The Absolute Best Omakase Sushi Spots in NYC for Every Budget

Like many great sushiya in Tokyo that are tucked into nooks and crannies—sometimes within train stations—10-seat Joji claims the lower level of One Vanderbilt Avenue attached to Grand Central Station. Within its serene oasis of gray and blonde tones, Masa alum George Ruan serves a luxe, 21-course omakase for $375 (and $275 during lunch for 17 courses). Potential starters include warm dishes like amadai karaage with ossetra caviar and grilled kinki fish, before moving into 15 nigiri—of which 90 percent is sourced from Japan—like nodoguro and shima-aji. Lucky guests conclude with a piece of exceptional Japanese fruit such as musk melon. And for anyone on the go, grab some packaged sushi sets at the team’s adjacent takeout venture, Joji Box.
Cost: $375 for dinner, $275 for lunch

Kotaru, the 10-seat omakase counter within Midtown’s modern Japanese eatery, Taru, is the newest player in New York City’s high end sushi scene. Helmed by Masa and Morimoto alum Tony Inn, the $295, 20-course experience embraces a kaiseki-style dining format designed to show ingredients prepped in various cooking techniques, like grilled wagyu tataki and steamed crab chawanmushi (egg custard), before moving into 13 pieces of Edomae-style nigiri. Think seasonal Japanese seafood like buri and Hokkaido uni, followed by a toro and pickled daikon hand roll, and mochi plus Japanese fruit for dessert.
Cost: $295
How to book: Reservations available via Tock

One of the city’s OG sushi counters, Azabu, has rebranded its lower-level Edomae-style bar into a new eight-seat spot called The Den. Named after its Miami outpost and flanked by tables with room to accommodate 14, here, Azabu’s original sushi chef from 2007, Toshihide Terado, is back after spending time at the Hong Kong outpost of Tokyo’s legendary Sushi Saito. Terado’s current $320 omakase changes daily and typically spins from four seasonal appetizers to around 10 nigiri bites, into his signature oversized triple tuna maki roll, made with marinated tuna, chu-toro, otoro, negitoro (tuna minced with green onion), and pickled daikon. Tamago and miso soup conclude the meal.
Cost: $320

As a newer addition to the scene, former Ginza Onodera chef, Kazushige Suzuki, presides over this six-seat engagement that puts seafood flown in daily from fish markets in Tokyo and Fukuoka to excellent use. Throughout the $400 omakase at Icca, he incorporates subtle Italian influences. Take, for example, his signature starter: finely pulled Hokkaido hairy crab arranged into a delicate mountain atop capellini pasta with a vibrant green sauce made from chrysanthemum. After the appetizer block, guests embark on a 10-bite nigiri series that begins with another signature: nigiri made from rice and abalone liver.
Cost: $400
How to book: Reservations available via Tock

Chef Masa Ito made a name for himself with umami-rich wagyu and caviar-laced nigiri at the Los Angeles export of Sushi Zo (also on this list). However, he’s now decamped to New York City and runs this venture with Kevin Kim and VCR Group (of the upcoming world's first NFT restaurant). At this 16-seat counter in a modern, yet minimalist space, Sushi Ito offers a high-end (but relatively affordably priced) omakase costing $295 for a welcome cocktail plus series of four otsumami, miso soup, 12 nigiri bites, one hand roll, and dessert. Fish is flown in four days per week from markets in Tokyo and Fukuoka, with around 90% of ingredients sourced from Japan. Look out for seasonal bites like bluefin sashimi with garlic tataki, wagyu nigiri with truffle, and the option to add on a snow crab hand-roll with golden osetra caviar.
Cost: $295

This bastion of luxury sushi is one of the city’s longest running omakase counters and often considered a NYC bucket list restaurant. At Masa, the Columbus Circle eatery orchestrates Manhattan’s most expensive omakase option, which starts at $750—but in order to guarantee a seat at the hinoki sushi counter, it’ll cost you $950. Expect a menu laced with seasonal Japanese seafood and luxury ingredients, including mounds of otoro tartare crowned with caviar, and what could be the restaurant’s most signature bite: rice rolled into a ball with truffle and Parmesan cheese.
Cost: $750
How to book: Reservations available via email at reservation@masanyc.com or Tock

