Restaurant in Orlando, United States
Serious wine list, Michelin-flagged kitchen.
Nami is Orlando's strongest case for serious Japanese dining with real wine depth. A 2025 Michelin Plate, a 290-selection wine list with a dedicated sommelier, and a dinner-only format make it the right call for a special occasion or business dinner in Lake Nona. Book three to four weeks out minimum — this one fills.
If you're choosing between Nami and Sorekara for a high-end Japanese dinner in Orlando, Nami is the stronger pick for anyone who wants serious wine depth alongside their meal. Sorekara has its own following, but Nami's 290-selection wine list — anchored in France and California with 1,438 bottles in inventory — gives it a dining room gravity that's harder to match locally. This is a $$$$ restaurant with $$$ wine pricing, which means you're looking at $66+ per person for food alone before you factor in a bottle. The 2025 Michelin Plate recognition confirms the kitchen is operating at a level worth your money. Book it for a celebration, a date, or a business dinner where the setting needs to carry weight.
Nami sits at 6004 Artist Ave in Orlando's Lake Nona area, a neighborhood built around a medical city and a design-forward development ethos. The address alone tells you something: this isn't a restaurant dropped into a strip mall. The physical environment is calibrated for occasions where the room itself is part of the statement. If you're planning a special-occasion dinner and need the space to feel considered rather than incidental, Nami delivers that quality of setting. It's the kind of room where a business dinner reads as deliberate and a romantic evening doesn't feel forced.
The restaurant is owned by the Lewis Family and operated with a full professional front-of-house team: General Manager Chris Bugeya, Wine Director David Trendell, and Sommelier Jan Culpepper handle the floor, with Chef Jason Beliveau running the kitchen. That staffing structure , a dedicated wine director and a working sommelier , is not standard for Orlando's fine dining tier, and it has a direct effect on your experience. You can ask real questions about the list and expect real answers.
Nami earned a 2025 Michelin Plate, which means Michelin's inspectors found the cooking good enough to flag without awarding a star. In practical terms, that's a meaningful credential: the kitchen is consistent, the technique is sound, and the sourcing supports a price point that would otherwise be hard to justify in a market where $$$$ Japanese dining competes against imported expectations from cities like New York or San Francisco. For context, the kind of precision-driven Japanese cooking you'd encounter at Myojaku in Tokyo or Azabu Kadowaki is built on ingredient relationships that take years to establish. Nami is operating in a different league geographically, but the Michelin recognition suggests the sourcing and execution are serious rather than aspirational.
Chef Beliveau's menu is dinner-only, which concentrates the kitchen's focus. If you're benchmarking against other commitment-level tasting experiences , say, the farm-driven sourcing at Single Thread in Healdsburg or the ingredient discipline at Smyth in Chicago , Nami isn't at that tier of sourcing infrastructure. But within Florida, and specifically within Orlando's fine dining options, it's running well ahead of most alternatives on ingredient quality and kitchen intent.
290 selections with 1,438 bottles in inventory and a corkage fee of $35 is the kind of wine program that rewards engagement. Wine Director David Trendell's list leans toward France and California, which is a deliberate choice: both regions produce wines that pair well with Japanese flavor profiles , the acidity and minerality of Burgundy, the fruit weight of California Pinot Noir , without overwhelming the food. At $$$ wine pricing, expect many bottles above $100. If you're bringing your own, the $35 corkage is fair for a room at this level. For comparison, Le Bernardin in New York charges $75 corkage; The French Laundry in Napa doesn't permit it. Nami's policy is accommodating for a Michelin-recognized restaurant.
Google: 4.6 out of 5 from 282 reviews , a solid signal of consistent execution rather than outlier experiences. Michelin Plate 2025. No stars yet, but the Plate designation is Michelin's way of saying the kitchen is worth watching. For a restaurant in Lake Nona, that's a meaningful signal to any diner traveling to Orlando or choosing where to spend serious money.
Reservations: Treat this as hard to book , plan at least three to four weeks in advance for weekend dinners, especially for special occasions. Budget: $66+ per person for food ($$$ cuisine pricing); wine will add significantly at $$$ list pricing, with many bottles over $100. Corkage is $35 if you bring your own. Meals: Dinner only. Location: 6004 Artist Ave, Orlando, FL 32827 , Lake Nona area. Dress: No confirmed dress code in available data, but at $$$$ pricing with a Michelin Plate, smart casual at minimum is appropriate; business casual or above is safe for the room's register. Groups: No confirmed private dining or group capacity data available; contact the restaurant directly for parties larger than four.
See the full comparison below.
Group capacity data isn't confirmed in Pearl's current records, so call or email ahead if you're planning a party of five or more. At $$$$ pricing with a Michelin Plate, Nami is the kind of restaurant that will make an effort for a serious booking , but you need to have that conversation directly. For large groups wanting a guaranteed private space in Orlando's fine dining tier, Victoria & Albert's has more established group infrastructure.
