Dining omakase (o·ma·ka·se), a Japanese meal that consists of dishes selected and coursed entirely by the restaurant's sushi chef, is for the sushi lover. This experience is not only the most traditional way to enjoy sushi, but it's undoubtedly the most upscale. The meal typically takes place at the sushi bar, with the chef slicing and forming each piece before your eyes. The fish used in preparations of this kind are the freshest it gets, and chefs at this caliber would sooner remove something from their menu than serve a subpar product. After a hot hand towel and a complimentary appetizer, inform the chef of your sushi vs. sashimi preferences, dietary restrictions–from a shellfish allergy to a kosher diet–and sit back as perfect pieces of traditional, Edomae sushi are placed before you in small groupings or piece by piece. Usually, the meal is priced for a certain number of courses, or you're charged per course and are entitled to make special requests throughout the meal should there be something you are craving and have not yet been served. This dining experience is truly for the sushi obsessed, not for the spicy tuna roll aficionado; here, some of our favorite places to dine where the chef, not the customer, is always right.
ICHIMURA at BRUSHSTROKE
One part of Brushstroke, a partnership between Chef David Bouley and the Tsuji Culinary Institute in which each of the two kitchens holds their own Michelin stars, Ichimura serves up traditional, seasonal omakase in an intimate setting. The meal begins with Zensai, a small plater of appetizers like burdock root, herring roe, sea urchin on marinated daikon, and ankimo (monkfish liver, in season now). Then, the sushi: Tuna (Toro: medium fatty, and Otoro: fattier), Sea Urchin, Sweet Shrimp, Spanish Mackerel and more. After about 12-14 pieces of sushi, guests dine on a hot dish like chawan mushi, a warm Japanese egg custard, followed by a dessert from the Brushstroke hot kitchen. Menu items always focus on what's in season and almost all of the fish served is sourced from the world-renowned Tsujiki fish market in Tokyo, which provides the best sushi spots in Japan with their seafood. Reservations are required for a spot at the seat the eight-seat sushi bar for its two dinner seatings at 6:30 and 9:30 p.m.
Ichimura at Brushstroke; 30 Hudson Street New York NY, 10013; 212- 791-3771.
Midtown Manhattan may not be a local's go-to for the best in any cuisine, but Sushi Yasuda gives this New York neighborhood some major street cred. Populated mostly with the neighorhood's businessmen and the city's sushi connoisseurs, this stopover for some of New York's best omakase is well worth the lack of candlelight and a stay-a-while atmosphere. Servers in this traditional Japanese eatery are as attentive as it guests–where else is your lukewarm green tea replaced mid-meal without asking to ensure you're always sipping on hot matcha?–and the sushi chefs preparing your unparalleled pieces of Toro, Uni and scallop sushi are open to diners' requests and sensitive to any and all eating restrictions. Like most five-star sushi experiences, Yasuda is closed on Sunday and open for short-term lunch and dinner hours; lunch is served from noon until 2:15p.m. on Monday through Friday and dinner reservations can be made from 6:30 until 10:15p.m. on Monday through Saturday.
Sushi Yasuda; 204 East 43rd Street New York, NY 10017; 212.972.1001.
Chef Niki Nakayama's innovative and artistic interpretation of a traditional kaiseki (a coursed Japanese menu presented by a technically skilled chef where flavors build and progress from course to course) are the focus at N/Naka, which serves dinner Wednesday through Saturday in two 13-course dinner service options. Whether guests opt for a modern kaiseki dining experience or a vegetarian tasting, meals at this unique, intimate dining room tend to last almost three hours and consist of dishes prepared from the freshest ingredients presented in their most natural states. While not all courses feature sashimi or sushi, this kaiseki is entirely crafted by the chef, sous chef and pastry chef. An organic garden is the source for the vegetables served at the restaurant, and menus are curated per guest on a nightly basis.
N/Naka; 3455 S. Overland Avenue Los Angeles, CA 90034; 310.836.6252.
Some of the country's best sushi...in Harlem. A classic, Western sushi spot at first glance leads to a small, intimate sushi bar in the back serving up a chefs-choice menu worth traveling for. Kunihide Nakajima, a third generation sushi chef, serves a multi-course menu at his counter where farmed fish is forbidden and seasonality is key. While Japanese restaurants across New York have adapted to Western culture with cut rolls and lunch specials galore, Jado is determined to preserve the traditional elements of an Edomae menu in the New York neighborhood known more for soul food than sashimi.
Some of Los Angeles' best omakase sushi is served by a restaurant chain–for no more than $45. While Sugarfish does not take reservations at any of it's 11 locations, a chefs-choice meal here is worth the wait. Guests can order takeout rolls or sushi and sashimi a la carte here, but an experienced diner knows there are only three choices on the menu worth selecting–the seven-course Trust Me Lite, the ever-popular nine-course Trust Me menu and a ten-course option: The Nozawa Trust Me. Each 'trustworthy' lunch or dinner begins in the same way: seasoned edamame, followed by a scallion and soy seasoned tuna sashimi. Albacore, salmon, yellowtail and halibut sushi come next, capped off by the most delicious toro and blue crab hand rolls. The Nozawa menu includes an additional daily special course to boot. All nori (seaweed) here is crisped and the flavorful rice is served warm–our mouths are watering just thinking about it. If you find yourself anywhere in the L.A. area, a meal here is not to be missed.
Click here for a list of Sugarfish locations.
If you know your sushi, you are well aware that this is the ultimate in sushi dining. Founded by Chef Jiro Ono, who is recognized as the forefather in modernized traditional sushi dining, this is the spot to stop in Tokyo for the most authentic bite. The subject of David Gelb's 2011 documentary, Jiro Dreams of Sushi, this stall is located in Tokyo's Ginza neighborhood and known the world over for serving what will undoubtedly be the best sushi you'll ever eat (President Obama agreed after his visit in 2014). At Jiro, they serve a relatively large omakase menu at around 20 pieces, and sushi here is carefully made slightly smaller as the meal progresses for any diners the chef feels will likely leave overstuffed. The menu is never pre-set to feature the market's freshest fish, which is sliced to the perfect width and delicately placed atop skillfully made sushi rice, bound with a dab of wasabi and delicately brushed with soy sauce. If condiments are not offered along with your bite, don't bother requesting them–in this sushi Mecca, it's best to trust the chef.
Ginza Sukiyabashi Jiro; Ginza, Chuo-ku, Tokyo 4-2-15 Tsukamoto Sogyo building, B1 floor; 03-3535-3600.
Serving the omakase of Chef Daisuke Nakazawa, this twenty-one piece meal is prepared from ingredients sourced both internationally and domestically. Chef Nakazawa strongly believes that sushi should be a reflection of the waters one is surrounded with, so that only the freshest fish is placed on your plate. Nakazawa trained under Jiro Ono of Sukibayashi Jiro, working alongside him for eleven years before moving to New York to open his namesake restaurant with restauranteur Alessandro Borgognone seeking to serve the most authentic Edomae sushi menu in the United States. With his mastery of the techniques and obsession with quality, Nakazawa is well on his way to that goal.
Sushi Nakazawa; 23 Commerce St. New York, NY 10014; 212.924.2212.
A new addition to the New York sushi scene, Kosaka's Chef Yoshihiko Kousaka offers two omakase options: a sushi only meal, and another which combines sushi courses with hot items. A traditionalist at heart and a Michelin star chef for the past ten consecutive years, Chef Kousaka seeks to offer the most refined and authentic menu items at his ten-seat counter and eight-seat dining room.
Kosaka; 220 W. 13th St New York, NY 10011; 212.727.1709.
