Danielle P.
Yelp
If you've never been to Sydney's before, don't panic like I did when the place looks closed when you arrive. You'll need to walk around the side of the building and ring the doorbell to get in, at which point you'll walk upstairs to a beautifully decorated, nautical themed sushi counter.
I arrived with my mom about 10 minutes before our 7:30 pm reservation on a Saturday night, and we were the first ones there. The hostess/waitress was warm and welcoming. She gave us their drink menu which consisted of sake, beer and wine, along with flight options of wine and sake that pair with the Omakase menu. She let us sample two of them (generous pours) before we made our choice. If you're on the fence between a bottle or by the glass, highly recommend the bottle -- we ended up drinking more than we planned to since it went down so smoothly, and also, this 17-course meal calls for more than a couple glasses of sake.
The vibe of this place was really friendly and approachable, moreso than other Omakase experiences I've had in the city. We started out with an appetizer featuring snowcrab and seaweed served with sesame oil, mirin, soy sauce and Dashi broth which was simple but refreshing. Our waitress supplied us with ample ginger throughout the experience to keep our palate cleansed as we moved through each course.
As other people have mentioned, this isn't the most inventive or even fancy Omakase, so if you're here hoping for truffle, caviar, foie gras toppings or things set on fire and smoked, you might be a bit let down. But every piece of this sushi was fresh, melt in your mouth, and well seasoned. I actually appreciated being able to really taste and appreciate the fish rather than have the flavor be masked by overpowering ingredients. Courses ranged from different types of premium tuna to scallops, shrimp, snapper, mackerel, sea bream, tile fish, and fluke. My favorite was the wagyu and uni hand roll, which was delicious. Our sushi chef even gave us an uni "bump" to eat off our hands like caviar, which was amazing. I love uni so much.
Highly, highly recommend this place if you're in town during summer. Super memorable dining experience, we even made friends. I'll be back next year!