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Chefs at grill at Chaco Bar
Photograph: Cassandra Hannagan

The ultimate guide to Sydney's best omakase diners

The Japanese take on the 'chef's table' experience is taking Sydney by storm

Written by
Elizabeth McDonald
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Chef's table-style dining has for years been a highly sought-after experience, combining the prestige of snagging one of only a handful of seats with the liberation of putting yourself in the hands of a master, come what may. In recent months, the Japanese version, aka "omakase", has well and truly established itself in the Sydney dining scene. Course after course is presented to diners respectfully waiting along the bar, tailored to the individual, with recipes changing seasonally  or in some cases, daily  depending on the chef’s whim and the diner’s preference.

Meaning “I’ll leave it to you”, omakase experiences are not new to Australian shores, with eateries like Chaco Bar delighting visitors since 2014. However, this theatrical style of dining has finally entered the mainstream with new omakases seemingly opening weekly in Sydney.

Usually ranging from five to 20 courses, and rarely with more than 12 diners at a time, omakase-style dining isn’t the place to catch up with friends over a bottle of wine, but rather a once-in-a-while way for foodies to indulge. If you’re on the hunt for a truly special eating experience, omakase is the thing for you – who needs dinner and a show when dinner is the show? However, with the maximum number of punters per sitting usually remaining in the single digits, omakases will often have very long waitlists, and some only release reservations once a month, so you’ll need to have some lightning reflexes when a spot becomes available. So you know where to look, we’ve rounded up the best omakase diners in Sydney. On your marks, get set, book! 

Sydney's best omakase experiences

  • Restaurants
  • Japanese
  • Darling Harbour
  • price 3 of 4

Chefs Chase Kojima and his offsider Takashi Sano command the most impressive sushi counter in Sydney where the only way to guarantee a place at one of the counter’s six spots is to complete a booking form and enquire, otherwise it’s a matter of first come, first served and highballs at the bar. The omakase is only open Monday to Thursday for dinner and is a casual $270 per person. 

  • Restaurants
  • Japanese
  • Darlinghurst
  • price 2 of 4

Gaku Robata Grill is many rungs above your lunchtime sushi place (at lunch they only serve ramen, and there's only 40 bowls to go around). It's also a few more above a neighbourhood izakaya that rings with “irasshaimase” greetings. But it’s keeping things more casual than the ascetic kaiseki dining temples with omakase menus and service that borders on the reverential. It’s casual fancy done right, which makes it perfect for date night.

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  • Restaurants
  • Japanese
  • Dawes Point

Launched under the capable eye of chef Tomohiro Marshall Oguro (ex-Sushi e), Bay Nine Omakase has a new menu every day for those lucky enough to nab a counter spot. Oguro is a firm believer in the interaction between chef and diner, and how it can enhance the dining experience, by tailoring individual dishes to each customer at the counter. Diners can expect elegantly crafted bites like sake-steamed Murray cod, thinly sliced rare Wagyu, cooked sukiyaki-style (slowly cooked, tableside) with onions, raw egg yolk and sea urchin. On the pricier end, the Bay Nine menu is $195 per person.

  • Restaurants
  • Japanese
  • Chatswood

One of Sydney’s top restaurateurs and Sokyo executive chef, Chase Kojima, has opened a fine dining ramen omakase in the lower north shore suburb of Chatswood. Senpai Ramen dishes up killer snacks and collagen-heavy tonkatsu ramen with a drinks list by none other than PS40’s Michael Chiem.The 25 seater offers a playful, everchanging menu, using some of Australia’s finest produce to create a seasonal and refined dining experience focused on serving beautiful ramen in a new way.

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  • Restaurants
  • Sydney
  • price 2 of 4

Overseen by none other than Merivale's Dan Hong, the omakase at Sushi e runs Tuesday through Thursday from 6pm. The 20 courses are predominantly seafood based and unfortunately vegans and vegetarians cannot be catered for. The omakase experience will set you back $170 per person and cannot be transferred, so you're going to want to keep your schedule clear.

  • Restaurants
  • Japanese
  • Sydney

The beauty of an omakase (roughly translated to "I'll leave it up to you" in Japenese) is each place has their thing. The intimate chef-to-diner eateries may focus on the absolute best yakitori, like at Chaco Bar, or a total focus on tuna in all its crimson forms à la Bay Nine Omakase. Or, in the case of Haco, a tiny 12-seater in a concrete cube, it's tempura. Crisp blonde batter of rice flour, ice cubes and soda water creates a lighter than air shell that coats an unending selection of vegetables, seafood and even foie gras.

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  • Restaurants
  • Japanese
  • Potts Point
  • price 2 of 4

When reservations for the six seats fronting the grills at this yakitori specific omakase are open, you'd better move fast. If you wish to see skewers spun attentively over binchotan charcoal, bask in the intense heat and watch chefs dip yakitori in salty-sweet tare, using the hot zones to render fat slowly or caramelise chicken hearts or tail in an instant. At $160 a pop, this is the more affordable end of the omakase spectrum.

  • Restaurants
  • Japanese
  • Circular Quay

Behind the Besuto offering is Joel Best, previously of Bondi’s Best — the North Bondi fish and chipper that had a cult following until its closure in 2019. He’s now co-owner and part-time chef at the pint-sized Japanese diner in the Rocks. Best's co-owner is Finnish celebrity chef Tomi Björck - an award-winning restaurateur and entrepreneur, commanding eight restaurants in Helsinki. But of course, it's the head chef who really defines the Omakase experience, and at Besuto, it's sushi-master Hirofumi Fujita. The trio make for a formidable team, who only cater to three sittings per day. 

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  • Restaurants
  • Japanese
  • Barangaroo

Renowned sushi master, Ryuichi Yoshii has been practicing his craft for nearly four decades, and it shows. Heading up Yoshii’s Omakase at Nobu, one of the swathe of upscale restaurants at Crown Sydney, the tiny diner has only 10 seats at the omakase table, this is an intimate dining experience that characterises the omakase experience.

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