Chef and owner Yukihiro Takeda helms the eight-seat counter: His Edomae-style, 19-course menu runs $280 and incorporates seafood flown in from Tokyo’s Toyosu fish market several times a week. A meal could start with tsumami like ikura (salmon roe) and Santa Barbara uni before eventually moving into Hokkaido scallop, akami (lean tuna), and iwashi (sardine). Note, Takeda doesn’t necessarily follow a traditional path typically defined by serving all nigiri back-to-back. Instead, bites are occasionally interspersed with creative dishes such as a maki roll filled with soba noodles in place of rice.

In 1997, Masatoshi “Gari” Sugio opened the first Sushi of Gari on the Upper East Side and introduced New Yorkers to a new way to enjoy sushi, with variations in sauces and presentations. Today, diners can choose between an omakase for $160, $180, or $230, with sushi and other dishes available a la carte. Sushi Gari has several locations.

Brian Owens and chef Todd Mitgang have taken over the next-door spot to its Upper East Side location of Crave Fishbar, to open a sustainable sushi restaurant in February stocked with domestic fish. The menu includes appetizers, nigiri, sashimi, maki, and hot entrees, with sake by the glass, cocktail pairings, Japanese whiskey, and tequila. There are six seats at the sushi bar and another 60 seats in the dining room. new

Daniel Boulud and sushi master chef George Ruan, formerly of Masa, have teamed up to open the Michelin-starred Jōji, below 1 Vanderbilt, in an alcove of Grand Central Terminal. Joji Box is the adjacent takeout and delivery, which offers one of three variations on a sushi box, as well as salmon, tuna, or hamachi flights for $23 to $60. At sushi counter, Jōji features one seating for lunch at 12:30 p.m. for $295 or dinner seating at 5:45 p.m. for $410.

Sushi Yasuda is one of New York’s oldest omakase haunts, regarded as a bastion for fine fish. Here, one can sit at a table or at the bar, and order a la carte, the chef’s choice omakase (MP), or the omakase 15 ($170). Pro tip: The best seats in the house are at the far end of the sushi bar.

A rooftop destination inside the Gansevoort Hotel, Saishin offers a view of the Manhattan skyline. In a kitchen led by Joseph Liu (formerly of Michelin starred Sushi Ginza) and Isaac Kek, it features an a la carte menu as well as a 14-course, $135 omakase and a 19-course $175 option.

Upscale service with a downtown vibe is the theme at Shuko, the narrow, Union Square sushi spot from Masa and Neta vets Jimmy Lau and Nick Kim. Dedicated to serving top-level sushi, and with a devout following from none other than Jay-Z and Beyoncé, the place is still going strong after almost a decade. Here, customers will find bites garnished with luxury ingredients like caviar and gold leaf to truffle, and the single omakase runs $270.  

Chef Nobuyuki Shikanai’s unfussy sushi spot has earned a following for its well-priced fresh fish. A long menu of sashimi, nigiri, and rolls — in addition to izakaya bites like shrimp tempura and gyoza — run a la carte, but the most coveted seats are at Shikana’s omakase counter. Note, while Kanoyama is open daily and accepts walk-ins, the $195 chef’s choice menu is only served Wednesday through Saturday (5:45 and 8:30 p.m.) and requires reservations.

Having started in a Tokyo bank, its first U.S. location for edomae sushi that opened in 2008 is still going strong. There’s plenty of hot and cold options on an a la carte menu, as well as affordable options at the bar on the kanpai hour menu. The Den offers $250 per person Edomae-style omakase.

With the help of Rahul Saito and Kuma Hospitality Group, the swankiest of Eiji Ichimura’s restaurants, Sushi Ichimura has opened. New Yorkers know him from first his namesake under-the-radar restaurant on Second Avenue in Midtown that closed in 2008. It was followed by David Bouley’s acclaimed Brushstroke, and later, two-Michelin-starred Ichimura at Uchū, among others. Today, the 10-seat Tribeca slip displays an East-meets-West aesthetic from the master who helped fine-tune the Stateside practice of aging fish for modern diners. His menu includes fish from Hokkaido and elsewhere around Japan, along with wares from suppliers at the Toyosu Market, with many items unavailable in the United States. It’s $900 for two, plus $180 tip.

When a chef can turn white fish to the buttery richness of toro, you know you’re in the right place. And that’s precisely the talent of Shion Uino, who made waves when he landed in New York by way of Tokyo in 2017, having come off a decade’s worth of work at one of the world’s most prestigious sushi bars, the three-Michelin-starred Sushi Saito. The chef has most recently teamed up with 69 Leonard owner Idan Elkon to launch this high-end sushi concept priced at $480 (including tip) that centers on rare seafood and, hands down, the city’s most excellent interpretation of tamago. At the end of the meal, patrons also have the option to add on additional chinmi (rare bites). Wed to true Edomae style, the menu progresses from sashimi to a series of tsumami (small appetizers), nine nigiri bites, a hand roll, soup and that custard-like tamago.

Masa Ito spent eight years with Los Angeles export Sushi Zo before teaming up with hospitality outfit VCR Group and launching Ito, alongside his longtime collaborator, Kevin Kim. Ito, which moved into a 1,500-square-foot Tribeca space, is a high-end omakase restaurant offering 14 counter seats (plus a private dining room) where diners embark on a $295 omakase that begins with a welcome cocktail, followed by four otsumami, miso soup, 12 pieces of nigiri, a handroll, and dessert. There’s a focus on seasonality here, so Ito is bringing in sterling seafood from fish markets in Tokyo and Fukuoka four times per week.