Jeremie A.
Yelp
I wrote a review 7 months ago claiming that this location is, by far, one of the best omakases under $100 and a top contender for casual omakases with high quality fish. I'm here to tell you that in light of the change of ownership that I keep seeing and hearing about, there has been no change in the attentiveness, detail, quality, and flavor to what one might expect from participating and indulging in this more casual omakase experience.
I got the 10 piece omakase (again) to make a fair and adequate comparison. They had ran out of the snow crab so they had substituted it for wagyu A5 which was delicious, warm, and rich with umami. This is not a standard item of the omakase but of the items that are typically included, each piece was an experience of its own:
Toro (fatty tuna): buttery, nutty, and savory with a hint of sweetness
Akami (bluefin tuna): rich red color, firm texture and rich in flavor
Medai (red snapper): tender and succulent texture with a surprisingly adequate fat content
Hokkaido scallop: silky almost custard-like delicate texture with an incredible deep umami
Ebi (shrimp): delicate and sweet flavor with firm texture
Salmon: dense, rich fatty consistency with a melt-in-your-mouth texture
Black Cod #1 (seared): decadent, buttery rich sweetness with a smooth velvety texture with a subtle flakiness (the best one in my opinion)
Sayori: clean and mildly sweet, firm and dense white flesh that plays a nice stark contrast from the other more fattier fish
In order to update my review, it required me to remove my previous photos to upload these new ones (with max of 9 pics). The other fish not pictured (some of which were after the 10 piece omakase) included skipjack, a salad, the uni (which is part of the omakase), halibut, chawanmushi, miso soup, edamame, and the toro handroll. All of these were a nice addition and complemented the overall meal very nicely.
Overall, the reason why I liked this place was because it is relatively on the more affordable spectrum as far as omakases go without cutting shortcuts on the quality and expert preparation of the fish. One noticeable change that I might note is that the rice sometimes came out cold; I'm not a stickler for the temperature of the rice but I know in some omakases, they pride themselves on the appropriate temperature of the rice. In this case, it was not always consistently cold but some were a good temperature and some were just ok but overall, the quality of the fish still speaks volume to their dedication to creating an amazing experience.
The one trade off that I did have with my previous experience 7 months ago was this: there is very minimal interaction with the omakase/sushi chef. This was not too concerning because that simply is the style and setting that they have decided to portray in contrast to the $100+ omakases where they are much more involved in providing a "show." This is the one thing that was missing when I was here 7 months ago, but I must say that with my most recent visit, the waiter and the staff in general were much more interactive, proactive, hospitable, and welcoming towards me and my wife that it truly felt much more personal than some more recent omakases we have frequented.
Nonetheless, we were very pleased with our experience and since I have been fortunate enough to have eaten here both before and after the change in ownership, I can proudly say with minimal bias and with an objective perspective that this place is indeed, worth a visit. We would like to give a special thank you/shout out to the sushi chef who was so accommodating and friendly to us throughout the evening. My car broke down earlier that day and the evening I spent here made me forget all about it. Cheers~
Otsukaresama desu !~