Gordon Y.
Yelp
Cuisine: 3
Service: 5
Decor: 8
Value: 4
Overall: 4
I hate to be bearer of bad news, especially because I was holding onto real hope that this restaurant would truly give me a top notch sushi omakase experience without going into Manhattan. Unfortunately, I cannot in good conscience recommend this new contender for best sushi in Queens.
Nowadays, sushi omakase is dime a dozen. They all follow the same successful formula and opened by Fukinese immigrants who learned from other Japanese restaurants before opening their own. The trickle down effect leaves us with a bunch of unqualified "sushi chefs" serving one of the most expensive meals on average in the city. Sadly, this restaurant falls into that category.
What most sushi connoisseurs appreciate more than anything else is good quality rice that accentuate the best seafood the chefs can source. The moment I tasted the rice here frightened me of the meal I was about to experience.
I don't know who made the rice, but they need to re-evaluate their process immediately. It was hard, cold, lacked acidity, and all around sucked. I am not trying to be mean, but I hope the restaurant reads this review and improve upon the most important part of sushi.
As for the other aspects, the fish often was served a bit too chilled, and almost always too dressed. For example, the Hokkaido Scallop didn't need plum sauce, yuzu zest, and truffle salt. When it came to the most desirable ingredients of the night, wagyu was cut too thin and over charred with the blowtorch, while the uni was not the best quality. I wanted to tale a picture of the box of uni, but the chef said it doesn't look very nice and was too watery due to likely poor transportation.
I do want to mention that Chef Lok (from Malaysia, worked at Masa for 6 months) was maybe one of the only delightful part of the meal. He was friendly and funny, while the servers were a bit lackadaisical with simple tasks like keeping the tea cups filled. Also, the decor was quite nice, with many private spaces/rooms for larger groups.
Btw, $109 is not crazy expensive, but this same meal could be had in Manhattan at many locations for less, not to mention better. In the end, I truly wish Omi Omakase was the sushi heaven in Queens that I have been searching for. Unfortunately, it just simply wasn't what I prayed for.