The best omakase in NYC used to mean picking a side: save for months and book a $300 counter seat, or settle for a supermarket roll and call it sushi. That gap has closed hard over the past year, with new counters opening from Long Island City to the East Village charging real chef-counter prices for a fraction of the usual bill.
This list runs the full range on purpose, low to high, because the honest answer to where to find the best omakase in NYC depends entirely on whether tonight is a Tuesday hand-roll night or an anniversary you’ve been saving for.
Here are 7 spots covering the best omakase in NYC right now, whether you’re after a $56 weeknight counter or a two-Michelin-star splurge worth planning around.
Uka Omakase – 🏆 Bowery Beat Editor Top Choice
Address: 238 E 60th St, New York, NY 10022
Phone: (347) 496-7355
Style: Edomae-style nigiri omakase, 16-course classic set (also a 10-course lunch and 18-course VIP counter)
Vibe: Buzzy right now, but still easy to actually get a seat
Price: $$ ($38 lunch / $56 classic 16-course / $99 VIP counter)
Website: ukaomakase.com
Uka opened on East 60th Street and immediately became the omakase spot TikTok can’t stop filming, and for once the hype actually holds up at the table.
The $56 classic seating gets you 16 courses that would run close to double a few avenues over, and if you book the 5pm or 8:45pm slot Sunday through Thursday, a full bottle of house sake shows up free for every two guests.
It’s not trying to out-splurge Sushi Noz. It’s trying to be the best $56 you spend on dinner this month, and it wins that argument without much of a fight.
If you only book one thing off this list, this is the safe answer for the best omakase in NYC under $60.
Sushi W
Address: 2673 Broadway, New York, NY 10025 (also Upper East Side and East Village locations)
Phone: (917) 318-9739
Style: 1-hour omakase counter, no-tipping policy
Vibe: Efficient, unfussy, neighborhood counter energy
Price: $$ ($38 lunch / $45 basic / $58 premium)
Website: sushiwny.com
Sushi W runs three counters (Upper West Side, Upper East Side, and East Village), and all three stick to the same one-hour, no-tipping format that keeps the whole night moving.
The Broadway location on the Upper West Side is generally the easiest of the three to land a same-week reservation, with a $45 basic set and a $58 premium bumping the nigiri count and adding two hand rolls.
Nothing here is trying to be a special occasion. It’s a genuinely good weeknight counter that happens to serve omakase instead of a bowl of ramen, which is exactly the point.
For an easy, no-fuss omakase dinner in NYC, Sushi W is the one you can actually get into on a Tuesday.
Sushi by Bou
Address: 132 W 47th St, New York, NY 10036 (inside the Sanctuary Hotel)
Phone: (888) 670-5996
Style: Hidden speakeasy-style omakase counter behind an unmarked door, 12-course signature set
Vibe: Theatrical, great for a first date or a first-timer
Price: $$-$$$ ($70 for 12 courses, up to $100 for the 17-course Bou Reserve)
Website: sushibybou.com
Sushi by Bou hides its Times Square counter behind an unmarked door inside the Sanctuary Hotel, which sounds gimmicky until you’re actually sitting at the nine-seat bar.
The $70 signature run gets you 12 courses, with a Bougie or Bou Reserve upgrade pushing to 17 courses for around $100 if you want to go bigger.
It’s theatrical in a way that works for a first date or a first-timer’s introduction to omakase, without losing the actual technique behind the fish.
If the person you’re bringing has never done omakase before, this is a strong entry point into the best omakase in NYC that still feels like an event.
Kawa Omakase
Address: 37 E 1st St, New York, NY 10003
Phone: (347) 619-3346
Style: Seasonal 14-course Edomae omakase
Vibe: Reservation-only counter, low-key East Village date-night spot
Price: $$$ ($88 for 14 courses)
Website: kawaomakase.com
Kawa keeps a low profile on East 1st Street, running a reservation-only counter that seats a handful of guests a night.
The $88 menu covers 14 seasonal courses, and the East Village location makes it an easy add-on to a night that starts at a bar around the corner.
It sits right in the middle of this list, priced like a proper date-night dinner without tipping into splurge territory.
For a solid mid-range date-night omakase in NYC, Kawa is the one worth booking a week ahead for.
Warabi Omakase
Address: 42-15 Crescent St, Long Island City, NY 11101
Phone: (929) 666-7017
Style: 14-course Edomae omakase plus all-you-can-eat add-ons and a sake and Japanese beer pairing
Vibe: Generous, social, worth the extra stop on the train
Price: $$$ ($108 for 14 courses, AYCE add-ons, and the pairing)
Website: warabiomakase.com
Warabi sits in Long Island City, and it’s the rare omakase spot that rewards you for finishing your plate instead of pacing you through 14 quiet courses and sending you home hungry.
The $108 experience starts with a chef-selected 14-course set, then opens into all-you-can-eat add-ons plus a sake and Japanese beer pairing, all included.
It’s the one on this list built for a group that wants volume and a little chaos with their nigiri, not hushed tasting-menu silence.
For the best omakase in NYC outside Manhattan, Warabi is worth the extra stop on the train.
Sushi Ishikawa
Address: 207 W 80th St, New York, NY 10024
Phone: (212) 651-9152
Style: Signature MATSU 17-course omakase
Vibe: Fine-dining execution inside a small neighborhood room
Price: $$$$ ($175 for 17 courses, before tax and gratuity)
Website: ishikawanyc.com
Sushi Ishikawa runs its signature 17-course MATSU menu out of a small room on West 80th Street, and it’s the kind of place that comes up constantly in best-value conversations among people who eat a lot of $150-plus dinners.
At $175 before tax and tip, it’s not cheap, but the ingredient list, think Toro caviar, edible gold leaf, seasonal white truffle, puts it closer to a splurge counter twice the price.
This is the step up once Uka or Sushi W stop feeling special enough for the occasion.
If you’re ready to spend real money on a splurge omakase in NYC without booking Sushi Noz months out, Ishikawa is the move.
Sushi Noz
Address: 181 E 78th St, New York, NY 10075
Phone: (212) 731-6040
Style: Two-Michelin-star Edomae tasting menu, 8-seat hinoki counter
Vibe: The reservation you plan a trip around
Price: $$$$$ (around $550 per person, before drinks, tax, and gratuity)
Website: noz.global
Sushi Noz holds two Michelin stars and an eight-seat hinoki counter on the Upper East Side, and it’s the restaurant every other list on this page secretly measures itself against.
Dinner runs about $550 a person before drinks, tax, and gratuity, for five or six otsumami followed by a long, unhurried run of nigiri built around whatever chef Nozomu Abe found that morning.
This isn’t a spot you book on a whim. Reservations open well in advance and go fast, so plan the trip around the date, not the other way around.
If money genuinely isn’t the constraint, this is still the best omakase in NYC, full stop.
So, What’s the Best Omakase in NYC Right Now?
Finding the best omakase in NYC really depends on what your night, and your budget, can handle.
If you want the best value, Uka is nearly impossible to beat.
If you want zero fuss on a Tuesday, Sushi W gets you in and out in an hour.
If you want a memorable first-timer’s night out, Sushi by Bou brings the theater.
If money’s not the question, Sushi Noz still sets the bar everyone else is chasing.
There isn’t one single answer, and that’s kind of the point.
Book something before the prices move again. If you want to build a bigger night around it, our anniversary dinner NYC guide has more spots worth the splurge, and our best ramen in NYC roundup is there for whenever raw fish isn’t the move.
