11 omakase experiences for Philly-area sushi fans

Time was, sushi restaurants in the Philadelphia area were 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 have commanded, there are precious few omakases, 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 $60 omakase at the energetic Sushi by Bou in Fishtown or the $68 omakase at Xiangyu “Sam” Lin’s spare, sleek Yuhiro Omakase in Fishtown, 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 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 ($165), Double Knot ($68), and Zama ($65 and $100), offer fixed-price, multiple-course meals that are prepared in the kitchen. N.B. Sushi chef Kevin Yanaga is planning an omakase room inside Yanaga Kappo Izakaya, the restaurant he plans to open this spring in Northern Liberties.

Here are 11 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 omakases 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.

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

Chef Hiroki Fujiyama’s luxurious, soft-lit atelier, tucked behind Wm. Mulherin’s Sons in Fishtown, serves a parade of uncommon fish preparations, followed by meats, two sushi courses, and miso soup for $155 plus 20% service; there’s an optional six-course sake pairing for $65.

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

Want your omakase fast? One-hour experiences began appearing in New York City a few years ago. Last year, chef Jeremy Zhu packed his knives and his blowtorch and brought them to Washington Square West. 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 12-seat counter for 23-course, “29-bite” meals priced at $200 plus 20% tip, with seatings at 5:30 and 8 p.m. Ogawa says the fish is sourced from Toyosu Market in Tokyo. At a recent dinner, hot items included chawanmushi (a luscious cup of steamed egg with wagyu, foie gras, cauliflower, and white truffle oil) and grilled black cod with spinach and Japanese pumpkin.

📍 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. On March 1, the $148 tab will rise to $178 as Lin begins flying in fish from Toyosu Market and adding grilled items. The new menu will feature 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.

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

📍 616 S. Second St., 🌐 sakana-omakase-sushi.business.site, 📷 @philly_sakana

Shiso, which opened in February in the sleek South Street salon that was Serpico before the pandemic, will roll out an omakase soon, seating 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) — will mix hot and cold dishes, pricing it in the $150-to-$180 range. A sampling from a recent preview dinner: 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 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 Sushi by Bou — say “Bou” as if you’re scaring someone — replaces the ownership group’s 10-seat Sushi Suite in the back room of Izakaya Fishtown. Sushi Suite’s Roaring ’20s look has given way to ’90s hip-hop for a $60 (12-course) or $125 (17-course “Bou-gie upgrade”) offering. Cocktail pairings, too. The fancier, pricier Sushi Suite will relocate to Center City, probably late summer, and another Sushi by Bou is on the way to Rittenhouse later this year.

📍1832 Frankford Ave., 🌐 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 $150 or $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

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