Tucked away in Chinatown’s Canal Arcade, chef Kunihide Nakajima debuted his covert, eight-seat sushi counter in March 2020. Those familiar with Manhattan’s sushi scene will know Nakajima earned his own devout following over the years during his tenures at venerated omakase haunts Sushiden, Sushi Inoue, and Uogashi, and opening his own place has been long anticipated by many. At Nakaji, the omakase runs $265 (or $295 for an uni tasting), and spans from otsumami to a hot plated dish before sliding to 12 pieces of nigiri, followed by soup and dessert. Fish and seafood is sourced from Toyosu Market three times a week. And within the space is a nine-seat cocktail bar, Bar Nakaji, dedicated to Japanese cocktails and rare whisky (with nearly 90 bottles on the menu)
Cost: $265

Former Ginza Iwa (of Tokyo) chef Shigeyuki Tsunoda commands the show at Noda, the exclusive, counter-only omakase engagement that can be considered somewhat of a Tokyo-NYC hybrid (but with a more upbeat feel). Located at West 20th Street, enjoy its theatrical Ken Fulk-designed space accented with plush textiles like velvet and brilliant gem stone hues, while sidling up to an illuminated, semi-circular 10-seat counter for a single omakase that runs $315 for around 20 bites. Pending seasonal availability, offerings range from otsumami like ankimo (monkfish liver) to shiro ebi (baby shrimp) nigiri. The majority of the seafood served is imported from Toyosu Market through four weekly shipments.
Cost: $315
How to book: Reservations available via Tock

Year-old Noz 17, which just earned a Michelin star, is the city’s first referral-only sushi counter, a style of dining popular in Japan where chefs offer seats only to regulars and their friends. And while most of its seven bar seats run on this system, the team opens a few slots that are bookable via Tock (and as of recent, Noz17 offers a private dining room with another bar clad with room for four guests). This downtown offshoot of uptown’s lauded Sushi Noz is helmed by Sushi Noz Ash Room alum, head chef Junichi Matsuzaki who was, in fact, part of the original sushi den’s opening team. Here, go for a 30-course, seasonal omakase ($435) that follows atypical progression: chef intersperses otsumami and nigiri throughout most of the menu. Further, dishes here highlight extended fermentation practices, bites high in salt that pair with sake, and chinmi: rare delicacies uncommon elsewhere in New York City, like a three-month-aged uni bite. This is a spot for sushi enthusiasts that are looking for new, sometimes intense, flavors. Just like the uptown location, the team flies most fish directly in from Tokyo’s Toyosu Market twice a week.
Cost: $435

Former Jewel Bako chef Mitsunori Isoda oversees this diminutive, counter-only sushiya. At the eight-seat omakase haunt, Omakase Room by Mitsu offers a $200, 14-course omakase based on seasonal fish from Japan while embracing Edomae style (almost all of his fish is aged, cured, or marinated). And rather than seasoning his rice with vinegar and sugar, he also adds kombu dashi to amplify the umami in each bite. And while there isn’t a set beverage pairing, an in-house sommelier can offer a bespoke pairing, and make sure to ask for a glass of the daiginjo nigori umeshu for dessert.
Cost: $200

Chef Shion Uino came to town in 2017 after spending a decade working at one of the world’s most prestigious—and impossible to book—sushi counters, Tokyo’s Sushi Saito. While he initially landed at Sushi Amane (also on this list), he has since decamped and teamed up with 69 Leonard owner Idan Elkon to take over this lauded eight-seat omakase counter. The $480 (gratuity included) Edomae-style experience has morphed from one paying tribute to kaiseki, to a menu based around rare seafood and, unquestionably, the city’s most excellent interpretation of ethereally custardy tamago. Uino receives six fish deliveries per week and, in terms of menu progression, patrons can expect to commence with sashimi, then move into a series of tsumami (small appetizers), followed by nine nigiri bites, a hand roll, soup and that tamago. Guests also have the option to add on à la carte bites from sashimi to chinmi (rare bites).
COST: $480

Restaurateur Linda Wang is behind a spate of affordably-priced omakase spots (Thirteen Water, Shinn), including Sekai, which debuted last year. The 16-seat counter is helmed by chef Eddy Yang, who has spent a decade at Masa before moving on to Sushi Nakazawa. The team is able to keep their omakase prices low—16 courses for $108—by keeping meal times shorter to around 90 minutes. Expect heavy attention to fish aging and curing techniques, with some modern touches, along with nigiri like live anago and saba that Yang salts and cures in vinegar before smoking over hay.
Cost: $108

At the eight-seat counter of the Tokyo export, Sushi Ginza Onodera, the deep brownish-red hue coloring of its rice comes courtesy of head chef Takuya Kubo seasoning it with two types of red vinegar to amplify the umami and further complement seafood. Here, the team sources fish three days a week from Toyosu Market, and diners can often find hyper-seasonal (and luxury) seafood items not found elsewhere in the city. Pending the season, that could include black abalone, tuna head, and shirako (cold milt). While many NYC omakase counters only offer dinner, thanks to its Midtown base, here, choose from three lunch menus suited to quicker dining, priced at $130, $180, and $250. Dinner entails a sole option at $450, and includes a longer series of otsumami before moving into a shorter nigiri block of around eight or so bites, followed by tamago, soup and dessert.
Cost: $130

