Although the restaurant had some technical difficulties and had to reschedule my reservation to an earlier time, the service, food, and atmosphere were all incredible. The fish is fresh, and the chef is incredibly skilled. Staff were super friendly as well. Would definitely recommend the lunch service!
Lucie P
I'm not an omakase connoisseur so I can't comment on the knife skills of our chef or anything like that, but I liked watching him work and I enjoyed the food and experience very much. The fish tasted very fresh to me and anything I didn't like I'd put down to me specifically having a preference rather than the food being bad. My favorite pieces were the striped jack (shimaji) and the additional one we ordered which was "seared fatty tuna". I thought the pricing for the additions you could get was a little high but that piece was worth it.I made a reservation for 2 through Tock for the lowest "tier" meal at lunch time which was $147 per person (including tax & fees). At the restaurant I got a non-alcoholic cocktail (I did think this was wildly overpriced) and the seared fatty tuna for my partner and I which added another ~$100, bringing us to just under $400. Which in the end I thought was reasonable for the experience. I would definitely go for the lunch service again order trying out the dinner service just because it's much cheaper and I still left feeling full and having enjoyed my time.
Stephanie Powers
Came here with my mom and had an amazing experience, she let them know that it was my first time in New York and the staff were so kind and gracious with all sorts of congratulations about it! The food was incredible and watching the chef make it was unbelievably cool.We got the Spring 2023 tasting menu; Rio our chef was super funny and made this an excellent dinner. Would recommend this to everyone!
Eun P.
Amazing food and amazing service! We throughly enjoyed our lunch omakase. All the pieces were fresh and perfectly seasoned, and we loved our sushi chef, Rio. We would love to come back for dinner someday!
Michelle C.
It's worth the try! The whole experience was delightful, quiet, and intimate. What I liked most about this place was the feeling of stepping into a zen garden, away from the craziness of NYC. The omakase was carefully curated and each dish complimented the next quite well. I will say I wasn't too fond of the squid dish as the beet root sauce was a bit too tangy for my tastes. Other than that, I left extremely satisfied and full!When it comes to ratings, I think it's important to account for the experience as a whole. The experience begins when you enter the door up until you walk out. The staff here truly takes care of you from beginning to end, quite literally. As we walked out, the staff rushed to open the door for us before we could and walked us out. The chef did not rush while preparing nor did he rush us with each dish. He waited until we were nearly finished before preparing the next course. The chef noticed my partner was left handed and immediately repositioned his ginger and sushi placement. When my partner switched to use his right hand mid-way (for some odd reason), the chef repositioned again. Little things like these throughout is what makes it truly memorable.Side note: I took my partner here for his birthday and all the staff/customers sang happy birthday while giving him dessert on the house. He was thoroughly embarrassed but I thought it was a very cute gesture!
Nancy N.
We did the Omokase for lunch and wow!!! The staff is very friendly and accommodating. We were running late but they still let us come. My husband did the $250 lunch and I did the $180 lunch so it was a good mix. Everything was so good! It was fresh ingredients and just an awesome experience. We can't wait to come back and do the Omokase dinner.
Joseph S.
