their faces. I can't wait to go back for more and also enjoy their belly dance show.
We went on a beautiful Saturday, so we sat outside in order to enjoy the weather. Our experience was disappointing. Slow service and the food was nothing special.
Nice outdoor dining area under palm trees surrounded by statues. Half Med & Japanese. Two of my favorite cuisines. Good service although it took some time before anyone asked me what I wanted to drink
Its been 4 years since I've been back at Sawa because I didn't understand their concept on my first visit. It's still confusing as of today. Is it Mediterranean? Is it Asian? Is it a tapas lounge? Or a Hookah lounge? One thing is for sure. Their happy hour is probably the best deal in Merrick Park.
Craft cocktails including Old Fashioned are only around $7. Wells are just $5. Sweet! Bar bites start at $5 and goes up to $11 for the platinum tapas and sushi rolls. And trust, the happy hour food offerings here are plenty and its until 8pm if you order from the bar. I've tried the steamed dumplings, crispy brussel sprouts and Yakitoris and they were decent. (See my pics)
Another good thing about this place is the service. The bartenders & servers are always nice and they seem to know all the loyal patrons by their names.
I've been back 3 times for happy hour because it really changed my 1st perception during my first visit 4 years ago. I'll be back again and again until I try everything on the happy hour menu..lol :)
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