This shoe box-sized omakase debuted in December 2019 just before the pandemic set in, and since then has gone largely overlooked. Chef and owner Yukihiro Takeda helms the eight-seat counter, and it’s thanks to him that the Upper West Side now has a higher quality omakase sushi option. His Edomae-style, 19-course menu runs $250 and incorporates seafood flown in from Tokyo’s Toyosu fish market several times a week. A meal could start with tsumami like ikura (salmon roe) and Santa Barbara uni before eventually moving into Hokkaido scallop, akami (lean tuna), and iwashi (sardine). Note, Takeda doesn’t necessarily follow a traditional path typically defined by serving all nigiri back-to-back. Instead, bites are occasionally interspersed with creative dishes such as a maki roll filled with soba noodles in place of rice.

In 1997, Masatoshi “Gari” Sugio opened the first Sushi of Gari on the Upper East Side and introduced New Yorkers to a new way to enjoy sushi, with variations in sauces and presentations. Today, diners can choose between an omakase for $150, $180, or $230, with sushi and other dishes available a la carte. Sushi Gari has several locations.

Located in the back of the fast-casual Poke Wave on Astoria’s Broadway, owner Christopher Tsang has set up an omakase speakeasy with chef Osan Weng, with 30 years of sushi restaurant experience in Japan.  On Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday with hourly seatings starting at 6 p.m. it’s an 18-course omakase for $168. On Friday and Saturday at 5 p.m. it’s 14 courses for $98.00. Then at 6:30 and 8:30pm it’s an 18-course omakase, prices vary.

Sushi Yasuda is one of New York’s oldest omakase haunts, regarded as a bastion for fine fish. Here, one can sit at a table or at the bar, and order a la carte, or choose go for the chef’s choice omakase, which can cost anywhere from around $30 and depending whether you opt for three pieces of omakase sashimi ($29), omakase 15 ($150), or the market price omakase. Pro tip: The best seats in the house are at the far end of the sushi bar.

A freewheeling, sushi-slinging, expletive-laden omakase party in Jackson Heights and a newly opened location in Williamsburg, Sushi On Me charges $89 in Jackson Heights ( $129 in Williamsburg) for a 15-course, all-you-can-drink omakase that lasts less than an hour. The cash-only event in a Queens basement allows for a dozen people at a time, four seatings per night, seven nights a week. Dinner begins with a few sashimi courses and finishes with 12 pieces of nigiri, served one at a time.

Upscale service with a downtown vibe is the theme at Shuko, the narrow, Union Square sushi spot from Masa and Neta vets Jimmy Lau and Nick Kim. Dedicated to serving top-level sushi, and with a devout following from none other than Jay-Z and Beyoncé, the place is still going strong after almost a decade. Here, customers will find bites garnished with luxury ingredients like caviar and gold leaf to truffle, and the single omakase runs $270.  

Even before chef Nobuyuki Shikanai nabbed one Michelin star, his unfussy sushi spot had already earned a neighborhood following for its well-priced fresh fish. A long menu of sashimi, nigiri, and rolls — in addition to izakaya bites like shrimp tempura and gyoza — run a la carte, but the most coveted seats are at Shikana’s omakase counter. Note, while Kanoyama is open daily and accepts walk-ins, this $195 chef’s choice menu is only served Wednesday through Saturday (6:15 and 8:30 p.m.) and requires reservations.

One of Japan’s most respected sushi masters, Tadashi Yoshida of Nagaoya’s impossible-to-book Sushi No Yoshino, shuttered his lauded counter to pursue an opportunity in New York.  Now he’s serving a $500, 20-course omakase on the Bowery, which is especially important as Yoshino’s debut marks the first time a sushi master, not a protégée, has relocated from Japan to open in the city. Drawing inspiration from both France and Japan, Yoshida’s omakase commences with a series of around six tsumami that call for western and luxury ingredients like cream, olive oil, caviar, and white truffles, before moving into a traditional 10-bite Edomae nigiri serving One of Yoshida’s signature bites is sabazushi (mackerel), which he torches with a handheld binchotan grill.

Having started in a Tokyo bank, its first U.S. location for edomae sushi that opened in 2008 is still going strong. For $320, the omakase at the counter in the lower level includes four to six appetizers, nine to 10 nigiri and futomaki bites, followed by tamago, soup, and dessert.

With the help of Rahul Saito and Kuma Hospitality Group, the swankiest of Eiji Ichimura’s restaurants, Sushi Ichimura has opened. New Yorkers know him from first his namesake under-the-radar restaurant on Second Avenue in Midtown that closed in 2008. It was followed by David Bouley’s acclaimed Brushstroke, and later, two-Michelin-starred Ichimura at Uchū, among others. Today, the 10-seat Tribeca slip displays an East-meets-West aesthetic from the master who helped fine-tune the Stateside practice of aging fish for modern diners. His menu includes fish from Hokkaido and elsewhere around Japan, along with wares from suppliers at the Toyosu Market, with many items unavailable in the United States. It’s $850 for two, plus $170 tip.

Perhaps the best deal in New York for quality fish at the moment, Gouie is the new counter-only sushi stop from Keisuke Kasagi and Yudai Kanayama (Izakaya, Dr. Clark), which debuted within the Lower East Side’s the Market Line. It’s a casual spot and one that was conceived in response to all of New York’s pricey omakase spots. There are 18 perched counter seats plus a section “where people can just casually stand and drink and eat for a quick bite and quick sake.”

Chef Yusuke Fukuzaki — who came to New York after spending time at one of Tokyo’s most revered, three-Michelin-star kaiseki counters, Ishikawa — has designed a menu heavy on a la carte options, with a spate of seasonal specials like red rock crab tamagoyaki and simmered spiny baigai shell. There’s also a seven-course, $120 option at 6:30 p.m., Thursday through Saturday.

Like many of Tokyo’s top sushi bars, Nakaji is tucked away in an unassuming hallway partially decorated with charred cedar wood. Look for an illuminated box bearing the chef’s name in calligraphy, and press the doorbell to enter what might be the city’s most exciting sushi concept right now. Helmed by longtime sushi vet Kunihide Nakajima, and launched right before the pandemic, this wholly Japanese experience — which takes place at a 10-seat sushi counter and involves Japanese seafood like ice fish and sea cucumber — has quickly ensconced itself as one of the city’s most traditional Japanese experiences, from its minimalist aesthetic to its standout menu. Compared to the sushi Nakajima served during his previous tenure at Sushiden, Nakaji is a step up in price and quality, currently running $295 for a menu that includes tsumami, a hot plated dish, 12 nigiri bites, soup, and seasonal Japanese fruit.

Masa Ito spent eight years with Los Angeles export Sushi Zo before teaming up with hospitality outfit VCR Group and launching Ito, alongside his longtime collaborator, Kevin Kim. Ito, which moved into a 1,500-square-foot Tribeca space, is a high-end omakase restaurant offering 14 counter seats (plus a private dining room) where diners embark on a $295 omakase that begins with a welcome cocktail, followed by four otsumami, miso soup, 12 pieces of nigiri, a handroll, and dessert. There’s a focus on seasonality here, so Ito is bringing in sterling seafood from fish markets in Tokyo and Fukuoka four times per week.