What makes the omakase at James Beard finalist Royal Sushi so special? Plenty, beyond the price

Long before he was a named a multiyear finalist for his culinary talents by the James Beard Foundation, Jesse Ito was a hungry 8-year-old making snacks for himself at home. While his parents were out running Fuji, the family’s renowned former restaurant in Cinnaminson, Jesse was perfecting the specialty his mother had taught him, a simple plate of leftover rice warmed in the microwave with soy sauce and butter, then topped with a little nori. “It’s very nostalgic for me and I think a lot of other Asian kids can probably relate,” he said.

That childhood memory is now at the heart of the most essential new dish in the current omakase at Royal Sushi & Izakaya. That multicourse tasting remains among the most coveted reservations in Philadelphia, limited to just two seatings of eight diners a night. But the chef continues to evolve it in substantive and exciting ways. And Jesse, now 35, has given this creation — an elaborate bibimbap graced with dry-aged toro — the luxurious makeover it demands for an experience that currently runs $300 a head.

The dish is a rarified take on the traditional Korean rice bowl that his Seoul-born mother, Yeonghui Ito, used to make at home.

It begins with a base of rice tinted black with a deeply savory paste of nori seaweed and butter, along with Perigord truffles simmered with mushrooms and garlic. Rice pearls lend a crunch reminiscent of the toasty rice crust on the bottom of a dolsot hot stone bowl, while the treasures on top include creamy orange petals of Hokkaido uni and richly marbled ribbons of Japanese bluefin toro sheared off the loin of a tuna belly that’s dry-aged for several weeks, then marinated in garlic soy.

The pale pink fish is so intricately laced with fat that it almost melts in the heat of my breath. When the custardy richness of a soy-cured Jidori egg yolk is mixed in, the whole bowl turns into a velvety umami bomb.

Ito concedes to being a little “nervous” about introducing this bibimbap. Despite his many accolades and a Resy waiting list that runs nearly 600 diners deep on any given night, he has made some of the biggest changes ever to the format of his omakase over the past year as it stepped-up considerably in price from $225 to $300 (now including gratuity). Philly’s omakase scene has never been better, but Royal Sushi remains the gold standard.

Ito has been taking advantage of a newly acquired dry-aging machine with temperature and humidity controls that allow him to preserve and intensify the flavors of tuna over the course of several weeks (otherwise it would have to be used within a few days). Even more significantly, he added some stellar composed dishes to bring more heft and complexity to a 16-course tasting that had largely been single bites of extraordinary nigiri.

A late spring standout was a composition of lightly torched spot prawns, their raw crustacean sweetness tinged with fire and a hint of smoke, then tumbled with jewels of salmon roe and peppery mizuna over the lactic tang of buttermilk dappled with spicy green ramp oil.

Another: A lidded ceramic bowl filled with silky chawanmushi custard revealed a scoop of ossetra caviar floating in dashi broth made with the bones of the nigiri tasting’s blackthroat seapearch (nodoguro), golden eye snapper (kinmedai), and sea bream (madai). Spring firefly squids, so tiny they look like oceanic paint brushes, pair with sweet lobster and nutty red uni from Murasaki in southern Japan over a vivid green asparagus sauce enriched with lobster tamale. Sheer slices of salt-cured seasonal bonito are fanned across a pool of vinegar-tanged dashi, yuzu, and jalapeño-chive sauce, topped with a warm nest of crisply fried leeks.

But the bibimbap is special. It’s a large composition to land in the midst of 15 other courses, the equivalent of five piece of nigiri. And it’s also a genuine personal note from a chef who, though he is accustomed to performing amiably behind his sushi counter, is somewhat guarded.

This is the first culinary nod I’ve ever seen to his Korean heritage on a menu that largely pays tribute to the craft of sushi inspired by his Japanese father, Masaharu “Matt” Ito, who trained him from a young age at Fuji before Jesse went on to continue refining his own style at Royal Sushi, the posh omakase oasis that’s really a restaurant inside another restaurant, tucked into the back of the larger, boisterous Royal Izakaya, which opened in 2017.

Royal Izakaya remains a destination in its own right, a moodily lit Queen Village tavern for walk-ins only, where Philly’s best-cooked Japanese food is served with creative cocktails (Okinawan rum daiquiri; genmaicha-infused shochu soda) and excellent sakes, and the city’s deepest Japanese whisky list is sipped beneath animé films projected across the bar’s brick walls.

