Omakase Is Broken. These Five Spots Fix It.
Stop Paying $500 for Sushi.
A funny thing happened when I was in Japan. Naturally, I ate a lot of sushi—but the best meals weren’t at the grand, expensive temples of omakase. They were at tiny sushi-yas: casual, affordable counter stalls tucked into fish markets.
Which got me thinking about sushi in New York City, and how crazy expensive it is and whether it’s all worth it — especially after reading Ligaya Mishan’s recent article in the Times in which she argued that the “co-opting of sushi by finance bros, favoring optimization and spectacle over craft, in an eerie Benihana-fication of the American sushi-ya” mostly makes us bored and broke.
Rather than be bored and broke, I’ve got something better: a list of spots across the city offering thoughtful, high-quality omakase at a fraction of the price of heavy hitters like Sushi Sho ($450), Sushi Noz ($550), and Yoshino ($500).
My top five are Luya Omakase & Wine Bar in Park Slope; Sendo, Koete Omakase, and Iki Sekai in Manhattan, and Sushi Koju in Downtown Brooklyn. Runners-up include U Omakase, Mido Sushi, Ki Sushi, and Sushi Lin. Do you have a favorite affordable and fabulous spot for us? Drop it in the comments.
Also, a note. I wrote a novel, as some of you know, and I was accepted to a writer’s residency upstate, to workshop, revise and refine it. Which means The Strong Buzz is on vacation for the next two weeks so I can try to focus on getting it pub-ready. See you at the end of July!
Luya Omakase & Wine Bar (Park Slope)
15 courses, $89
I don't want to say one of these restaurants is better than the next – because, truly, each of the omakase menus I’ve included here are thrilling and memorable. But I will say this. None of the restaurants mentioned here offers as impressive and deep a wine program as Luya Omakase & Wine Bar in Park Slope. This under the radar gem is the only omakase restaurant I visited with a brilliant natural wine-forward program, a list curated by Beverage Director Irvan Xu Lin.
Lin cut his teeth at Pinch Chinese under sommelier Miguel de Leon (Michelin Guide’s Best Sommelier in NYC), where he developed a passion for low-intervention wines and sustainable viticulture. At Luya, which he opened with chef Wei Chang, he’s built a list of small-production, under-the-radar bottles alongside carefully chosen sake and spirits.
I did the wine pairing with the omakase and had wine after wine that I not only loved but had never heard of; I found myself compiling a list of new favorite varietals and producers: Maria Amorós for her Cava Brut; a bright vibrant Japanese wine called Katsunuma ‘Arugano Vento’ from Koshu grapes grown in the Yamanashi prefecture; and a gorgeous white called Les Equilibristes ’Borboyon’, from the Savoie region. He poured a Stilianou ‘Great Mother’ from Crete; and a Portuguese Ciclo ‘Vinho Branco’ and finally a sparkling Cha Pet Nat from FARMentation, a vineyard in Shaanxi China that cold ferments wine with Jasmine tea leaves. It’s no wonder his list was a finalist for “Best Newcomer Wine List of the Year” and “Sustainable Wine List of the Year” at the 2026 Star Wine List Awards.
You don’t have to do an omakase meal to try the wines, but you might as well because of course the food is also exquisite. Chef Wei Cheng is a master sushi chef with over a decade of experience at sushi temples including Sushi Noz. I found the entire experience at Luya to be fantastic – unforgettable from start to finish, three appetizers, 10 pieces, and one hand roll later.
The pieces came one after another, a steady rain of surprises: a madai with pickled plum sauce, a yellowtail with lemon juice and a haystack of crispy leeks, branzino with ponzu topped with shavings of frozen foie gras, amber jack with a chiffonade of shishito pepper, a sablefish drapped in spicy crunchy garlic chili oil, a seven-day aged bluefin tuna from Spain adorned with truffles, and a final piece of wagyu A5 crowned with a lush briny pillow of sea urchin.
Luya is like a scratch off lotto ticket that pays you $1 million, tax free. It’s just the best surprise ever.
Luya Omakase & Wine Bar (Park Slope)
219 5th Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11215
(929) 773-9761
Sendo
12 courses, $48
Perhaps you’ve heard of Sendo and wondered, is it possible to do a decent omakase for $48? I’m here to tell you: it is. Sendo channels Edo-era sushi culture with remarkable precision—and unbelievable value. Helmed by 30-year omakase veteran Tsuyoshi Takahashi (formerly of Sushi Noz), the restaurant offers a minimalist menu of nigiri, hand rolls, and kaisendon, with omakase sets ranging from $19 to $48.
The top-tier Hokkaido set ($48) is almost absurdly generous: 10 pieces of nigiri (golden eye, sea bream, toro, scallops), plus two hand rolls and a kaisendon loaded with toro, seabass, ikura, shrimp, and uni over seasoned rice. It feels vaguely like theft.
