Sushi Ikumi

Been here three times and honestly this is one of the best omakase in the city. Every dish is art and seafood quality is top notch. Service is wonderful, too. There’s too many omakase doing those “wagyu+uni” or “salmon + turuffle” those kinds of things. I love how Sushi Ikumi only focus on bringing out the best flavor of the fish, and not over complicating it. Highly recommend.

I had a chance to eat here this weekend and Chef Jeong delivered just an amazing line up of 19 beautiful and delicious courses. He started off strong with an egg custard with sweet corn. We’re at the summer peak of corn season and it just captured the essence so well while wetting the appetite for what was to come. From there we moved on to the fish and nigiri courses and they were just so good. The chefs keeps to a traditional style which I very much prefer - just enough to elevate the fish without too many elements getting in the way. The quality of fish was excellent for the price point - some of the plumpest and delicious shrimp I’ve had, an incredible sea perch, and two cuts of tuna from Montauk among my favorites. One of the new dishes for me were cockles which were served live and tasted fresh out of the ocean. No wagyu on the menu here but I think it’s been overdone at omakase restaurants and again, the fish was divine. The atmosphere was perfect for the experience - intimate with just a small simple counter and the chef working his magic. I will return.

We came here for the Valentine’s special and had an amazing experience. Beautiful location, intimate setting, fantastic omakase, and great service.

TLDR: Sushi Ikumi should be in your rotation of sushi bars if it isn't already. Reasonably priced, quality omakase, more traditional style. If you're into more edo-mae omakase, you will love Sushi Ikumi. I'm not quite sure how I haven't written a review about this place. The first time I tried Sushi Ikumi, I couldn't quite figure out why but I wanted to come back. This was in the prime of COVID so I never got to see Chef Jongin's face until quite some time later. Since then, we've been revisiting regularly around every month or so. Sushi Ikumi is a sister restaurant of Hirohisa, so you know they've got great pedigree. What stands out to me is how relaxed the restaurant is and how unpretentious it is. I've come here in a suit for business lunches and also in workout shorts and a t-shirt. You come here to enjoy quality omakase, amongst other likeminded individuals. The shari or sushi rice is top notch. It has that nice depth of umami, some sourness, some saltiness, that perfect al dente texture. No matter how many times I've visited, it seems to get better and chef always finds a way to put something new in the mix. Although we can all enjoy the cheap omakases, ballin' on a budget gets boring. That same progression of wet truffles, lackluster caviar and some random sauce on top of the neta (topping) that's too acidic or too sweet - it just gets repetitive. I've had too many lean tuna cuts with that soggy truffle slice with some chives and mid caviar. There's of course, the signature items. The saba miniature temaki, the nodoguro which is seared just enough to impart that smoky flavor without rendering too much fat. A squeeze of lemon citrus helps make sure that it's a balanced bite. The flesh of the fish is still cool-ish but the outside is just lukewarm. It's not dripping of fish fat with the pillow of sushi rice disintegrating as you rush into your mouth. That final bite of futomaki before you get the house-made ice cream. Yes, I've eaten here way too many times.

🍣 One of the best Omakaske’s I’ve ever had. They were accommodating to some of the items I don’t eat like shrimp, which I appreciated. The toro was 🤤. Truly some of the best cuts of fish in NYC 🍷 They only had a small selected of wines and sake 📍Great location in Soho, which is hard to find for this quality of sushi. Setting was intimate, quiet, and seating around 12 people max

My favorite sushi place. Chef uses variety of fish and ingredients. Each dish is amazing. Service is also pristine

One of the best omakase experiences ever. Loved the atmosphere, which reminded me of local omakase in Japan. Really loved the service provided by the chef and the server. Personally, it was definitely the BEST mackerel sushi ever. Thank you chef for the great experience, will definitely visit again.

BEST omakase experience you can get with similar price range! Fish was so high-quality! And you can get 14-15 pieces of nigiri with this price. Definitely try this place first before going to other omakase restaurants that cost more.