Sushi Ginza Onadera (GO) has been my favorite restaurant for several years, going back to pre-Covid years. To me, it was the perfect sushi restaurant and my go-to restaurant for lunches and dinners with sushi craving clients. But as of April 27, 2023, it is not my favorite restaurant anymore. It is with great sadness that I write this. These are some of the reasons why GO was my favorite restaurant and no longer is.1. Quality of rice: For sushi, quality of rice is as important as the quality of the fish. GO used to have the best sushi rice in New York: perfect texture, perfect shape and perfect taste. For the first time, the rice tasted tough and unpleasant to chew and more sour than before. It was a completely unexpected disappointment.2. Quality of fish: The fresh taste of the fish at GO used to be unparalleled, without a hint of off-putting fishy smell or taste. This is no longer the case. The overall quality is still good but doesn't come close to what it used to be and a few items had off-putting "fishy" smell and taste that you do not want in top-quality sushi. Even Ohtoro tasted fishy and uni had slight hint of bitterness. Not good. Cuttlefish used to be as sweet and tender as toro. It is now almost crunchy... Not ideal. In most omakase sushi restaurants, ginger is used to cleanse the palate between bites. At GO, I never needed ginger to cleanse the palate because each sushi piece was such an amazing experience. Now, I need the ginger for palate-cleansing.3. Ginger: GO used to have the best ginger served anywhere. Unlike other sushi restaurants, GO used to keep its homemade ginger whole until serving. The chef would slice ginger right in front of you just before serving. As a result, the ginger was fresh, crunchy and perfectly spicy and sour. Now, the ginger is pre-sliced and it is sliced paper-thin, as if sliced by machine. Because the ginger is sliced so thin and it is just sitting there pre-sliced and in pickling liquid for a long time, the ginger is no longer crisp and refreshing and it is much more sour and spicy. Before, I ate ginger because it was an artful dish by itself. Now, it is just a palate cleanser. 4. Ambiance: GO used to be a zen sushi temple: a calm, quiet and serene place where you could enjoy the finest sushi in New York. Now, they added one to two seats per chef at the counter. They also added large tables to accommodate more guests. Instead of a quiet, zen atmosphere, GO now feels like a noisy, bustling K-town barbecue restaurant.5. Smell: GO sushi chefs used to cut a few slices of fish in advance of serving: usually, no more than 2 or 3 courses in advance. And they would usually store fish in closed boxes if they are not going to serve soon. Now, they slice many more courses in advance and they leave it out in the open. Visually, this is less appealing. Even worse, the smell of the openly sitting fish also permeates the restaurant. I noticed that "fish market" smell as soon as I walked into the restaurant. Shocking and unappetizing.It is clear that GO management decided to sacrifice a quite a bit of quality, service and execution for higher profits. There is nothing wrong with this decision as a business matter but it is just something I did not expect from my favorite restaurant.While GO is still a solid restaurant and the staff is still very friendly, it is no longer my favorite restaurant and there are others that compare favorably at this price point.
Yutong L.
There's hardly a sushiya that contributes as much as Ginza Onodera to NYC's sushi culture. From the stylish introductions of seasonal Japanese ingredients by waitresses donning in kimono, to the illustrious alumni that sprung off GInza and settled their own shops in NYC, if not the world, Ginza brings the seedling of the culture to NYC and it for sure has grown strong and steady. I had the opportunity to be served by Sakagami oyakata, head chef of the group, this March for lunch. Paired with akazu (red vineygar) sauced sushi rice, his sushi comes off with strong fragrance and makes water run in mouth. The selection of toppings are elegant and the cuts are beautiful and generous (see photos). It's an authentic omakase experience where you can fully trust the chef, sit back and enjoy anything he puts out.
Vicki C.
The environment and service at @sushiginzaonoderanyc were really great, very close to like being in Japan. Loved my 10 piece nigiri omakase lunch course (with appetizers to start, miso soup and dessert to close).Many places in NYC are trying out new fusion ideas for omakase courses, but here they win by using high quality ingredients for the traditional itamae sushi experience. The bluefin tuna, chutoro, and amaebi were my favorite! Incredibly fresh and delicious!