The ingredients are serious—premium fish from Tokyo’s Toyosu Market, award-winning rice from Hokkaido, house-made sauces—and the careful execution reflects it. The only trade-off? Speed. This is a brisk, efficient experience; you’ll likely be in and out within an hour. Also note: the West 8th Street location does not yet have a liquor license.
Sendo
876 6th Ave 2nd Floor, New York, NY 10001
43 W 8th St 2nd Floor, New York, NY 10011 *BYOB
(646) 400-1647
Iki Sekai Omakase (Upper East Side)
14 courses, $85
Iki Sekai opened in late April, bringing a terrific and spirited Japanese sushi-ya to the Upper East Side. It’s led by a duo of chefs with impressive pedigrees; chef Gary Ke, formerly of Kinjo, and chef Po Shing Ng, formerly of Ito. Together, they showcase fish sourced across Japan: a piece of masunosuke (king salmon) pops with cherry tomato and tosazu, the luxurious Japanese seasoned vinegar; the flavor of kanpachi (amberjack) is deepened with a pinch of truffled maitake; madai, the buttery Japanese red sea bream, comes with flavors that crack like lightening — umeboshi and shiso; and a prized aged Aburi toro from Spain is painted only with aged shoyu, because it needs nothing more.
The omakase here shows off the chefs’ quiet confidence—nothing feels showy, just deeply considered. Even the rice gets meticulous attention: washed, soaked with kombu dashi, cooked and rested to achieve that perfect seasoned base.
It’s BYOB, so bring a bottle of sake or a nice mineral-forward white. And you’ll love the soundtrack—chef Po curates a nostalgic hip-hop playlist that adds just the right buzz.
Iki Sekai Omakase
1203 2nd Ave, New York, NY 10065
(646) 653-5226
Koete Omakase (Midtown)
15 courses, $118
We had dinner at Koete Omakase before seeing Death of a Salesman a few weeks ago, and it will now be my go-to pre-theater restaurant. At $118 for 15 courses in 90 minutes, it’s a standout value.
Head Chef Jason Lin is a 28-year veteran of omakase and his philosophy is right there in the restaurant’s name, which means “to go beyond.” And go beyond, he does. Of course that’s the thing with omakase, a chef-driven journey of tastes and a progression of flavors and fish from mild to mad, and Jason is a charming and gifted MC, a charming conductor, so you’ll get a little theater before the theater.
His menu is a rapid fire flood of flavors and fish — pristine seafood flown in from Japan: botan ebi, Hokkaido uni, shima aji, and A5 Miyazaki wagyu. The tuna progression alone is worth the visit: akami, then chu-toro with truffle, finishing with buttery o-toro topped with caviar. Jason has spent a good many years perfecting his rice recipe. He uses a premium Japanese short-grain rice seasoned with a house blend of black vinegar, salt, and sugar, so you’re getting flavor and texture from the rice that adds complexity and beauty to every piece.
Koete Omakase
1695 Broadway, New York, NY
917-993-4528
Sushi Koju (Ace Hotel Brooklyn)
8 courses, $85 (Mon-Wed)
You may know Ace Hotel Brooklyn for Lele’s Roman or it’s grand lobby bar; but there’s a new pint-sized sushi bar from in Hiro Nishida and LDV Hospitality. You’ll find it in the space that was once a little skylit bar room. It’s got a lovely vibe, like a forgotten room, a treasured secret.
Most days executive Chef Kevin Garrison offers a 14-course omakase journey for $165 per person, but on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays, he slashes the price to $95 for an Okonomi menu featuring eight pieces of omakase nigiri — Striped Sea Bream, Yellowtail, Mackerel, Tuna, New Zealand King Salmon, Scallops, baby Kamasu (baby baracuda), and the like — with homemade Shiro miso soup. The menu’s petite size does not detract from its outsized quality; Kevin is a sushi master who has spent his entire career in service of fish — starting out in LA at Chaya and Yume and then here in the city at Sushi Zo Hanare before teaming up with LDV.
Bonus: the room features a rare vintage sound system with bespoke speakers and an Audio-Technica turntable—one of only two in existence—spinning Japanese records while you eat.
Sushi Koju
253 Schermerhorn Street, Brooklyn, NY
coming from a japanese family from nyc, my father was a kaiseki cuisine pioneer in the 80s-90s nyc when white ppl would berate the shit outta us for raw fish. with that said, we’ve never hit an omakase or high-end sushi joint. still prefer the mom n pop joints ran by japanese families in nyc which are absolutely on it’s last legs
Thanks for the great recommendations. Still, I will have trouble being lured away from my favorite in Park Slope, Sushi Katsuei, https://www.sushikatsuei.com/parkslope-brooklyn-ny/