Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl Halftime Show was a success, but can the same be said about his other business ventures?
Ahead of Bad Bunny’s historic Super Bowl performance, I visited Gekko, a Japanese steakhouse in Miami co-owned by the singer and Miami hospitality mogul David Grutman.
Since its opening in 2022, Gekko has established itself as a celebrity hot spot in Miami, attracting stars like Kim Kardashian and frequently hosting entertainment industry after-parties.
While my Friday night visit lacked any celebrity sightings, I tried some luxury menu items and enjoyed a high-end dining experience co-signed by Bad Bunny himself.
These were 10 things that surprised me most about my visit to Gekko.
The location wasn’t what I expected.
Rather than the exclusive, low-profile celebrity enclave I had envisioned for the restaurant, Gekko sits on a loud, busy intersection across from a buzzy mall and a gas station.
Its retail neighbor, Brickell City Centre, isn’t the kind of luxury shopping experience celebrities like Bad Bunny would ever seek out. Instead, it is full of tourists and mass consumer brands like Bath & Body Works, H&M, and Apple.
The only high-end tenants in the shopping mall are stores like Saks Fifth Avenue, Richard Mille, and Porsche Design.
Making a reservation was surprisingly simple.
Unlike the Resy wars I’ve fought to snag a dinner-time reservation in other big cities like New York and Chicago, and even in other Miami spots, making a reservation at Gekko was surprisingly easy.
Even booking it the day before going, I found plenty of spots open for inside, outside, and chef’s counter seating in nearly every available 15-minute time slot throughout the night, from opening to close.
Inside, the restaurant was more intimate than I was expecting.
While Bad Bunny is known for his dominant stage presence and hard-to-miss fashion choices, his restaurant was much more low-key.
The restaurant’s central chef’s counter drew all the attention, while the tables were dimly lit and faded into the background, providing a private dining experience for those at the perimeter.
The “Japanese steakhouse” showcased a mix of cultures, but not many references to Bad Bunny himself.
From its food offerings to its interior design, Gekko blends a wide variety of cultures, from its Japanese influence to more traditional American dishes and a Latin-soundtracked ambiance.
Even in its concept, the restaurant mixes Japanese sushi tradition, including a chef’s counter, and a traditional high-end American steakhouse experience.
Overall, the restaurant seemed to show less of Bad Bunny’s influence than I expected. The menus had some references to the performer — on the drinks menu, for example, there was a $20 “Summer Without You” cocktail named after his 2022 album, “Un Verano Sin Ti.”
But this was not a Bad Bunny theme park by any means.
The menu had more items than I anticipated.
The restaurant’s expansive menu covers a variety of fish- and steak-focused dishes, from its sushi and nigiri sections, to entire sections dedicated to wagyu beef.
Appetizers include dumplings, crispy rice, ceviche, and Puerto Rican alcapurrias, along with tacos and various salads.
Entreés focus on fish, pork, and chicken plates, but there was also a plant-based option.
The sides are far from basic, with baby corn, plantain fries, and lobster fried rice among them.
The chefs’ craftsmanship was front and center.
At Gekko, the service and the craftsmanship behind dishes weren’t hidden away in the kitchen. Instead, they were on full display at the central chef’s counter, the most brightly lit area in the room and the focal point of the space.
The chefs were not performing for guests’ amusement — they were simply being masters of their craft.
While other restaurants might appeal to a social-media crowd with exaggerated stunts or dish presentations, Gekko kept the experience more low-key, focusing on craftsmanship over showmanship.
From the cuts of fish to the intricate flavors in each dish, Gekko’s chefs paid meticulous attention to every component.
It wasn’t cheap, but some prices were lower than I’ve seen in other Miami restaurants.
I wanted to try the restaurant without breaking the bank, so I opted for an appetizer and some nigiri.
For the appetizer, I ordered the wagyu crispy rice ($34), which came with four pieces of fried rice squares topped with raw wagyu tartare and crispy capers.
I also ordered the gold-topped otoro nigiri, which was $19 a piece, and the surf-and-turf nigiri, which featured torched wagyu and lobster, and cost $17 for one piece.
While my $164 bill included only six bites of food, along with drinks and dessert — plus tax and tip — I found that some menu items were priced very competitively with other Miami restaurants.
The average appetizer on the menu “starters” section costs about $26 and you can get entreés starting at $34.
While the prices aren’t in any way affordable, they are far from the exorbitant costs of high-end dining.
Even though I was still hungry by the time I went home, the fact that I could try some of Gekko’s signature plates on a normal person’s budget surprised me.
However, some items seemed unnecessarily flashy.
While I saw some moderately priced items on the Gekko menu, the more glitzy dishes seem aimed at people who seek to rack up a bill for the sake of spending more.
The most expensive menu item, the 4-ounce “wagyu experience,” costs $598 before tax and tip, and an omakase platter goes for $350.
Even in smaller presentations, a gold-leaf- or caviar-covered piece of nigiri costs twice as much as its humble fish-only counterparts.
It wasn’t style over substance — the food was impressive.
While some diners might come to Gekko only for its celebrity connection or to enjoy Instagrammable items, the food itself fully deserves the spotlight as well.
I found that every dish I tried was masterfully crafted and had delicious layers of flavor, from the crispy capers on the wagyu crispy rice appetizer to the smoky torched wagyu on the surf and turf nigiri.
The dessert was the star of the meal for me.
For what felt like a reasonable price of $24 for a shareable portion, the restaurant’s miso dulcey lava cake blew me away. It was the menu item I left raving about the most.
I would come back here just for this dessert, which was decadent, rich, and truly unique. From the silky ice cream and crispy cake edges to the miso’s subtle umami flavor, this was unlike any dessert I had tried before, and since it was so rich in flavor, I thought it would be an ideal item to share among a couple of people.
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