A Manhattan Michelin-Starred Sushi Counter Is Shutting Down

Sushi Ginza Onodera, a Michelin-starred sushi counter known for a 20-course omakase that starts at $450 before tax, will close next month, a spokesperson for the restaurant announced on Monday. The restaurant, the only New York location of a chain with outposts in Honolulu and West Hollywood, was awarded two Michelin stars in 2016, the year it opened, and was downgraded to a one-star rating in 2020.

“The New York dining scene, particularly the sushi omakase scene, has undergone significant transformations during the past seven years,” Yoko Yamaguchi, the restaurant’s general manager, said in a statement. “Now it is necessary for us to reflect on our future direction.” The last day of service is August 19.

The first location of Sushi Ginza Onodera opened in Tokyo in 2013. It was run by the chef Akifumi Sakagami, who had been slicing fish since he was a teenager. Ginza Onodera Group, which oversees the chain and runs a more casual line of restaurants in Japan, brought the sushi counter to the United States that same year. It now has locations in Tokyo, Shanghai, Honolulu, and Los Angeles.

The Manhattan outpost opened at 461 Fifth Avenue, between East 40th and 41st streets, in 2016. It was one of a handful of high-end sushi restaurants to import fish from the famed Tsukiji fish market in Tokyo.

But the city’s high-end sushi scene has gotten more competitive over the years. Among the 73 Michelin-starred restaurants in 2022, roughly a fifth of them serve sushi. According to Yamaguchi, Ginza Onodera Group may explore “different styles of serving sushi” in Manhattan in the future. “While it saddens us to close our current location, we are hopeful that this decision will pave the way for us to return stronger and better.”