Easily one of the best omakase in the city. The otsumami was fantastic, and I really the nigiri. The rice is very unique. Loved the flavor.It’s also a perfect ambiance. High end but relaxed. People talking and laughing. Not the silent / formal vibe you get at some spots in Tokyo and nyc. (Which I always find kinda weird)
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Oscar huang
Absolutely outstanding edomae style omakase. For the price range, can't be beat. Chefs are lovely and the quality of ingredients they use punches waaaaaay above it's weight.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Nancy Dong
such a unique omakase experience and amazing pairings. the best quality fish you’ll find, even when compared to any top tier omakase in nyc.do the uni tasting additions!!
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
David Foster
great attention to detail, nice wood charcoal smokey atmosphere (used to sear several dishes), excellent omakase service and drink pairing
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Ben Munslow
The English language has roughly one million words. Unfortunately there’s not one yet good enough to describe the quality of shota, truly phenomenal.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Alex Westover
Very disappointed with the omakase experience. The 5 or 6 first dishes were pre-made and I understand that this may be standard but, the food was lifeless and may have been sitting for several hours. The fish for the nigiri sushi was all pre cut and appeared to be cut a long time before service. The most important part the rice was poorly made and falling apart with the Nigiri. It was also weird that Shota kept toasting us during the dinner. Overall bad experience that ended up with serious GI disturbance.Obnoxiously expensive!
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 2
Service: 2
Recommended dishes: Sushi
Masa Kanayama
Good omakase place. Shari preparation is above average, good amount of rice, good temp, good tightness and vinegar combinations. Very few choices of hikarimono here, and Aji was just ok. Since I am a pure edomae enthusiast, an offering of Wagyu sushi (an extra price, of course i did not order bz it is not a pure edomae tradition) was disappointment to me since smoke smelling of wagyu beef spread all over the sushi bar. Services were excellent and a very nice, spacious atmosphere inside. I may try this place again for the second time. Overall reasonable to good omakase sushi.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 5
Susheela Meyyappan
We had an incredible time at Shota! Each element of each dish was carefully thought out and explained to us. Highly recommend the wine/sake pairing. All of the staff are friendly, professional, and inviting. I had a lot of questions and everyone was so nice in answering all of my questions. We ate some really unique dishes and everything was really high quality. Absolutely worth the price!!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Saloni Sahara
Came here for a birthday dinner and it was fantastic! It was fun chatting to the chefs and the food was delicious!
Fantastic, unique, highest-quality sushi (the chirashi bowl with snow crab, uni, and caviar was a real highlight).A few things to keep in mind if you’re trying to watch the spend: they’ll offer you sparkling or still ($12 pp), but there’s a pitcher of iced water right there…just ask for tap. And when they offer you the opportunity to revisit one piece of fish from the omakase or try a nightly special (we were offered wagyu beef), just know it’s extra - in our case, $35 per piece. So we accidentally spent a cool $95 extra, and the suggested (well deserved) tip is 23%. We each got a glass of sake ($30 ea) and hot tea ($9 ea), so when all was set and done it was $750 for 2 of us.Last quibbles in an otherwise great night: the ambience is pretty austere, especially because there’s a sushi counter that’s dark/unused behind the main counter. And 6-8 ppl will get to eat with Chef Cheng while the other 10 or so will be served by one of two sous chefs. If you can request Chef Cheng, that does seem to be a different experience - though our sous chef was very professional & knowledgeable.Tl;dr: You won’t get higher-quality fish in any of those $400 per person spots in Manhattan, but watch out for a few hidden costs.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Ryan Sears
Everything was
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Shane L.
I made a reservation here for my girlfriend and I as a late Valentine's dinner, and it was truly amazing. First off, the restaurant itself is beautiful, with warm wood everywhere and really nice lighting. Our jackets were also checked in as soon as we got there which was nice and we were quickly seated. I had never been to an omakase before so I was a little intimidated at first, but all of the staff made me feel really welcome and comfortable the whole night, especially our chef, D. D was awesome! He was super nice and knowledgeable about everything and he really made the dinner feel super special. D was also clearly comfortable and was really fun and easy to talk to and answered any questions we had. The food itself was also incredible. It was about 18 courses and I left feeling absolutely stuffed. My favorites were the chu-toro nigiri, the sea bream, and the dish with uni, caviar, snow crab, and rice. All of the fish was very high quality and D explained the preparation of each course, i.e. how long things were aged or the fish that it came from. I think the thing I was most surprised by was the rice. Shota used three different rices with three different rice vinegars to complement the various fish, and it really made me appreciate the rice as a main ingredient in each course. All in all, Shota was definitely on the expensive side, but the quality of the food and service as well as the experience itself definitely made it worth it for a special occasion. You aren't just paying for the food, you're paying for the decades of experience from Chef Cheng Lin and the whole staff. The meal took about 2 hours and my girlfriend and I walked away in awe. If I could have afforded to go back the next night, I would have.
