First, check out my Ride & Review video HERE:
This new spot is located on 1st Street near 2nd Avenue. They offer a 14-course omakase for $88. We enjoyed the fatty tuna pieces, the shrimp, the king salmon appetizer, and especially the “New York” salmon piece (with tomato) and the tuna hand roll at the end.
I would definitely go back for seasonal menu changes and specials.
KAWA OMAKASE
37 E 1st St.
New York, NY 10003
First, check out my Ride & Review HERE:
We did the 17-course omakase, which was $125. This was definitely worth the price of admission. Favorites included the oyster and salmon appetizers, as well as the otoro, uni and king crab pieces.
Even the dessert, sesame panna cotta, was nice.
I would definitely go back here.
SUSHI LIN
151 Rivington St.
New York, NY 10002
First, check out my Ride & Review video, HERE:
My wife and I came here with another foodie and social media influencer couple to try out some of this new restaurant’s menu. Aqua has both Italian and Japanese menus, so you can have a full-on omakase here, or you can dine a la carte and dig into some pasta or veal Milanese.
We selected eight items from this menu, and then had two versions of their tiramisu (one classic Italian, and one Japanese):
First off, they make some really nice cocktails, which is clutch since they have a gigantic bar (the whole space is pretty massive, actually).
We started with the mushroom and truffle arancini. These were delicious bites.
The lobster bisque pizzette was really unique. I’ve never had something like that. It makes for great table bread to share as a snack.
This red prawn carpaccio was absolutely incredible. This is a must order when you go here.
These little nuggets of fried rock shrimp were really tasty. They don’t look like much, but I was hooked. I could not stop popping them.
The oxtail and truffle mafalde was perfectly cooked and seasoned, and the oxtail was super tender and savory.
Here’s a shot of their 12-piece sashimi omakase, which has all of your favorites, salmon belly being my favorite.
This eight-piece roll had salmon and scallop, which was nice.
And finally, the yuzu shiso marinated lamb chops. These were awesome. After the red prawn carpaccio, this was probably my favorite item.
For dessert, we tried the classic tiramisu and the matcha/green team tiramisu. I think we all agreed that the classic version was better. I didn’t snap any photos of that, so you’ll just have to watch the video to see them!
AQUA
902 Broadway
New York, NY 10010
First, check out my Ride & Review video HERE:
This joint serves up a 15-course omakase for just $89! It’s really close by, so we had to give it a try.
My favorite items were the crab handroll, the stripekack, and the scallop with uni.
Great spot! No liquor license yet, and they don’t let you BYOB, but they said the license is in the works and they should have beer and wine soon.
I can’t wait to go back to try it again. The chef said the fish can change on a daily basis, and he likes to use a lot of unique and different fish than you normally see.
YOKOX
41 Avenue B
New York, NY
First, check out my Ride & Review HERE:
This review is for the Mishik Pulsd deal and not the premium omakase offered on their regular menu. So make sure to read below, too.
This Pulsd deal was pretty good, and I would say that Mishik is especially good if you are going for their premium omakase sets with better pieces. We still enjoyed the Pulsd deal, don’t get me wrong, but my wife and I enjoyed a few other spots more in that price range.
Mishik flies their product in from Japan and dry ages all of the fish used in their omakase. The aging process takes anywhere from one to three weeks depending on the fat quality and flavor of the fish. The chefs inspect everything upon arrival to determine how long it will be aged.
Their Pulsd flash deal is curated for the price point, but they also offer two different omakase dinners: one for $120 and one for $165, consisting of an appetizer, roughly 12-16 pieces of premium nigiri, a handroll, soup and dessert.
While we enjoyed the Pulsd deal, we probably would have enjoyed one of the other omakase meals more here. Premium!
That said, my favorite items were the king salmon, the donburi bowl, the hand roll with fried shiso and eel, the torched golden eye snapper, and, of course, the uni. They were very generous with the uni!
Go give this place a shot! I think you will enjoy it too.
MISHIK
259A Hudson St.
New York, NY 10013
First, check out my Ride & Review HERE:
This joint has a really nice 15-piece omakase for just $85. You get a lot of what would normally be “upgrade” toppings on the pieces, too. Things like uni, foie, etc. Here are some pics of everything we had (minus the hand roll).
My favorite was the wagyu beef with uni on top (obvious?). It was A5 rib eye!
I would definitely go back here again, and the joint is BYOB so that’s perfect! They also offer a super-upgraded 18-piece omakase for $140. But honestly, the 15-course is such a great value that I don’t think I’d get the 18-course.
SUSHI FAN
102 St Marks Pl.
New York, NY 10009
First, check out my Ride & Review video HERE:
Kinzan is an omakase joint in the west village that offers a $100 meal, and, currently, a 15% discount is you pay in cash.
While this doesn’t quite break the top five for low cost/high value omakase joints, there were definitely some highlights, like the albacore with chili garlic crisp…
Tuna with caviar…
And their Instagram claim to fame, the smoked martini course.
Definitely worth a shot! Great service and reasonable prices.
KINZAN
259 6th Ave.
New York, NY 10014
First, check out my comprehensive Ride & Review video HERE:
My wife and I have been on a mission to try all the under-$100 omakase joints in our area, and there are a lot!
Sushi Kai offers a delicious 13-piece meal for $85. We both really enjoyed it, and from what I understand, they are still offering BYOB.
My favorite pieces were the wagyu + uni, the hand rolls, the shrimp + foie gras, the fatty tuna with caviar, and the scallop + caviar.
We will definitely be back! Here are some more pics (I especially loved the anniversary bowl they gave us on the house):
SUSHI KAI
332 E 9th St
New York, NY 10003
First and foremost, check out my Ride & Review video HERE on YouTube:
This small sushi counter offers an $88 omakase, which consists of two appetizers, ten pieces of nigiri sushi, two hand rolls and a bite of dessert. Here are the two apps:
The nigiri:
This tuna with truffle oil was so good:
Scallop with uni – delicious:
Since my wife can’t have scallop, they gave her this uni piece instead:
This salmon with shaved manchego cheese was wildly unique:
Below is the chef, and the final piece (which was our favorite): Fatty tuna belly with caviar and truffle oil.
The hand rolls (eel + foie gras, and tuna) and dessert (melon):
This is probably one of the best deals I’ve come across when you line it up with quality and portion sizes. I left full/satisfied, and every bite was better than the last. The staff was super nice and offered us a free shot of yuzu sake in return for us offering the chef a glass of our wine.
I highly recommend this place, and I will definitely be going again, as their BYOB policy is a very attractive lure!
MATSUNORI
151 Allen St.
New York, NY 10002
Shikku is a small, elegant sushi counter inside the Tin Building down by the seaport. I took my wife here for an early Valentine’s Day dinner, since she likes omakase meals. Check out the Ride & Review video HERE:
The meal started with this sashimi salad. Very light, crisp and refreshing due to the avocado sauce on there.
Next, another sashimi salad of sorts, this one made even better by the presence of ikura, uni and shrimp.
Next up was six pieces of nigiri. All were delicious, but the otoro (fatty tuna belly) was my favorite.
This hand roll was awesome! Probably my favorite part of the meal.
Or perhaps this sliced A5 wagyu rib eye from Miyazaki was my favorite?
Either way, it was a great meal, finished off with a surprisingly rich miso soup, and a blackberry and chocolate mousse heart.
I would definitely go back here again. This was one of the better omakase meals we’ve had.
SHIKKU
96 South St
New York, NY 10038
