Omakase- The new kid on the block worth visiting

Omakase is a brand NEW sushi joint in SF that just opened up 2 weeks ago. Obviously when I heard about this place, I was all over it. (Omakase = sushi art on plate)

Now THIS is a place that seeks perfection and I was immediately impressed by the passion and voice given to the art of food.

Sitting at the sushi bar, it doesn’t take long to realize that Omakase is special – there are only 14 seats a night, every single piece of pottery is imported from Japan, the service is on point, and our sake was served in hand-made crystal glasses-!!

GUYS. Even the sushi rice is timed/cooked depending on the time of your reservation AKA arrival. I mean… how cool is that??

They take the extra step to ensure that each guest enjoys the optimal temperature for sushi rice.  Not too cold, and not too hot. Just perfection.

Omakase leaves your dinner experience entirely up to the chef, who crafts a menu each night based on seasonality and quality of ingredients.

Here, they offer three different fixed-price tasting menus: $100, $150, $200.

Meaning: hungry, very hungry, F’ing feed me everything please!

Every single item we had was phenomenal, there were even pieces of fish that I’ve never had before! Head Chef Jackson (who goes to Tokyo every year to practice his art) explained that since some fishes on their menu are so expensive and rare, 99% of sushi restaurants in the U.S do not carry them.

Side: their fishes are flown in 3 times a week from Tsukiji Fish Market in Tokyo — the famed and largest fish market in the world! (It was such an awesome place to visit during my trip to Japan)

Did you guys know that there are three different types of eel?? Most places in SF have the basic one- Unagi. This one (above) is called Hamo Conger, which is a special type of sea eel and one of the most expensive in the world (<– also rarely available in sushi restaurants).

Here, they put fish scales on top of unago, which gives it a crunchy texture with each bite (<– love this!). You can only use a certain type of fish scales in order to get it so crispy.

Think of Unago as the same level as o-toro.

This is their gorg box of uni, which is a little redder in color. Omakase only gets the best from Hokkaido.

This is the golden eye snapper- an amazing white fish with a rich, buttery flavor and golden/rosy skin that is lightly torched.

Chef Jackson truly outdone himself with this one. If you’ve never had golden eye snapper, you can’t call yourself a sushi fan!

So at this point, my mind has already been blown.

And just a little FYI: The owners/head chef has been killing the sushi game in SF for YEARS now. After two decades of sushi restaurant experience, Chef Jackson has finally opened up his dream sushi restaurant, a true omakase experience

Oh, just another thing to note. Masaki Sasaki– the man behind Maruya’s 1 Michelin Star, is now a consultant here at Omakase.  I’m not saying anything, but I’m trying to say something that might be eluding to something.

Here are the rest of the pics from the night:

This is the cooked sea bass (it’s seriously one of the best I’ve ever had): crunchy on the outside, yet still buttery on the inside, never drying out the flavors- now that’s perfection!

So to sum it all up:

Omakase is the new kid on the block and I cannot say enough good things about this place. If you’re a true sushi lover and can appreciate the art of Japanese cuisine + all the tiny details that go into every cut of fish, then this place is for you. Make your ressies ASAP while they are still new, otherwise reservations might be hard to get within a few months.

Oh, did I also forget to mention that every meal here begins with a glass of champagne?? For only being two weeks old, you can tell that A LOT of work was put into making this dining experience one-of-a-kind. Given the talent behind Omakase, this is a restaurant worth visiting and watching.

PS: this place is perfect for date night!! Sit back, enjoy some sake, and watch the Chefs prepare you a meal you won’t forget.

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