No formal dress code is confirmed, but the room's price point and Michelin Plate recognition set clear expectations. Smart casual is the floor; business casual or above is the safer call for a special occasion. In Orlando's fine dining scene, $$$$ restaurants like Nami and Sorekara tend to attract guests who dress for the occasion without requiring a jacket. When in doubt, overdress slightly , you won't regret it.
For solo dining at a high-end Japanese restaurant, the experience depends heavily on counter seating or bar availability, neither of which is confirmed in current data. That said, a dinner-only $$$$ Japanese restaurant with serious wine depth is a genuinely good solo choice if you engage with the wine program , a conversation with Sommelier Jan Culpepper or Wine Director David Trendell can anchor the meal. For solo omakase-style dining in Orlando, Kadence is worth comparing, as its counter format is designed around individual engagement.
For Japanese at the same price tier, Sorekara is the closest peer. If you want Japanese at a different format or price, Kadence and Natsu are worth checking. For a $$$$ special occasion dinner in a completely different cuisine, Victoria & Albert's is Orlando's most decorated room. If you want something more casual but still high-quality, Gyukatsu Rose and Juju are in a different register but worth knowing. See our full Orlando restaurants guide for broader context.
At $66+ per person before wine, the Michelin Plate credential gives you a reliable signal that the kitchen's execution justifies the price. The question is format: if you want a structured tasting experience with genuine wine pairing support from a dedicated sommelier, Nami's combination of Chef Beliveau's kitchen and David Trendell's wine program makes it one of the stronger value propositions in Orlando's $$$$ tier. If you're benchmarking against destination-level tasting menus , Lazy Bear in San Francisco or Emeril's in New Orleans , the comparison shifts, but within Florida, Nami holds its ground.
| Venue | Cuisine | Price | Awards | Booking Difficulty | Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nami | Japanese | $$$$ | WINE: Wine Strengths: France, California Pricing: $$$ i Wine pricing: Based on the list\'s general markup and high and low price points:$ has many bottles < $50;$$ has a range of pricing;$$$ has many $100+ bottles Corkage Fee: $35 Selections: 290 Inventory: 1,438 CUISINE: Cuisine Types: Japanese Pricing: $$$ i Cuisine pricing: The cost of a typical two-course meal, not including tip or beverages.$ is < $40;$$ is $40–$65;$$$ is $66+. Meals: Dinner STAFF: People Wine Director: David Trendell Sommelier: Jan Culpepper Chef: Jason Beliveau General Manager: Chris Bugeya Owner: Lewis Family; Michelin Plate (2025) | Hard | — |
| Sorekara | Japanese | $$$$ | Michelin 2 Star | Unknown | — |
| Camille | Vietnamese | $$$$ | Michelin 1 Star | Unknown | — |
| Papa Llama | Peruvian | $$$$ | Michelin 1 Star | Unknown | — |
| Victoria & Albert's | New American, Contemporary | $$$$ | Michelin 1 Star | Unknown | — |
| Capa | Steakhouse | $$$$ | Michelin 1 Star | Unknown | — |
Key differences to consider before you reserve.
Nami can work for small groups, but at $$$$ pricing and with a wine program built around engagement rather than volume, it's better suited to tables of two to four than large parties. For groups of six or more, check the venue's official channels well in advance — Nami's Lake Nona address at 6004 Artist Ave suggests a focused, designed space rather than a high-capacity dining room. Private events may be possible, but confirm before building plans around it.
Nami's 2025 Michelin Plate recognition and $$$$ price point put it in dressy-casual to business-casual territory at minimum. Think no athletic wear, no shorts — collared shirts for men and equivalent effort for women will fit the room. This is not a jeans-and-sneakers dinner, especially on weekends.
It can be, particularly if you want to engage the wine program — Wine Director David Trendell and Sommelier Jan Culpepper give solo diners a genuine reason to sit at the bar or counter and talk through the 290-selection list. At $$$$ for food and $$$ for wine, a solo meal here is a deliberate spend, not a casual drop-in. If solo dining on a budget is the priority, Nami is the wrong call.
Sorekara is the closest direct comparison for high-end Japanese in Orlando — choose Nami if the wine program matters to you, Sorekara if you want a more focused Japanese dining format without the emphasis on a deep cellar. Victoria & Albert's is the step up in formality and price for special-occasion dining. Capa at the Four Seasons offers a different cuisine direction (Spanish steakhouse) but competes for the same high-spend dinner occasion.
At $$$ cuisine pricing (a typical two-course meal at $66 or more) with a 2025 Michelin Plate, the kitchen has passed a credibility threshold that justifies the spend for Japanese cuisine enthusiasts. The wine pairing case is strong given 1,438 bottles in inventory and a $35 corkage fee for those bringing their own. If you are not interested in the wine program and are comparing purely on food value, Sorekara may offer a more concentrated experience for the price.
Keep this venue in your Pearl passport, rate it after you visit, and track it alongside every other place you collect.
