MINŌ: A Sanctuary Of Japanese Craft
Intimate Dining Rooted In Seasonality At The New Omakase Experience In Boca Raton
Low, warm lighting, the subtle scent of hinoki and a steaming oshibori towel set the tone for an evening at MINŌ, Boca Raton’s new 30-seat omakase and sake bar. Built around intimacy and omotenashi — the Japanese philosophy of anticipating a guest’s needs before they are spoken — every detail is thoughtfully curated from sitting down at the chef’s counter to finishing the last bite.
Diners sit at the intimate 10-seat counter, where the chef prepares each course and briefly describes the fish — flown in fresh from Japan — and technique. Sake and wine pairings selected by sommelier David Kessler are thoughtfully paired. The meal moves from light and delicate to rich and buttery, and in the end, with each course building naturally on the last.
Created by partners Jamie Day, Corri Day, Paul Greenberg and Vaughan Dugan, the restaurant is small by design: 10 seats at the chef’s counter and twenty in the lounge.
“Ten at the counter isn’t arbitrary,” Dugan explains. “It’s the number that allows Chef JM to stay in genuine contact with every guest simultaneously throughout the full progression. Scale is the enemy of intimacy, and intimacy is the whole point.”
Chef Jezhiel Mark “JM” Canlas leads the culinary program. Prior to MINŌ, he served as chef de cuisine at Mila Omakase in Miami Beach, where he trained under executive chef Reiji Yoshizawa and immersed himself in the discipline of Japan’s 72 micro-seasons. When it comes to sourcing, he practices shun — the Japanese philosophy of using ingredients at their peak.
“I’m not creating the menu. The season is,” Canlas says.
When the last omakase seating ends, MINŌ’s lounge runs late, offering small bites, sake and sounds. Listening bars emerged in postwar Japan, and the restaurant draws on that concept to bring intentionality to its music, not as background noise but as an integral part of the experience. Curated Japanese jazz and classics carry into weekend evenings when the lounge shifts into a more energetic second act,
For Canlas, the intention behind every detail circles back to how guests feel when they leave.
“Nourished,” he says. “Not just fed. Truly taken care of.”
MINŌ Omakase & Sake Bar is located at 114 N.E. Second Street in Boca Raton and opens the second week of April. For more information, visit minoomakase.com.