The izakaya’s largely traditional fare, from spinach in black sesame sauce to crisp karaage wings and salt-broiled mackerel, is built on recipes from Jesse’s dad, who “retired” but still regularly comes in to cook. It has maintained a creative modern thread through chef Justin Bacharach, whose kitchen recently produced a squid ink bucatini with uni cream and ikura, umeboshi plum lamb ribs, and another longime favorite, kabuto-age — the surprisingly meaty deep-fried heads and collars left over from prep of the omakase.

The izakaya’s sushi selection, while always very good — don’t miss the negitoro roll or chirashi) — remains relatively limited. And, aside from the $20 bargain “industry chirashi” of omakase trimmings served in a plastic tub for takeout (also inside after 9 p.m.), the izakaya’s sushi is not an accurate reflection of what Jesse crafts in the back, where the quality of fish, rice, and even nori are on a higher level.

It is undeniably frustrating that such a significant dining experience has become virtually inaccessible to the wider public, except for the lucky and well-heeled regulars who reserve their next meal before they even finish the one they’re eating — accounting for more than 90% of the restaurant’s reservations.

It is also quite possible that such limitations have worked against Ito in award competitions, such as those run by the James Beard Foundation, whose regional judges (including myself) actively visit restaurants before voting. Ito made it to the Beard’s finalist stage for an amazing seventh time this year before losing once again Monday night, to Harley Peet of Bas Rouge in Easton, Md.

That doesn’t make dinner at Royal Sushi any less extraordinary. And it is a complete package, from the gorgeous array of Japanse ceramics the food is served on to the seamless service from staff like Kelly Brophy, who brilliantly paired a flight of various exceptional sakes with attention to the regions, styles, and flavor profiles best suited for a tasting whose flow ascends from mild and lean to increasingly bolder and richer cuts.

Serving a small crowd of diners is simply a function of the omakase genre, as Ito makes every aspect of the tasting by hand, from the lengthy preparations of the rare imported fish, to the intricate rituals of cooking and seasoning the rice, whose pearlescent Hitomebore grains Ito prizes for flavor and suppleness. This is also where the chef separates himself by virtue of his uniquely gifted touch. He deftly forms tiny rice balls into perfect pedastals for each slice of fish, packed just enough to hold their shape, but with enough flavor-enhancing air still between the grains that they almost sigh as Ito places each piece on the dish before you.

The complete package of each morsel — quality, craftsmanship, and harmonious composition (sometimes with subtle layers hidden between the rice and fish) — is as exquisite as it gets, from the sugar sweet raw scallop dusted with black salt and lime, to the seasonal sakura masu, a salt-cured cherry trout that actually has a hint of fruitiness.

Ito’s parade of nigiri resonates with lasting waves of pleasure. A blackthroat seaperch, so rich it’s considered the o-toro of white fish, is grazed with flame to crisp its skin and coax its flavorful oils to the surface. Shima aji (striped jack) is cut lusciously thick, then feather-sliced through the middle for a delicate double snap. Buttery kinmedai is smooth as alabaster. A band of madai is wrapped around tuna tartare and rice then crowned with caviar.

His signature bite, a vinegar-cured saba (mackerel), is also double-cut for texture, and fragrant with ground sesame and chive.

The shifting seasonal delights of these nigiri wonders have long been the draw that has kept Royal Sushi humming. But after a bite of the four-week-old dry-aged Japanese tuna, you’ll know immediately that this tasting has somehow taken yet another step forward.

The bolstered tasting now is so satisfying that I was no longer tempted, as usual, to splurge on the multiple add-ons still available at the end of the meal. (My bill was already substantial enough.) An airy cheesecake for dessert made with vertically farmed Oiishi strawberries was appealing.

But all I really needed was Ito’s tamago temaki, the traditional rolled omelette sweetened with mirin and gift-wrapped in nori that is still expertly cooked each morning by his dad. No matter how far and brightly Ito blazes his own path to national renown as a singular talent, that simple, delicious classic is a reminder that his restaurant carries a proud family legacy more meaningful than any award.

780 S. Second St.; 267-909-9002 or royalizakaya.com (click on hidden dragon for omakase info).

Izakaya dinner, Tuesday to Thursday, 5-10 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, until 11 p.m. Omakase two seatings Tuesday through Saturday at 6 and 8:15 p.m.

Izakaya accepts walk-ins only. Reservations are required for omakase and open on Resy (resy.com) 30 days in advance. (Good luck!)

Very few gluten-free options available.

Not wheelchair accessible.