The husband-and-wife team behind Kojin 2.0 at 804 Ponce de Leon Blvd. has gutted the restaurant's menu, secured a full liquor license and started planning an adjacent retail space selling professional culinary gear, all timed to the Michelin-recommended restaurant's second anniversary in Coral Gables.
Executive chef Pedro Mederos and pastry chef Katherine Mederos launched the overhauled menu in late July, replacing crowd favorites like the "Flanigan's Caesar" salad and a beloved short rib with dishes built around local Florida seafood and produce rather than fish flown in daily from Japan.
"For a while there, we got boring," Pedro Mederos told Miami New Times in a profile published Thursday, Aug. 6. He said the couple had drifted into survival-mode cooking that strayed from the creativity that first earned Kojin back-to-back Michelin Guide recommendations.
New dishes, new direction
The revamped lineup includes a summer crudo of raw snapper with caramelized evaporated milk, cacao honey and a dollop of Katherine's lemon sorbet. Another standout, "Tongue in Cheek," layers smoked beef cheek with pastrami-style beef tongue, bordelaise sauce, caramelized potato foam and confit potato finished in smoked butter.
Pedro Mederos said the shift reflects Kojin's evolution away from the French-Japanese label it launched under. The restaurant, which started as a pop-up and then an eight-seat counter behind a Little River ramen shop, now leans into what's local. The Michelin Guide classifies it as contemporary Japanese, open Wednesday through Saturday from 5:30 to 11 p.m.
Liquor license and what's next
Pedro Mederos told Miami New Times the restaurant recently secured a full liquor license and is developing a cocktail program featuring house fermentations, house-made syrups and nonalcoholic pairings. Weekend brunch, a popular offering during Kojin's first year that was later discontinued, is also set to return.
Beyond the kitchen, the Mederos plan to open an adjacent retail space selling professional cookbooks, knives, whetstones and specialty equipment they say aspiring cooks struggle to find in Miami. Pedro Mederos said the goal is to help build the next generation of independent restaurants. No opening date has been announced for the retail space.
Mayor Vince Lago said in a June 24 post on X that he visited the restaurant to discuss access improvements and the owners' future plans.
Kojin 2.0 is also participating in Miami Spice 2026, which runs Aug. 1 through Sept. 30. The restaurant is open for dinner Wednesday through Saturday.
