Midtown, NY
Lunch | 16-course | 16-seat | $130
Sushi Ginza Onodera is a name any sushi aficionado knows well. But opinions vary wildly on the renowned sushi chain. Some say the quality has dwindled with the passing of the torch from head chef to head chef. Others believe it is simply just too pricey. Those who hold the Tokyo-derived chain in high regard point to deep rooted edomae preparations, seasoned chefs, and high-quality ingredients as evidence for the acclamation.
So, our hot take? In short, it depends. You can hit up countless affordable and delicious New York sushiyas for a fraction of Ginza Onodera’s price point. With that said, if you are looking for an experience beyond taste, then Ginza Onodera is a great option (for lunch). At some point, sushi taste maxes out, and pricing gets into sushi-nerd territory. The price bar is raised, not based on taste alone, but based on the sourcing of the ingredients (is it wild, is it from Japan, is it hard to come by), how the ingredients are treated, (edomae-style preparations of preserving), and the chef’s stature and skills. So, long story short, if you don’t care about the aforementioned points, and just want yummy fish, then you can skip Ginza Onodera without giving it another thought.
If you have made it thus far, you likely appreciate the nerdy side of sushi, so, let’s get into the nitty gritty of things. Sushi Ginza Onodera is a sushi group bringing Japanese cuisine and culture to New York, Los Angeles, Honolulu, Shanghai, and Tokyo. The New York location, in Midtown Manhattan, opened back in 2016, and was led by Masaki Saito. Onodera received its first Michelin star after only being open for a short five months and in 2017 received its second. Kazushige Suzuki, who helped open the New York location back in 2016, was promoted to head chef in February of 2019, as Masaki Saito announced his leave to open his own sushiya in Toronto. Shortly after Suzuki took charge, the culinary world came to a halt during the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. During the 6-month closure, Suzuki announced his leave, and Takuya Kubo was brought in from Ginza Onodera, Honolulu, and promoted to Head Chef in New York.
The brief history above brings us to the present. With such a hefty price tag, no matter how much we appreciate good sushi, we opted for lunch (something we HIGHLY recommend).
Lunch Options:
$130 – appetizer, 10 nigiri, miso soup, dessert
$180 – appetizer, 12 nigiri, negitoro roll, miso soup, dessert
$250 – 4 appetizers, 8 nigiri, miso soup, dessert
Our New York sushi BFF, Natalie @sushisoulmate joined for the excursion. We arrived and were immediately blown away by the architecture. With an immaculate front door, floor to ceiling windows, high ceilings, and a hinoki wood countertop, it is impossible not to revere the space.
For the lunch seating, we picked the $180 option, the meal focuses around a nigiri progression. If you want the full Ginza Onodera experience, overflowing with distinguished otsumami, you will need to cough up the full dinner price tag.
The Neta
Ginza Onodera attributes much of its price tag to its dedication to sourcing the freshest – and often wild-caught – neta (seafood). The fish was great but much of what we have seen at other omakases in New York and Chicago. We were expecting rarer items such as kegani (harry crab). Fish was cut and nigiri formed with the utmost care and skill.
The Shari
Ginza Onodera uses rice from the Niigata prefecture and seasons it with two types of red vinegar, one dark and one light, providing it with a beautiful brown hue. While Onodera is known for a heavier vinegar hand, we must just be crazy, because we were wanting even more tang! Temperature and texture were on point.
Ginza Onodera was a lovely omakase experience, but admittedly, we were left underwhelmed. Maybe it was that we had little interaction with our chef, or that there were multiple chefs at one seating, but reflecting back, we craved a more unique, intimate experience. One nit would be that the chef went back and forth between placing our nigiri for our left and right hand (we are left-handed). This is a small detail, but one we would assume a 2-Michelin starred restaurant, and seasoned Japanese sushi chefs would have down. A high-point for us was the server showing us pictures and spelling of each fish on an iPad. This was a really cool detail. Another selling point for us was the elevated use of hot coals to grill fish, instead of the often-overused use of a blowtorch. The meal was wonderful and we would recommend the lunch to anyone looking for a great lunch omakase, however, we are excited to try out different dinner spots in the future.
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