Whitney D.
Fantastic, unique, highest-quality sushi (the chirashi bowl with snow crab, uni, and caviar was a real highlight). A few things to keep in mind if you're trying to watch the spend: they'll offer you sparkling or still ($12 pp), but there's a pitcher of iced water right there...just ask for tap. And when they offer you the opportunity to revisit one piece of fish from the omakase or try a nightly special at the end (we were offered wagyu beef), just know it's extra - in our case, $35 per piece. So we accidentally spent a cool $95 on top of the $195pp omakase price, and the suggested (well deserved!) tip is 23%. We also each got a glass of sake ($30 ea) and hot tea ($9 ea), so when all was set and done it was $750 for 2 of us. Last quibbles in an otherwise great night: the ambience is pretty austere, especially because there's a sushi counter that's dark/unused behind the main counter. And 6-8 ppl will get to eat with Chef Cheng while the other 10 or so will be served by one of two sous chefs. If you can request Chef Cheng, definitely do that. Tl;dr: You won't get higher-quality fish anywhere in the city - you can really feel the care that goes into each bite. Just watch out for a few hidden costs and know the vibe isn't the warmest.
l e.
Not sure I like picking up my sushi directly from the chef's hand. It's a bit weird like I'm a puppy eating out of my owner's hand! So what's the plate in front of me for? It should be my choice to eat comfortably Never experienced this before and I bet sushi masters in Japan will be aghast! Also beware of add on charges - got charged for a caviar hand roll topping for $25 that wasn't ordered nor asked for! It was handed to me as he said happy birthday?!? That's sinister and shameful for the chef/management to do! No matter how good the food may be, these practices leave a bad taste in my mouth. I mean I didn't order it nor was it offered as a supplement that I can order so why would you give it to me under pretense, then charge me for it? Smh :(
Easily one of the best omakase in the city. The otsumami was fantastic, and I really the nigiri. The rice is very unique. Loved the flavor.It’s also a perfect ambiance. High end but relaxed. People talking and laughing. Not the silent / formal vibe you get at some spots in Tokyo and nyc. (Which I always find kinda weird)
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Absolutely outstanding edomae style omakase. For the price range, can't be beat. Chefs are lovely and the quality of ingredients they use punches waaaaaay above it's weight.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
such a unique omakase experience and amazing pairings. the best quality fish you’ll find, even when compared to any top tier omakase in nyc.do the uni tasting additions!!
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
great attention to detail, nice wood charcoal smokey atmosphere (used to sear several dishes), excellent omakase service and drink pairing
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
The English language has roughly one million words. Unfortunately there’s not one yet good enough to describe the quality of shota, truly phenomenal.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Very disappointed with the omakase experience. The 5 or 6 first dishes were pre-made and I understand that this may be standard but, the food was lifeless and may have been sitting for several hours. The fish for the nigiri sushi was all pre cut and appeared to be cut a long time before service. The most important part the rice was poorly made and falling apart with the Nigiri. It was also weird that Shota kept toasting us during the dinner. Overall bad experience that ended up with serious GI disturbance.Obnoxiously expensive!
