13 omakase experiences for Philly-area sushi fans

Sushi restaurants in the Philadelphia area were once few and far between. They now blanket the region. As the sushi game improved, the exclusive omakase experience followed. Omakase, literally “I leave it up to you,” is an intimate meal that puts the chefs in control of the menu.

For all the attention that sushi restaurants now command, there are precious few offering omakase, a labor-intensive undertaking with higher-than-usual price tags and standards for artistry.

When chef Jesse Ito began his omakase in the back room of Royal Sushi & Izakaya in Queen Village in 2017, you could choose 18 pieces of nigirizushi for $110 a person or a 10-piece mini-version for $55. Now, the James Beard Award-nominated chef commands $300 a person, service included, at his eight-seat counter for a 17-piece tasting, which includes 16 pieces of nigirizushi and one temaki. Ito does two turns a night, and a reservation here is nearly impossible to get.

Contrast this with the $65 omakase at the energetic Sushi by Bou locations in Fishtown and Center City or the $68 omakase at Xiangyu “Sam” Lin’s spare, sleek Yuhiro Omakase in Fishtown, both good experiences for first-timers.

Why the difference in omakase prices? The number of courses is only part of the equation. Fish costs are all over the map, even among the same species — the thickness of each slice, the overall quality of the fish, and the sourcing; some chefs, for example, prize Spanish-caught tuna, which can be considerably pricier than tuna from somewhere else, say the Philippines. The courses themselves factor in, too. Some chefs may include uni (and sea urchin prices vary widely).

“What makes my omakase different is that you’re coming for what my perspective on sushi is,” Ito told me.

Regardless of price points, the omakase experience is a performance, as chefs cut, wrap, roll, garnish, and sometimes torch each bite for their customers seated at a counter.

A few destination Japanese restaurants in Center City, notably Morimoto) and Double Knot, offer prix fixe, multiple-course meals that are prepared in the kitchen.

Here are 13 restaurants with omakase counters. All require reservations.

Chef Yong Kim has been a part of the suburban sushi scene for nearly a quarter-century, when he opened a modest shop in a Plymouth Meeting strip mall. In 2012, he traded that for a Blue Bell BYOB triple the size, adding an Exton location five years later.

Kim is a master sourcer of fish, and his omakase offerings change constantly; they include sushi and sashimi, maybe some usuzukuri fluke with yuzu dressing, plus hot bites such as miso-marinated Chilean sea bass and whole porgy with mussels and scallops. The price is tailored to the experience — figure $100 to $150, if you factor in A5 wagyu.

📍 2820 Dekalb Pike, Blue Bell, and 555 Wellington Square, Exton, 🌐 restaurantbluefin.com, 📷 @chefyongkim

The high-top seating at the gleaming onyx bar puts you right at eye level with owner Joe Kim at his U-shaped BYOB under the Girard El stop in Fishtown, and he’ll crack wise with you through all 22 dishes. It’s $180, offered Friday and Saturday at 7 p.m. or by appointment.

📍 1204 N. Front St., 🌐 dawafish.com, 📷 @dawafishtown

Chef Hiroki Fujiyama’s luxurious, soft-lit atelier, tucked behind Wm. Mulherin’s Sons in Fishtown, serves 20 courses of uncommon fish preparations followed by meats, two sushi courses, and miso soup for $185. There’s also a sushi omakase for $115 with sushi, miso soup, and dessert, as well as an a la carte menu with a maki and nigiri selection, cold plates like hiyashi chukka (homemade cold noodles with sweet soy vinegar sauce) and snapper carpaccio, plus hot dishes such as Katsudon (crispy pork cutlet, caramelized onions, soft eggs) and Kakuni (sweet simmered pork with rice porridge).

📍 1355 N. Front St., 🌐 hirokisan.com, 📷 @taleofhiroki

Sixty-minute omakase experiences began appearing in New York City a few years ago. Chef Jeremy Zhu packed his knives and his blowtorch and brought them to Washington Square West, where he recently slowed the pace to 90 minutes. He and his team create 15 courses for $95 at the cheery, high-energy BYOB, where they occasionally gild the lily (liquid gold atop caviar?).

📍 112 S. 12th St., 📷 @kichi_omakase

Minoru Ogawa, a second-generation sushi chef with a following on the Washington restaurant circuit, has set up a richly appointed counter for 23-course meals priced at $200 plus 20% tip, with seatings at 5:30 p.m. (for eight people) and 8 p.m. (for 10). Inquirer critic Craig LaBan says Ogawa, fronted by chef Carlos Wills, is right up there as one of the city’s best omakases, featuring rare, in-season fish from Japan.

📍 310 Market St., 🌐 ogawaphilly.com , 📷 @ogawaphilly

Critic Craig LaBan might be president of the Jesse Ito fan club: “The fuss is merited because Ito is simply in an omakase league of his own,” he wrote. “He touches every one of the 17 pieces of hand-molded rice and rare imported fish that 16 lucky diners each night eagerly pay $175 to devour, and then open their wallets to buy more for add-ons.” Sake pairings, too.