Leonardo Espín
If possible (and if you're interested) ask to be seated in front of the chef. His knife skills are amazing. The precision, speed and economy of movement are an awesome thing to see. Also it's very interesting to see all the steps and skill that take to prepare a piece of nigiri.You realize that every single ingredient they use is of the highest quality possible when even the nori is the best one you've had.It's pricey though
Quiet places like this make my thoughts loud. It's bright. Too well-lit and unmoving and it smells of a five diamond lobby. Tacit waitresses and a host in a tailored suit. Am I a suit? I no longer know. It seems to me that I've made it. Of course, I have. Long ago, in fact. I've had success at the hands of those that despised me and sought to exploit a young, beautiful and naïve talent. I can hear breathing here. It's that serene. The art parties I've been to have nothing on this. The waitress is a geisha. How wild. Perhaps I'm still naïve. Perhaps still beautiful. We sit. We're served. I choose a crystal glass from a tray of assorted cups. I eye the couple at the other end of the bar. A young lady with an older man with bushy eyebrows. Power eyebrows that seem to only exist in New York. And what is this place even? The drinks are exorbitant, artworks in and of themselves. I think about my uncle Salmon and how he made an initial investment in me, and how he flipped my work, how I helped corroborate a false value. Can sake really be so pricey? The rice grains, we're told, are peeled, and the drink was distilled from the inner virgin pulp lying within. I sip it. It tastes floral. Being here makes me think of Salmon, perhaps because of his fish name, despite being inundated with gold flake and fatty tuna. He loved Japan, perhaps for more perverse reasons than I'd like to admit, though Sushi Ginza Onodera is far from the discos and vending machines. There is nothing nefarious here besides the couple with the too-wide age gap opposite us. And because of my disposition that everything is sullied and perverted, polluting this restaurant review, I can't help but wonder what blood money affords their to-go bento boxes or these thousand dollar bottles of sake. Do honest livings afford these truffles, this monkfish liver? I'm here on the dime of generous patrons. My art has afforded me a life of fried fish sack. Dry aged gizzard shad. But where the money has come from sometimes keeps me up at night. Hopefully the twenty courses and crazy sake will allot me good sleep. A kiss on the cheek from my girlfriends no longer seems to do it.
355gilbertv
Absolutely authentic. Beautifully presented top quality ingredients without much brouhaha but clean authentic taste. Wonderful friendly Japanese service. Expensive but worth every bit
Alexander K.
Having been to Sushi Ginza Onodera in Honolulu, we had high hopes. I had rated it 5 stars as it was excellent. We had booked a reservation at the location in Los Angeles, but unfortunately our reservation was cancelled due to one of their staff having COVID-19.Our menu included the following: ikura donburi, sawara sashimi, shima aji sashimi, awabi (abalone) sashimi, madai, zuke, aji, amaebi, chutoro, nodoguro, Hokkaido uni, anago, hotate, kohada, kinmedai aburi, tamago, miso soup, hojicha, and matcha pudding as the dessert.I had to give this location only 4 stars and I will explain why as it purely relates to the shari (rice). The best omakase establishments will prepare each nigiri one by one. That is, the shari is formed one by one as to retain the temperature and texture of the rice. The chutoro and the additional pieces I ordered (hotate, kohada, and kinmedai aburi) were all excellent as the shari was formed and served immediately. The shari had optimal temperature, disbursement, pearl-like consistency, and the pronounced akazu flavor. The other chef at the counter confirmed that their akazu was a mix of Yokoi yohei and kinsho. It seems like most of the Michelin star omakase restaurants prefer this type of akazu, which is acidic and aggressive.The aji and amaebi in totality were noticeably cool to the mouth which I found disappointing, albeit they were still delicious. I describe the simultaneous formation of all the shari for the party as "brigading" which means the shari has a considerable amount of time to sit, cool off, and form a stickiness. The neta itself is already cool to the touch at room temperature so it is important that the shari has some warmth to it.The service was excellent, polite, friendly, and timely. The staff graciously fulfilled my request for my wife's friend's birthday celebration. I will say if the rice was kept warm and that all the shari were formed and served individually, that I can confidently rate this as a 5 star establishment.
Min Lee
Not worth the price. The chef spent 30 mins to prepare raw fish.. That may be considered an ‘omakase experience’ but that was nothing more than a useless waiting time for us. He should think more about how to allocate time efficiently. Last but not least, the nigiri was not tasty at all. All were flat and not aged well, no impressive nigiri out of 14 pieces including 3 special orders.
