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Sushi Ginza Onodera has hooked anyone looking for the city's best sushi restaurant since it splashed onto the scene with its edomaezushi (aged fish sushi) in 2016. The spot earned two Michelin stars this year, an exceptionally rare achievement for a Japanese restaurant in New York City.
And its lure got even more tempting last week thanks to Onodera Group's purchase of a $323,000, 890-pound bluefin tuna from Japan's prestigious Tsukiji Fish Market earlier this month. At 13,000 pieces (according to a Financial Times report), you're talking about popping roughly $25 into your mouth with every piece of sushi. That's some pricey ish.
Tonight is ostensibly the last night the three-week-aged tuna will be served during the omakase meal, so book a reservation asap (we were told it will be served at the 6pm seating, and potentially be available at the 8:30pm seating, if you ask for it). As the hostess mentioned, it's a "once-in-a-lifetime" opportunity.
So how does a $25 bite taste? At first glance, the otoro-cut (fattiest cut) sushi is so pink and marbled that one could almost mistake it for a glossy slab of beef carpaccio. Aged in cool temperatures (33-34 degrees) and served nigiri-style with a house-made nikiri soy sauce on top and wrapped around warm rice, the tuna is melt-in-your-mouth soft, with a fresh texture and sweet notes balanced by the subtle strokes of soy and wasabi, and capped with a smooth, buttery aftertaste. People who say “there are plenty of fish in the sea” have clearly not tried this fish.
As one of our infamously picky reviewers put it, “So delicious beyond words.” This is a fish that short-circuits your ability to speak in complete sentences. Get you some now.
Photograph: Courtesy Sushi Ginza Onodera
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