Hi friends, welcome back! I was recently invited to Sushi Lab in the East Village for my first Omakase experience. I’m a big sushi lover, but have somehow never tried Omakase which is Japanese for “I leave it up to you”. Omakase is usually a 10+ course meal where the chef prepares the dishes right in front of a small group around a bar. Each course is a work of art and I loved watching the chefs work their magic! If you’re a picky eater like I still slightly am, this might be a scary idea, but it was such an awesome experience!
This was the menu for the night, I was very excited to try each course after seeing the attention to detail and skill required for each bite. I didn’t know every ingredient, but I trusted that it would taste exquisite 🙂
SHIMA AJI – Stiped jack, daikon, finger lime
ARCTIC CHAR – Sauteed tomato, spring ginger – this was the only one I didn’t love because I don’t like tomatoes.
AKAMI – LEAN TUNA – Tempura oyster, nori, fresh wasabi
KANPACHI & ANKIMO – Amber jack, monkfish liver, truffle ponzu
BLUEFIN TORO TARTARE – Ikura, ciabatta toast
GINDARA & CAVIAR – 2 days miso cured – this was my first time having caviar, very fancy!
SAWARA – KING FISH – Smoked, micro wasabi, sesame
HOTATE – Sea scallop, shiitake mushroom, truffle
KINMEDAI – ALFONSINO – Golden eye snapper, yuzu kosho, grated ginger
HOKKAIDO UNI & CRAB – Kaluga caviar, Sakura gold flake
OTORO – FATTY TUNA – Shaved truffle
HIRAME-FLOUNDER – Engawa, micro chive
A5 WAGYU LOLIPOP – Sushi rice cake, pickled wasabi – this was one of my favorites!
KURUMA EBI – Boiled Japanese tiger prawn, house made shoyu. They opened the prawn right in front of us and I was getting nervous they were going to give it to me whole and I’d have no idea what to do. Luckily that wasn’t the case 🙂
TAMAGO – Botan ebi, yamaimo – this is like a little egg cake to finish the meal.
I am so glad I finally tried omakase! Dining at Sushi Lab was such a fun experience and everything tasted so fresh and exquisite. This was a very fun date night, but would also be fun to go with a friend. The tasting is around a bar, so it’s a more intimate place, but you can have a whole group go around the bar too. The bar here hosted eight people and had two chefs so it was very efficient. Sushi Lab also has another restaurant in Times Square with a gorgeous rooftop restaurant and a Chemistry Room that is even higher end than this meal. If you love sushi and are ready to try Omakase, Sushi Lab is a great choice that I’d highly recommend! Would you try Omakase?