Aegon Pitchaya
Superb Japanese Omakase. Great service-mind staff. Fresh ingredients. Professional chef.
Although the restaurant had some technical difficulties and had to reschedule my reservation to an earlier time, the service, food, and atmosphere were all incredible. The fish is fresh, and the chef is incredibly skilled. Staff were super friendly as well. Would definitely recommend the lunch service!
I'm not an omakase connoisseur so I can't comment on the knife skills of our chef or anything like that, but I liked watching him work and I enjoyed the food and experience very much. The fish tasted very fresh to me and anything I didn't like I'd put down to me specifically having a preference rather than the food being bad. My favorite pieces were the striped jack (shimaji) and the additional one we ordered which was "seared fatty tuna". I thought the pricing for the additions you could get was a little high but that piece was worth it.I made a reservation for 2 through Tock for the lowest "tier" meal at lunch time which was $147 per person (including tax & fees). At the restaurant I got a non-alcoholic cocktail (I did think this was wildly overpriced) and the seared fatty tuna for my partner and I which added another ~$100, bringing us to just under $400. Which in the end I thought was reasonable for the experience. I would definitely go for the lunch service again order trying out the dinner service just because it's much cheaper and I still left feeling full and having enjoyed my time.
Came here with my mom and had an amazing experience, she let them know that it was my first time in New York and the staff were so kind and gracious with all sorts of congratulations about it! The food was incredible and watching the chef make it was unbelievably cool.We got the Spring 2023 tasting menu; Rio our chef was super funny and made this an excellent dinner. Would recommend this to everyone!
Amazing food and amazing service! We throughly enjoyed our lunch omakase. All the pieces were fresh and perfectly seasoned, and we loved our sushi chef, Rio. We would love to come back for dinner someday!
It's worth the try! The whole experience was delightful, quiet, and intimate. What I liked most about this place was the feeling of stepping into a zen garden, away from the craziness of NYC. The omakase was carefully curated and each dish complimented the next quite well. I will say I wasn't too fond of the squid dish as the beet root sauce was a bit too tangy for my tastes. Other than that, I left extremely satisfied and full!When it comes to ratings, I think it's important to account for the experience as a whole. The experience begins when you enter the door up until you walk out. The staff here truly takes care of you from beginning to end, quite literally. As we walked out, the staff rushed to open the door for us before we could and walked us out. The chef did not rush while preparing nor did he rush us with each dish. He waited until we were nearly finished before preparing the next course. The chef noticed my partner was left handed and immediately repositioned his ginger and sushi placement. When my partner switched to use his right hand mid-way (for some odd reason), the chef repositioned again. Little things like these throughout is what makes it truly memorable.Side note: I took my partner here for his birthday and all the staff/customers sang happy birthday while giving him dessert on the house. He was thoroughly embarrassed but I thought it was a very cute gesture!
We did the Omokase for lunch and wow!!! The staff is very friendly and accommodating. We were running late but they still let us come. My husband did the $250 lunch and I did the $180 lunch so it was a good mix. Everything was so good! It was fresh ingredients and just an awesome experience. We can't wait to come back and do the Omokase dinner.
