Hidden Tokyo-Style Cocktail Lounge Debuts at Miami Office Building The h.wood Group, the Los Angeles-based hospitality firm behind Delilah and The Nice Guy, is opening Bar Shishi on September 19 at RIVANI, a $125 million ultra-luxury office building at 1691 Michigan Avenue in Miami Beach. The nearly 2,000-square-foot lounge occupies the third floor of Class X by RIVANI, marked by a sculptural guardian lion at its entrance. The bar seats 12 and features dark wood, marble, custom millwork and warm amber lighting with jewel-toned accents and sinuous banquettes.
Precision Ice and Japanese Technique Senior bar manager Kevin Lee, a Certified Japanese Ice Master with 13 years of bartending experience, leads the cocktail program. Lee hand-carves ice spheres and diamonds for drinks including the Guava Kakigōri—layered with rum, guava, yuzu and shiso over shaved ice—and the Hakushu 12 Old Fashioned served over a hand-carved ice diamond. The program incorporates kakigōri-style shaved ice, Japanese cobbler shaking and cocktail throwing alongside house-made bitters, tinctures and infusions designed to build umami-forward flavors. Other cocktails include Point Zero, which emphasizes rum and tropical fruit, and the Lychee Martini with lychee, bergamot and shochu.
Food and Sound The food menu pairs small plates designed to move between cocktails.
Offerings include Hamachi Crudo with yuzu ponzu, serrano and shiso; Lion Crunch Roll with crab, avocado, tuna and sweet soy; Chicken Karaage with Bulldog sauce; and Wagyu Katsu featuring A5 Wagyu and caramelized onions in milk bread. The menu also includes roasted Japanese Eggplant, Caviar Service, Matcha Sugar Cookie with miso caramel and Yuzu Sorbet with fresh berries. Eddie McDonald, musical director and record curator for Anderson .Paak's DJ Pee .Wee project, has curated more than 100 records for the space. The vinyl collection spans deep house, funk, soul, disco and Latin influences.
Service Philosophy and Membership According to Brian Toll, co-founder and president of The h.wood Group, "Bar Shishi is meant to feel discovered rather than introduced. Every element, from the cocktails and service to the design and music, has been carefully considered, yet nothing feels overly composed. The experience is grounded in the pillars of Japanese hospitality, including an unspoken social awareness that allows the service to feel intuitive, gracious and quietly attuned to each guest." The lounge operates Monday through Friday from noon to 5 p.m. exclusively for RIVANI members and their guests. Evening service opens to the public Wednesday through Saturday from 7 p.m. to close. A collection of 108 private spirits lockers offers annual members personalized bottle storage with custom-engraved plaques, priority reservations and direct concierge access.
Why It Matters
Bar Shishi represents a shift in how hospitality operators are blending office, wellness and leisure within a single building. The bar anchors RIVANI's positioning as a lifestyle destination rather than traditional office space, and demonstrates how established hospitality groups are expanding beyond standalone restaurants and nightclubs into integrated membership models.
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Written by FBM Publications Editors
