Frank W.
Yelp
I went to Shinzo Omakase for my 56th birthday, and I intend to return again before my 57th birthday. While we were waiting outside, a couple who had been part of the earlier seating exited, and we chatted for a moment as happens in these situations; they raved. Once we were in, our party of three was impressed. I had requested of my one friend in New York City that we find an omakase spot. He is a white American who lived two decades in Tokyo and speaks and reads and writes Japanese. (The other member of the party is a friend too. He's more of a friend of a friend, in the sense we never get together without our mutual acquaintance though perhaps we ought to.)
I will say omakase is overdone at this point. It is a great business model: fixed price, flip the table in an hour or so, offer a party ambiance. But too many places are charging too much, offering inferior ingredients, or both. So it is important to check references.
Shinzo Omakase is the opposite of what I have described as taking advantage of the format. It charges a shockingly low price for Manhattan, features fresh fish, with creativity that respects tradition and service that is brisk and modestly chatty. You want a place such as this to succeed. It should proliferate (the waiter, a part owner, said they operate another venue under a different name; I failed to inquire as to what that is).
They are BYOB. That is not a problem. If you know, it works out just fine. They did not charge corkage either.