The Top 10 Tasting Menus Near The Spaniard
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Rank 1. KOSAKA
Omakase Sushi
Twelve seats at a spare counter in the West Village, soft piano overhead, and a Michelin-starred omakase where the chef sets his own pace rather than marching the whole room through each course in lockstep. The fish arrives minimally dressed, though small surprises hide underneath, a shiso leaf beneath seabass, a dot of yuzu koshō below kinmedai. The room is calm enough that you actually notice them.
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Rank 2. Yoshino
Sushi
The hinoki counter was milled from a tree that predates the American Revolution, which sets the tone immediately. Yoshino on the Bowery is a traditional omakase counter from chef Tadashi Yoshida, who left a celebrated restaurant in Japan to open here, and holds a Michelin star. The meal moves through composed cooked courses before settling into Edomae nigiri, with a torched mackerel that arrives over a handheld charcoal grill like a small piece of theater.
- Michelin Guide 1 Star
- Vogue A Definitive Guide to the Best Omakase in New York City
- Eater The Best Sushi Restaurants in Manhattan
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Rank 3. Noz 17
Omakase Sushi
A seven-seat cypress counter in Chelsea is about as intimate as omakase gets, and Noz 17 leans into that. The Michelin-starred sibling to the Upper East Side original sends out a refined nigiri sequence where the fish does the talking and the rice backs it up perfectly. The chef's approach is disciplined and unhurried, which is either calming or excruciating depending on your plans for the evening.
- Michelin Guide 1 Star
- Vogue A Definitive Guide to the Best Omakase in New York City
- Eater The Best Sushi Restaurants in Manhattan
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Rank 4. Sushi Ouji
Omakase Sushi
- Vogue A Definitive Guide to the Best Omakase in New York City
- The New York Times Suma Katsuo Sashimi · Here Are Our Top New York Dishes
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Rank 5. Icca
Omakase Sushi
Fish sourced entirely from Japan and nigiri finished with little more than a brush of nikiri: this is a serious omakase counter tucked behind a cocktail bar on Warren Street. The chef moves without hurry, and the meal opens and closes with more creativity than the spare middle suggests, ending in an apple sorbet spiked with Yamazaki whisky. A Michelin star, and a room that feels like it belongs to regulars who never told anyone about it.
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Rank 6. Sushi Sho
Omakase Sushi
No photographs allowed at this omakase counter near the New York Public Library, which might be the point: chef Keiji Nakazawa's progression demands your full attention. He adjusts the rice's vinegar ratio for each piece of fish, ages and cures in the Edomae tradition, and makes cuts so precise a single slice becomes a composition. The hinoki counter faces towering ice boxes with carved wood doors. Three Michelin stars.
- Michelin Guide 3 Stars
- Vogue A Definitive Guide to the Best Omakase in New York City
- The New York Times #11 · The 100 Best Restaurants in New York City
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Rank 7. Jōji
Sushi
Tucked into a corner of Grand Central at the base of One Vanderbilt, Jōji is an omakase counter that somehow makes midtown feel quiet. The meal moves from small plates through nigiri built on a careful Koshihikari-Nanatsuboshi rice blend, with much of the seafood sourced from Tokyo's Toyosu Market. Luxury ingredients run through the menu, so come with the card you don't think about. It holds a Michelin star.
- Michelin Guide 1 Star
- Vogue A Definitive Guide to the Best Omakase in New York City
- Eater The Best Sushi Restaurants in Manhattan
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Rank 8. Sushi Noz
Sushi
Chef Nozomu Abe's omakase on the Upper East Side holds two Michelin stars, and the room earns them before a single piece of fish lands in front of you. The knives and lacquerware alone draw stares. Staff in kimono see guests out with a bow that doesn't feel performative. The sushi is precise and quiet in the way only very confident cooking gets to be.
- AAA Four Diamonds
- Michelin Guide 2 Stars
- Vogue A Definitive Guide to the Best Omakase in New York City
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Rank 9. YUGIN
Sushi
Twelve seats at a counter above Central Park, where the skyline does a lot of the talking before the food even starts. YUGIN is an omakase spot inside the Plaza Hotel, opening with composed seasonal courses before moving into a classical nigiri progression, with faint European touches woven through Japanese technique. Custom ceramics, pristine sourcing, and restrained seasoning throughout, for a crowd that books months out and dresses accordingly.
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