Sushi Ginza Onadera (GO) has been my favorite restaurant for several years, going back to pre-Covid years. To me, it was the perfect sushi restaurant and my go-to restaurant for lunches and dinners with sushi craving clients. But as of April 27, 2023, it is not my favorite restaurant anymore. It is with great sadness that I write this. These are some of the reasons why GO was my favorite restaurant and no longer is.1. Quality of rice: For sushi, quality of rice is as important as the quality of the fish. GO used to have the best sushi rice in New York: perfect texture, perfect shape and perfect taste. For the first time, the rice tasted tough and unpleasant to chew and more sour than before. It was a completely unexpected disappointment.2. Quality of fish: The fresh taste of the fish at GO used to be unparalleled, without a hint of off-putting fishy smell or taste. This is no longer the case. The overall quality is still good but doesn't come close to what it used to be and a few items had off-putting "fishy" smell and taste that you do not want in top-quality sushi. Even Ohtoro tasted fishy and uni had slight hint of bitterness. Not good. Cuttlefish used to be as sweet and tender as toro. It is now almost crunchy... Not ideal. In most omakase sushi restaurants, ginger is used to cleanse the palate between bites. At GO, I never needed ginger to cleanse the palate because each sushi piece was such an amazing experience. Now, I need the ginger for palate-cleansing.3. Ginger: GO used to have the best ginger served anywhere. Unlike other sushi restaurants, GO used to keep its homemade ginger whole until serving. The chef would slice ginger right in front of you just before serving. As a result, the ginger was fresh, crunchy and perfectly spicy and sour. Now, the ginger is pre-sliced and it is sliced paper-thin, as if sliced by machine. Because the ginger is sliced so thin and it is just sitting there pre-sliced and in pickling liquid for a long time, the ginger is no longer crisp and refreshing and it is much more sour and spicy. Before, I ate ginger because it was an artful dish by itself. Now, it is just a palate cleanser. 4. Ambiance: GO used to be a zen sushi temple: a calm, quiet and serene place where you could enjoy the finest sushi in New York. Now, they added one to two seats per chef at the counter. They also added large tables to accommodate more guests. Instead of a quiet, zen atmosphere, GO now feels like a noisy, bustling K-town barbecue restaurant.5. Smell: GO sushi chefs used to cut a few slices of fish in advance of serving: usually, no more than 2 or 3 courses in advance. And they would usually store fish in closed boxes if they are not going to serve soon. Now, they slice many more courses in advance and they leave it out in the open. Visually, this is less appealing. Even worse, the smell of the openly sitting fish also permeates the restaurant. I noticed that "fish market" smell as soon as I walked into the restaurant. Shocking and unappetizing.It is clear that GO management decided to sacrifice a quite a bit of quality, service and execution for higher profits. There is nothing wrong with this decision as a business matter but it is just something I did not expect from my favorite restaurant.While GO is still a solid restaurant and the staff is still very friendly, it is no longer my favorite restaurant and there are others that compare favorably at this price point.
There's hardly a sushiya that contributes as much as Ginza Onodera to NYC's sushi culture. From the stylish introductions of seasonal Japanese ingredients by waitresses donning in kimono, to the illustrious alumni that sprung off GInza and settled their own shops in NYC, if not the world, Ginza brings the seedling of the culture to NYC and it for sure has grown strong and steady. I had the opportunity to be served by Sakagami oyakata, head chef of the group, this March for lunch. Paired with akazu (red vineygar) sauced sushi rice, his sushi comes off with strong fragrance and makes water run in mouth. The selection of toppings are elegant and the cuts are beautiful and generous (see photos). It's an authentic omakase experience where you can fully trust the chef, sit back and enjoy anything he puts out.
The environment and service at @sushiginzaonoderanyc were really great, very close to like being in Japan. Loved my 10 piece nigiri omakase lunch course (with appetizers to start, miso soup and dessert to close).Many places in NYC are trying out new fusion ideas for omakase courses, but here they win by using high quality ingredients for the traditional itamae sushi experience. The bluefin tuna, chutoro, and amaebi were my favorite! Incredibly fresh and delicious!
