Erica (@erierica1234) says a friend’s birthday lunch at Sexy Fish in Miami’s Brickell neighborhood. unraveled the moment they reached the door.

Her party of five arrived on time.

“The first thing we notice is the guy at the door. He says, ‘hey, he cannot come in here because he’s wearing sandals,’” she recalls in a TikTok about the incident. Seconds later, “a middle-aged man with sandals walks out of the restaurant.” When she pressed, she says the doorman claimed the man had “changed inside” — an explanation she flatly rejects.

Her friend left to buy new shoes. Inside, Erica says a hostess told her the $36 lunch menu they had booked was actually a more expensive Sunday brunch.

Then she says she watched another patron cross the dining room barefoot.

“I can’t make this up. Barefoot,” she says. “I’ve never seen anyone walk barefoot in a restaurant in my life, especially like a high-rise luxury, a hundred-plus dollar restaurant.”

A manager eventually offered to seat three of the five for a discounted lunch and the other two at a separate table where they’d pay full price.

When Erica pushed back, she says he told her, “If you keep trying to negotiate with me, we’re just gonna refuse … service.”

“Overrated, overpriced, and horribly located”

Some commenters said they’ve had similarly bad experiences at the restaurant.

“That restaurant is disappointing. Everything is off,” said one person. “Sexy Fish is nothing but an overrated, overpriced, and horribly located restaurant that is not even worth the call to make a reservation,” said one.

But not everyone was sympathetic. One woman wrote, “Girl it’s Miami. Bffr.” Erica replied,“There’s better restaurants in Miami that don’t humiliate you, have better management, delicious food, and better service overall. Miami has so much to offer and this was not it.”

What is the restaurant’s dress code?

The actual dress code for the restaurant explicitly states that “shorts, casual slides, flip flops, beach shoes, crocs, plastic or foam shoes are not permitted.”

Erica’s issue doesn’t appear to be with the dress code so much as the alleged selective enforcement of it.

She also isn’t the first patron to accuse Sexy Fish Miami of uneven enforcement. In 2022, a TikToker complained after being denied entry in heels and a YSL bag;. At the time, the restaurant told Narcity, “Everyone following the dress code is welcome at Sexy Fish Miami.”

The Big Lead reached out to Erica via TikTok message and comment, and to Sexy Fish Miami via email.

@erierica1234 WATCH THIS BEFORE GOING TO SEXY FISH MIAMI#sexyfishmiami #foodreview @Blossom #hospitalityindustry ♬ original sound – Erierica1234