Restaurant in Coral Gables, United States
Michelin recognition at $$ prices — book it.
Two consecutive Michelin Bib Gourmand nods (2024 and 2025) make Zitz Sum the most credentialed value dining option in Coral Gables. Chef Pablo Zittzman's Asian kitchen operates at $$ pricing with recognition that punches well above it. A 4.6 Google rating across 362 reviews confirms the consistency. Book if Michelin-tracked quality at an accessible price is your priority.
If you have already eaten at Zitz Sum once and left thinking it was a solid value, go back with a deliberate plan: this is the kind of $$ Asian spot in Coral Gables where a return visit rewards more than the first. Two consecutive Michelin Bib Gourmand nods (2024 and 2025), a 2025 Opinionated About Dining Casual North America ranking at #785, and a 4.6 Google rating across 362 reviews suggest the kitchen is consistent, not just occasionally good. The Bib Gourmand designation matters here: Michelin reserves it for restaurants delivering above-average quality at accessible prices, which positions Zitz Sum as the most credibly decorated value option in the Coral Gables dining corridor right now.
Zitz Sum sits at 396 Alhambra Circle in Coral Gables, a neighbourhood where the dining competition skews toward either the high-end (see Shingo, operating at $$$$ price points) or the casual-familiar. Chef Pablo Zittzman has carved out a middle lane: Asian cuisine at $$ pricing with recognition that punches well above that tier. The back-to-back Bib Gourmand is the clearest signal that this is not a one-season story. Very few restaurants in South Florida hold the designation in consecutive years, and fewer still at the $$ price range.
The visual identity of the experience matters here because it signals intent. The address — a suite inside a Coral Gables commercial block , sets expectations that this is a neighbourhood room, not a grand dining hall. That is the right framing. Zitz Sum is not competing on architectural drama in the way that a room like Le Bernardin in New York City or The French Laundry in Napa might. What Zittzman is offering is precision-focused Asian cooking in an unpretentious setting, and the Michelin recognition confirms the trade-off is worth it.
For returning diners, the relevant question is progression. The Bib Gourmand designation, combined with the OAD casual ranking, suggests a kitchen interested in technical consistency rather than theatrical novelty. If you came the first time and worked through the menu broadly, the next visit should be more focused: identify the dishes where the kitchen's Asian techniques are sharpest and build the meal around those. Compare this approach to how one might revisit a focused tasting experience at venues like Lazy Bear in San Francisco or Smyth in Chicago, where the arc of the meal matters as much as individual dishes. Zitz Sum operates at a different price tier, but the logic of deliberate ordering applies.
The recent evolution worth noting is the sustained credentialing momentum. Earning the Bib Gourmand once can reflect a strong year; earning it twice in succession reflects a stable, well-managed kitchen. The 2025 OAD casual recognition adds a second credentialing layer from a different critical framework, which reduces the risk that Zitz Sum is coasting on a single reviewer's enthusiasm. For Coral Gables specifically, this dual recognition makes Zitz Sum the most externally validated casual Asian option in the neighbourhood.
Coral Gables has a competitive dining environment for its size. The presence of Eating House and Beauty & the Butcher means diners have solid alternatives at the $$-$$$ tier, and Hillstone dominates the dependable American end of the market. None of those venues hold a Michelin credential. That gap is meaningful: if your decision criterion is Michelin-tracked quality at the lowest price point in the neighbourhood, Zitz Sum is the answer without qualification. If you want to explore the broader Coral Gables scene, our full Coral Gables restaurants guide maps the full range. For planning the rest of a trip, the Coral Gables hotels guide, bars guide, and experiences guide are useful companions.
Globally, the closest analogues in positioning are restaurants like taku in Cologne and Jun's in Dubai: Asian-focused rooms operating in non-Asian cities, credentialed above their price tier, where the kitchen's technical fluency is the main reason to go. The Miami-area version of that category has limited options, and Zitz Sum is currently the most decorated entry in it.
Address: 396 Alhambra Cir Suite 155, Coral Gables, FL 33134. Price tier: $$ , one of the lowest price points attached to Michelin recognition in the Coral Gables area. Cuisine: Asian. Booking difficulty: Easy , Bib Gourmand attention can create short-term surges, but at the $$ tier and suite-level setting, reservations are generally accessible. Book a few days ahead to be safe on weekends. Chef: Pablo Zittzman. Also explore: Coral Gables wineries if you are building a full evening itinerary around the neighbourhood.
| Venue | Cuisine | Price | Awards | Booking Difficulty | Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zitz Sum | Asian | $$ | Opinionated About Dining Casual in North America Ranked #785 (2025); Michelin Bib Gourmand (2025); Michelin Bib Gourmand (2024) | Easy | — |
| Shingo | Japanese | $$$$ | Michelin 1 Star | Unknown | — |
| Tinta y Cafe | Cuban | $ | Unknown | — | |
| Hillstone | American | Unknown | — | ||
| Eating House | Argentine-Italian | Unknown | — | ||
| Beauty & the Butcher | Contemporary | $$$ | Unknown | — |
Comparing your options in Coral Gables for this tier.
At $$ pricing with back-to-back Michelin Bib Gourmand recognition in 2024 and 2025, Zitz Sum delivers strong value by any measure in the Coral Gables dining market. The Bib Gourmand designation specifically signals good cooking at accessible prices, so if you are working through a structured menu here, the format is well-suited to that credential. For high-spend tasting experiences with a longer prix-fixe format, Shingo is the closer comparison — but at a significantly higher price point.
Booking details are not publicly listed, but a Michelin Bib Gourmand restaurant at $$ pricing in Coral Gables will fill fast, particularly on weekends. Plan ahead by at least a week for weeknight visits and further out for Friday or Saturday. Check directly at the Alhambra Circle address or search for a current reservation link, as no website is on file.
Yes — the $$ price tier and casual format make solo visits low-commitment and easy to justify. A Bib Gourmand-recognised Asian spot at this price point is well-suited to counter or small-table solo dining, where you can move through dishes without the overhead of a group booking. If solo dining atmosphere matters to you, Tinta y Cafe is a neighbourhood alternative with a lighter, cafe-style setting.
Come knowing it is a $$ casual Asian restaurant that has earned Michelin Bib Gourmand status two consecutive years (2024 and 2025) and an Opinionated About Dining Casual North America ranking of #785 in 2025 — that combination is unusual at this price tier in South Florida. Chef Pablo Zittzman runs the kitchen. Go in with the intention of ordering widely rather than ordering one or two items; the value case builds across multiple dishes.
For a higher-spend, more formal experience in the neighbourhood, Shingo is the comparison to make. For casual all-day dining with a different profile, Tinta y Cafe fits. Eating House and Beauty & the Butcher serve different cuisine angles at comparable or slightly higher price points. Hillstone works if you want a reliable American-leaning dining room with broader menu scope. None of those carry the Michelin Bib Gourmand at Zitz Sum's price tier, which is the clearest differentiator.
It depends on what the occasion calls for. If the goal is a memorable, credential-backed meal without a high-end price tag, Zitz Sum's two-year Bib Gourmand run makes it a credible choice and a good story to tell. If the occasion requires a formal room, wine list, or celebratory service register, Shingo in the same neighbourhood is the stronger fit. Zitz Sum is better framed as a great meal than a traditional special-occasion destination.
Keep this venue in your Pearl passport, rate it after you visit, and track it alongside every other place you collect.