Sushi Ikumi is the omakase addition from the same team behind kaiseki star Hirohisa located just next door. Chef Jongin Jeong cut his teeth at the aforementioned, but here at the 10-seat counter, he serves a series of three otsumami (appetizers) before moving into 13 pieces of sushi, including aged bites like tuna, and cured fish such as kohada and saba. The $220 omakase concludes with house-made ice cream.
Cost: $220

By now, most know the story: Daisuke Nakazawa was an apprentice at Ginza’s micro sushiya, Jiro, the subject of the cult status Netflix film on the beauty of sushi. In 2013, Nakazawa set up shop in New York City, and has since gone on to open a counter in Washington D.C. Here in Greenwich Village, Sushi Nakazawa is serving both lunch and dinner. Patrons can pick from two counter experiences: the meal at the 10-seat main bar and five-seat lounge counter runs $180, while the dining room runs $150.
Cost: $150

Helmed by chef Nozomu Abe, since opening in 2018, Sushi Noz has earned street cred among sushi enthusiasts as one of the city’s premier, and more traditional omakase experiences. With a blonde wood bedecked aesthetic inspired by Edo period teahouses, this dual counter engagement offers a $495 menu built from around 95% Japanese ingredients, many of which the team imports twice a week directly from Toyosu Market. Diners begin with around six appetizers, before moving into anywhere from 13 to 18 nigiri bites. Overall, expect classic Edomae-style nigiri, with occasional global influences.
Cost: $495
How to book: Reservations available via Tock

Before landing in the Big Apple in 2015, Sushi Zo made its mark on Los Angeles (a city rife with amazing omakase options) as one of the best sushi joints in town. And when founder Keizo Seki hit New York City, locals took notice with its $290, 15-piece omakase laced with caviar and truffles. This is not quite a traditional Edomae experience, but rather one rooted in similar techniques (salt and kelp-cured fish) rife with luxury ingredients, alongside those more commonly found in Japan, such as umeboshi (pickled plum) and yuzu kosho. Seafood for the 10-seat counter is flown in daily from Toyosu Market.
Cost: $290
How to book: Reservations available via Tock

Chef Yukihiro Takeda debuted this sliver of an eight-seat omakase counter on the Upper West Side right before the pandemic hit in 2019, and the 19-course, $250 omakase has, up until just recently, largely flown under the radar. But word is getting out. At Takeda, expect a fairly-priced, highly seasonal Edomae-inspired meal that mixes small appetizers with nigiri, like nodoguro or kombu-cured red snapper in a roasted red rice sake sauce. The team sources all of its ingredients from Japan, with fish deliveries coming in twice a week from Toyosu Market.
Cost: $250

This venture from Hand Hospitality—the outfit behind top Korean eateries like Atomix and Jua—stands out in the restaurant group’s portfolio as their inaugural Japanese concept. Located in Nomad, Towa is a kaiseki-inspired restaurant with a nine-seat omakase counter helmed by chef Masaya Shirai, who formerly ran Michelin-starred sushi haunt, Sushi Azabu. With fish deliveries two to three times per week, most of which is sourced from Japan, Shirai leans on his sashimi and nigiri background to incorporate ample sushi into his menu. The nine-course, affordably-priced $120 omakase is interspersed with a series of cooked dishes like a pure buckwheat cold soba and fried monkfish.
Cost: $120

Tadashi Yoshida of Nagaoya’s impossible-to-reserve Sushi No Yoshino, decamped from Japan to open this 10-seat sushi counter here a year and a half ago, and it’s now one of only four restaurants in the Big Apple to have earned a perfect four star review from The New York Times. Yoshino’s spot marks the very first time a true master from Japan (as opposed to a protégé) has relocated to open in Manhattan. Located on the Bowery, chef is serving a $646 omakase (including tax and tip) of around 21 courses with seafood sourced from the same Japanese mongers (Toyosu, Kanazawa’s Omicho, and other markets) that supplied his counter in Japan, with fish coming in two to three times per week. With a uniquely Japanese French-inspired omakase (chef spent some time working at a French restaurant in his youth), patrons experience a series of appetizers accented western and luxury ingredients like cream, olive oil, caviar, before moving into a more classically Edomae 10-course nigiri series.
Cost: $646
How to book: Reservations available via Tock