NYC Omakase
Sushi Ginza Onodera | 461 5th Avenue | Two Michelin Stars
In the intimate dining room of Sushi Ginza Onodera, located at 461 Fifth Avenue, chef Masaki Saito and his team serve meals where every piece of sushi will be tailored to each individual guest. The restaurant serves almost exclusively wild-caught fish. This extremely high-end Midtown branch of a Tokyo-based restaurant group serves an omakase-only sushi menu in a pared-down yet earthy setting with a wooden sushi counter and table seating.
Omakase Course A: $150 - Appetizer, 15 pieces of Nigiri, Miso Soup, Dessert
Omakase Course B: $130 - Appetizer, 13 pieces of Nigiri, Miso Soup, Dessert
Omakase Course C: $100 - Appetizer, 10 pieces of Nigiri, Miso Soup, Dessert
Masa | 10 Columbus Circle, 4th Floor
Prix- fixe menu price of $595 per person not including beverage and tax. Gratuity is included in the price, and not accepted. Acclaimed chef Masayoshi Takayama’s fixed-price menus of Japanese cuisine in a sleek, sedate space. Cancellations: Must be 48 hours or $200 charge per person.
15 East | 15 East 15th Street
The real deal for pristine sushi, this Union Square Japanese maintains high standards to rival the big hitters with its incredible food, array of sakes and flawless service. The stylish, Zen-like atmosphere is a great escape to the business that can be found in most Flatiron restaurants.
Sushi Zo New York | 88 West 3rd Street | One Michelin Star.
This LA import has sushi that rivals the best in New York but is served with a laid-back vibe that is a welcomed change of pace. Sushi Zo is nonetheless ambitious, serving superlative fish and seafood that is pristine, delicious, and well beyond reproach in an omakase-only format. The petite space is serene and showcases a particularly lovely mix of blonde wood and exposed brick, decorated with little more than birch branches. Their nightly omakase menu has only two turns at the counter as well as the handful of tables. Their exquisite nigiri-with bright flavors and skilled torch work-is sure to be the highlight of your meal thanks to halibut with lemon and sea salt, belt fish with wasabi, and shima aji with yuzu juice and lime zest. - Omakase: $200 per person
Uchu | 217 Eldridge Street
Uchū Sushi Bar brings an utterly transportive traditional Japanese dining experience via the 10-seat sushi counter located in the heart of the Lower East Side. Upon crossing the threshold, guests leave behind the bustling city and are welcomed to a serene oasis to be served an incomparable tasting menu prepared by legendary Chef Eiji Ichimura, featuring the finest ingredients and highest quality fish. Uchū Kaiseki Counter is the complementary inverse of Uchū Sushi Bar, offering to guests an avant-garde reinterpretation of the traditional Japanese kaiseki-style dining experience. The beverage program, helmed by Frank Cisneros, is a ritualistic experience that pairs perfectly with Chef Samuel Clonts ever-changing tasting menus.
Omakase: $300 per person Kaiseki: $200
Kosaka | 220 West 13th Street
Lauded chef Yoshihiko Kousaka, formerly of Jewel Bako, takes the wheel at this wonderful sushi house, partnering with Key Kim and Mihyun Han to offer two shimmering and new omakase menus. The room is sleek and modern, with a handsome Japanese sensibility and a counter for 12, along with three small tables. A relaxed, but deeply attentive service staff rounds out this wonderful little gem. Much of the fish laid out over the course of the night is imported from Tokyo's Tsukiji Fish Market, though some of it is procured from local purveyors. But each bright, immaculate slice-be it King salmon with smoked soy sauce, scallop with sea grapes and yuzu, or kelp-cured and pressed striped jack-is wildly fresh, cut-to-order, and seasoned with the lightest hand possible.
noda | 6 West 28th Street
Nomad has a high-end omakase spot that has run under the radar despite a very pedigreed team. Noda serves a $285-per-person omakase (gratuity included) from chef Shigeyuki Tsunoda, brought here from Tokyo Michelin-starred restaurant Sushi Iwa by owners Justin Hauser and David Hess, in a Ken Fulk-designed space. Hauser and Hess named the restaurant for Tsunoda and moved him and his entire family to NYC, hinging the experience on Tsunoda’s resume as trained by Tokyo’s Saito team and serving Michelin-starred food in Japan. As is standard practice at most high-end omakases, Tsunoda uses fish flown in from Japan, as well as some sourced locally. Tasting menu changes daily but typically includes about eight starting dishes, 11 pieces of sushi, tomago, and an ice cream dessert.
Shuko | 47 East 12th Street
This tiny, special-occasion Village Japanese limits itself to phenomenal omakase, providing either top-tier sushi or traditional kaiseki spreads at a transporting bar that takes diners straight to Tokyo, everyone agrees the payoff is a real wow experience.
Sushi Yasuda | 204 East 43rd Street
Though Chef Yasuda has left the helm, this continues to be a truly elegant and transcendent omakase, in a gorgeous and simple wood-paneled space in Midtown. Interestingly, the sushi is shaped specifically for the size of your mouth.
o ya nyc | 120 East 28th Street
Hidden along a workaday street in Gramercy, just adjacent to the Park South Hotel, this lively sushi den keeps things sleek and stylish. A small line of banquette tables hug a wall, offering a cozy seating option, but arguably the best place to be is at the lovely wooden counter, where guests can watch the talented itamaes (up to five at a time) up close and personal. O Ya offers nigiri, sushi, cooked vegetables and meats-and many of the à la carte items make appearances in their wonderful omakase. On the surface, this is Japanese cooking, but the kitchen uses its high-end ingredients to creatively push the boundaries.
Omakase: 18 course $185
