"SourAji is a paradox. The East Village sushi spot offers a sub-$100 omakase, and it’s also all you can eat. We don’t know how a restaurant can afford to offer both a chef’s choice meal and AYCE, and—we suspect—neither does SourAji. But what it functionally means is that after you’ve had your set fish, soup, and ice cream, you can order as many more pieces of nigiri as you want for the remainder of your 90-minute seating. Fueled by all-you-can-drink sake and Top 40 remixes, dinner here would be messy, gluttonous fun, even if the fish were an afterthought. But the nigiri is actually pretty good—and that’s not our opinion filtered through sake-tinted glasses. Each piece gets plenty of attention, the fish is flavorful, and the sushi rice well-cooked and seasoned. photo credit: Will Hartman photo credit: SourAji photo credit: Will Hartman photo credit: Will Hartman photo credit: Will Hartman Eating here feels like going to a buddy’s house for a dinner party, if your buddy’s house were a narrow, gray-walled room with two sushi counters. A server who’s just as in on the fun as you lists off the night’s sake and beer options while rummaging through the drinks fridge. That’s the only time your glass will be empty, and there’s a good chance they’ll leave a few bottles up on the bar for you to pour at your own discretion. Once the omakase is over, and you’re about a dozen glasses of sake in, the real fun begins. The chef runs through an abbreviated selection of the night’s fish offerings, and asks how many pieces you’d like. If you’re shameless, you can easily consume double the original omakase. We’ve seen a party of two order 22 pieces of otoro, and another couple getting 30 extra pieces... each. Book a spot to celebrate something worthy of the next day’s hangover, and try to get the last seating at 8:30pm. There’s a good chance they’ll let you linger later than 10pm, making this already unbelievable deal that much sweeter. Food Rundown Omakase You’ll get around 14 courses including raw fish, a soup, and ice cream. The fish is fairly standard for the $98 price point, with things like red sea bream, akami, otoro with uni, king salmon, and scallops. Once that’s over and done with (about an hour), choose from five options for the AYCE portion of your meal. photo credit: SourAji All You Can Drink If you don’t drink, you probably shouldn’t come to SourAji. But if you do, maybe have an electrolyte beverage or an IV bag waiting for you at home before you go out to dinner. They have three or four options each night, ranging from a light junmai ginjo to cloudy nigori sake. There's also beer. photo credit: Will Hartman Madai Several pieces, including this first bite of sea bream, get a citrusy pop from a swipe of yuzu juice. photo credit: Will Hartman Akami Soaked in soy, the akami has just a bit of a tacky chew, which we love in lean tuna. photo credit: Will Hartman Toro with Uni This piece sums up the whole SourAji experience. It’s maximalist—and also quite delicious. photo credit: Britt Lam Wagyu Torched, then dusted with truffle salt, this piece is smoky, savory, and fatty. The people next to us ordered five extra." - Will Hartman