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 2
Service: 2
Recommended dishes: Sushi
Good omakase place. Shari preparation is above average, good amount of rice, good temp, good tightness and vinegar combinations. Very few choices of hikarimono here, and Aji was just ok. Since I am a pure edomae enthusiast, an offering of Wagyu sushi (an extra price, of course i did not order bz it is not a pure edomae tradition) was disappointment to me since smoke smelling of wagyu beef spread all over the sushi bar. Services were excellent and a very nice, spacious atmosphere inside. I may try this place again for the second time. Overall reasonable to good omakase sushi.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 5
We had an incredible time at Shota! Each element of each dish was carefully thought out and explained to us. Highly recommend the wine/sake pairing. All of the staff are friendly, professional, and inviting. I had a lot of questions and everyone was so nice in answering all of my questions. We ate some really unique dishes and everything was really high quality. Absolutely worth the price!!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Came here for a birthday dinner and it was fantastic! It was fun chatting to the chefs and the food was delicious!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Great food, great service, nice
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Sushi
Restaurantji Recommends
Fantastic, unique, highest-quality sushi (the chirashi bowl with snow crab, uni, and caviar was a real highlight).A few things to keep in mind if you’re trying to watch the spend: they’ll offer you sparkling or still ($12 pp), but there’s a pitcher of iced water right there…just ask for tap. And when they offer you the opportunity to revisit one piece of fish from the omakase or try a nightly special (we were offered wagyu beef), just know it’s extra - in our case, $35 per piece. So we accidentally spent a cool $95 extra, and the suggested (well deserved) tip is 23%. We each got a glass of sake ($30 ea) and hot tea ($9 ea), so when all was set and done it was $750 for 2 of us.Last quibbles in an otherwise great night: the ambience is pretty austere, especially because there’s a sushi counter that’s dark/unused behind the main counter. And 6-8 ppl will get to eat with Chef Cheng while the other 10 or so will be served by one of two sous chefs. If you can request Chef Cheng, that does seem to be a different experience - though our sous chef was very professional & knowledgeable.Tl;dr: You won’t get higher-quality fish in any of those $400 per person spots in Manhattan, but watch out for a few hidden costs.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Everything was
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
I made a reservation here for my girlfriend and I as a late Valentine's dinner, and it was truly amazing. First off, the restaurant itself is beautiful, with warm wood everywhere and really nice lighting. Our jackets were also checked in as soon as we got there which was nice and we were quickly seated. I had never been to an omakase before so I was a little intimidated at first, but all of the staff made me feel really welcome and comfortable the whole night, especially our chef, D. D was awesome! He was super nice and knowledgeable about everything and he really made the dinner feel super special. D was also clearly comfortable and was really fun and easy to talk to and answered any questions we had. The food itself was also incredible. It was about 18 courses and I left feeling absolutely stuffed. My favorites were the chu-toro nigiri, the sea bream, and the dish with uni, caviar, snow crab, and rice. All of the fish was very high quality and D explained the preparation of each course, i.e. how long things were aged or the fish that it came from. I think the thing I was most surprised by was the rice. Shota used three different rices with three different rice vinegars to complement the various fish, and it really made me appreciate the rice as a main ingredient in each course. All in all, Shota was definitely on the expensive side, but the quality of the food and service as well as the experience itself definitely made it worth it for a special occasion. You aren't just paying for the food, you're paying for the decades of experience from Chef Cheng Lin and the whole staff. The meal took about 2 hours and my girlfriend and I walked away in awe. If I could have afforded to go back the next night, I would have.
Fantastic, unique, highest-quality sushi (the chirashi bowl with snow crab, uni, and caviar was a real highlight). A few things to keep in mind if you're trying to watch the spend: they'll offer you sparkling or still ($12 pp), but there's a pitcher of iced water right there...just ask for tap. And when they offer you the opportunity to revisit one piece of fish from the omakase or try a nightly special at the end (we were offered wagyu beef), just know it's extra - in our case, $35 per piece. So we accidentally spent a cool $95 on top of the $195pp omakase price, and the suggested (well deserved!) tip is 23%. We also each got a glass of sake ($30 ea) and hot tea ($9 ea), so when all was set and done it was $750 for 2 of us. Last quibbles in an otherwise great night: the ambience is pretty austere, especially because there's a sushi counter that's dark/unused behind the main counter. And 6-8 ppl will get to eat with Chef Cheng while the other 10 or so will be served by one of two sous chefs. If you can request Chef Cheng, definitely do that. Tl;dr: You won't get higher-quality fish anywhere in the city - you can really feel the care that goes into each bite. Just watch out for a few hidden costs and know the vibe isn't the warmest.
Not sure I like picking up my sushi directly from the chef's hand. It's a bit weird like I'm a puppy eating out of my owner's hand! So what's the plate in front of me for? It should be my choice to eat comfortably Never experienced this before and I bet sushi masters in Japan will be aghast! Also beware of add on charges - got charged for a caviar hand roll topping for $25 that wasn't ordered nor asked for! It was handed to me as he said happy birthday?!? That's sinister and shameful for the chef/management to do! No matter how good the food may be, these practices leave a bad taste in my mouth. I mean I didn't order it nor was it offered as a supplement that I can order so why would you give it to me under pretense, then charge me for it? Smh :(