That was in fall 2022. It’s $300 now, and Ito’s star has not dimmed. If you’re shut out of a seat, the izakaya in front offers sushi rolls, sashimi, and chirashi bowls.

📍 780 S. Second St., 🌐 royalsushiandizakaya.com/sushi.html, 📷 @royal_sushi_omakase

Since opening in 2019, chef Sam Lin has upgraded the experiences at his minimalist BYOB in Queen Village, shrinking the number of seats from 14 to a roomier, more intimate 10. Start with daikon soup and perhaps a pristine kumamoto oyster with yuzu foam, segue into a beef and a seafood appetizer, and then run through a sushi list before capping it off with an uni bowl (under a globe of smoke) and dessert. The tab, $178, reflects Lin’s practice of flying in fish from Toyosu Market. The menu features three appetizers, a fusion of French technique and Japanese flavors, a sashimi course, a soup, and then two rounds of nigiri and a futomaki roll before ending with a light dessert. Gluten-free and kosher experiences are available.

Want a budget experience? See Lin’s newer spot, Yuhiro, below.

📍 616 S. Second St., 🌐 phillysakana.com, 📷 @philly_sakana

Shiso, in the sleek South Street salon that was Serpico before the pandemic, seats 12 at the dining counter in the open kitchen. Nepalese-born sushi chef Yonten Gyamtso — who had been artfully overseeing the omakase at owner Alan Su’s other spot, Umami Steak & Sushi (see below) — mixes hot and cold dishes and it’s priced at $180. A sampling: a hand roll of scallop tartare, tobiko, and spicy XO sauce; uni drenched in lime; negi toro; tako carpaccio; and miso black cod. Shiso offers ramen and a sushi menu.

📍 604 South St., 📷 @shisonoodlesushi

Philly now has two locations of Sushi by Bou, the quick-and-quirky national omakase brand that offers budget-price one-hour experiences in underutilized spaces. (Chef David Bouhadana and partners premiered the concept six years ago in a 150-square-foot Manhattan hotel room.) Philly’s first Sushi by Bou — say “Bou” as if you’re scaring someone — is a 10-seater in the back room of Izakaya Fishtown with a 1990s hio-hop motif, while a second one, in Washington Square West, is disco-themed and has a late-night weekend lounge. Both are priced at $65 (12-course) or $125 (17-course “Bou-gie upgrade”) and offer cocktails.

📍1832 Frankford Ave. and 1224 Chestnut St., 🌐 sushibybou.com/locations/philadelphia, 📷 @sushibybou

Step down from Walnut Street, beneath a hair salon off Washington Square, into a subterranean barroom. Pass the bar and the booth seating and you’ll run into Alan Su’s 10-seat sushi bar. Chef Kenny Sze, an alum of Sakana, puts out generous omakases (priced at $180) with menus that run the gamut. You’ll find u-temaki, more conventional maki, and beautifully presented hot dishes, including koji-aged steak and miso black cod.

📍727 Walnut St., 🌐umamisteakandsushi.com, 📷 @umamisteakandsushibar

Kevin Yanaga is Philadelphia’s most traveled sushi chef, at least locally, with a series of high-profile stops including Morimoto, Zama, Izakaya and Double Knot, and later the relaunch of Pod. He then ended up in a relatively brief partnership with Glu Hospitality in Fishtown that created Sushi by Yanaga and Omakase by Yanaga on Frankford Avenue. Now he’s in Northern Liberties with Michael Ego (a former director at Glu) with Yanaga Kappo Izakaya, an izakaya, on the corner of Third Street and Fairmount Avenue. Tucked behind a bookshelf just off the bar is his narrow, kitsch-filled eight-seat omakase room, where Yanaga creates intricate feasts, including tableside smoked salmon and cured live shrimp, for $180 plus 20% service charge, offered for two seatings Thursday to Saturday. A five-course sake pairing ($65) and seven-course “kuro obi” pairing ($80) are available, as is sake by the bottle.

📍627 N. Third St., 🌐ykisushi.com, 📷 @yanaga_kappo_izakaya

Sam Lin wanted a lower-priced counterpart to his Sakana, and he took over a storefront just off Frankford Avenue in Fishtown for a 12-seat omakase serving 12 pieces of nigiri over 90 minutes for $68; you’re handed the menu to follow along, a good introduction for novices. Drinks are available.

The omakase counter shares the room with the city’s only handroll bar, an a la carte experience specializing in u-maki. These are the loosely wrapped rolls, served in a small wooden u-frame, that critic LaBan says offer “a flamboyant format for sushi that’s far more substantive than the sauce-splattered tempura roll trend that has plagued mediocre sushi counters for years.”

📍2146 E. Susquehanna Ave., 🌐yuhirosushi.com, 📷 @yuhirosushi