If possible (and if you're interested) ask to be seated in front of the chef. His knife skills are amazing. The precision, speed and economy of movement are an awesome thing to see. Also it's very interesting to see all the steps and skill that take to prepare a piece of nigiri.You realize that every single ingredient they use is of the highest quality possible when even the nori is the best one you've had.It's pricey though
Restaurantji Recommends
Quiet places like this make my thoughts loud. It's bright. Too well-lit and unmoving and it smells of a five diamond lobby. Tacit waitresses and a host in a tailored suit. Am I a suit? I no longer know. It seems to me that I've made it. Of course, I have. Long ago, in fact. I've had success at the hands of those that despised me and sought to exploit a young, beautiful and naïve talent. I can hear breathing here. It's that serene. The art parties I've been to have nothing on this. The waitress is a geisha. How wild. Perhaps I'm still naïve. Perhaps still beautiful. We sit. We're served. I choose a crystal glass from a tray of assorted cups. I eye the couple at the other end of the bar. A young lady with an older man with bushy eyebrows. Power eyebrows that seem to only exist in New York. And what is this place even? The drinks are exorbitant, artworks in and of themselves. I think about my uncle Salmon and how he made an initial investment in me, and how he flipped my work, how I helped corroborate a false value. Can sake really be so pricey? The rice grains, we're told, are peeled, and the drink was distilled from the inner virgin pulp lying within. I sip it. It tastes floral. Being here makes me think of Salmon, perhaps because of his fish name, despite being inundated with gold flake and fatty tuna. He loved Japan, perhaps for more perverse reasons than I'd like to admit, though Sushi Ginza Onodera is far from the discos and vending machines. There is nothing nefarious here besides the couple with the too-wide age gap opposite us. And because of my disposition that everything is sullied and perverted, polluting this restaurant review, I can't help but wonder what blood money affords their to-go bento boxes or these thousand dollar bottles of sake. Do honest livings afford these truffles, this monkfish liver? I'm here on the dime of generous patrons. My art has afforded me a life of fried fish sack. Dry aged gizzard shad. But where the money has come from sometimes keeps me up at night. Hopefully the twenty courses and crazy sake will allot me good sleep. A kiss on the cheek from my girlfriends no longer seems to do it.
Absolutely authentic. Beautifully presented top quality ingredients without much brouhaha but clean authentic taste. Wonderful friendly Japanese service. Expensive but worth every bit
Having been to Sushi Ginza Onodera in Honolulu, we had high hopes. I had rated it 5 stars as it was excellent. We had booked a reservation at the location in Los Angeles, but unfortunately our reservation was cancelled due to one of their staff having COVID-19.Our menu included the following: ikura donburi, sawara sashimi, shima aji sashimi, awabi (abalone) sashimi, madai, zuke, aji, amaebi, chutoro, nodoguro, Hokkaido uni, anago, hotate, kohada, kinmedai aburi, tamago, miso soup, hojicha, and matcha pudding as the dessert.I had to give this location only 4 stars and I will explain why as it purely relates to the shari (rice). The best omakase establishments will prepare each nigiri one by one. That is, the shari is formed one by one as to retain the temperature and texture of the rice. The chutoro and the additional pieces I ordered (hotate, kohada, and kinmedai aburi) were all excellent as the shari was formed and served immediately. The shari had optimal temperature, disbursement, pearl-like consistency, and the pronounced akazu flavor. The other chef at the counter confirmed that their akazu was a mix of Yokoi yohei and kinsho. It seems like most of the Michelin star omakase restaurants prefer this type of akazu, which is acidic and aggressive.The aji and amaebi in totality were noticeably cool to the mouth which I found disappointing, albeit they were still delicious. I describe the simultaneous formation of all the shari for the party as "brigading" which means the shari has a considerable amount of time to sit, cool off, and form a stickiness. The neta itself is already cool to the touch at room temperature so it is important that the shari has some warmth to it.The service was excellent, polite, friendly, and timely. The staff graciously fulfilled my request for my wife's friend's birthday celebration. I will say if the rice was kept warm and that all the shari were formed and served individually, that I can confidently rate this as a 5 star establishment.
Not worth the price. The chef spent 30 mins to prepare raw fish.. That may be considered an ‘omakase experience’ but that was nothing more than a useless waiting time for us. He should think more about how to allocate time efficiently. Last but not least, the nigiri was not tasty at all. All were flat and not aged well, no impressive nigiri out of 14 pieces including 3 special orders.
Superb Japanese Omakase. Great service-mind staff. Fresh ingredients. Professional chef.