"Walking through the nearly unmarked front door of Yoshino feels like entering sushi Narnia. At this $500 Noho omakase, meandering jazz scores the roughly 20 courses, and comfortable hinoki wood seats carry you through an extended state of seafood-induced bliss. A series of magical appetizers includes things like a trio of high-voltage ingredients—hairy crab, uni and caviar—that taste as if they were always meant to be together, and a goldeneye snapper soup that could warm up the coldest blizzard. There are flourishes along the way—wafts of scallop smoke, a sizzling sear of mackerel skin. But these hammier moments never come at the expense of perfectly seasoned rice and impeccable ingredients, like the chiaigishi chutoro: a best-of-both-worlds piece of tuna belly cut near the bloodline, both fatty and flavorful." - bryan kim, neha talreja, willa moore, will hartman, sonal shah