This one of the most Racist Japanese place I been to. Spent 500$ a person to eat here just be discriminated. The chef slams the tables and told us to get off my phone. There was other party that was there that offer us drinks when we was about to be finished and employee told the guest not to give us any and told the guest to just leave. I don’t know if they treated us like that because we was Chinese. I don’t think anyone should be supporting an establishment with the worst costumer services.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 1
Julian Espinal
Wow, what an incredible sushi counter experience. My girlfriend and I, who have been fortunate enough to have experienced other great omakases, both consider this the best sushi experience we’ve had. The service was impeccable and responsive. The chef was very attentive to both his craft and his guests. While everything we tried was in the category of “best we’ve ever had”- the purple sea urchin for me was a huge favorite, while my girlfriend loved the classic toro nigiri. Truly a 10/10 experience, could not recommend more highly.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Boris Sadykoff
10/10 experience
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Jessica Lee
Love the whiskey bar! the bartender was so nice and recommended me different whiskies to try! Bar snacks go perfectly with their cocktails and whiskey.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Teresa Chan
Superb Experience! Chef Nakaji is an artist! always a different menu each time you go!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Mike Otten
There are Japanese culinary experiences to be had outside Japan that merit 3 Michelin stars, and this is one of them!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Jacob Rheinstein
Our experience at Nakaji was worthy of five stars. The food, service, and atmosphere all met the threshold of excellence. Tucked away in the alley off the corner of Canal and Bowery, you would not be mistaken for walking past it. A sleek wood unassuming door with a subtle sign serves as the entranceway. The kind hostess greeted us in traditional beautiful Japanese garb. There was a handsome bar with a friendly and knowledgeable bartender before the room where food is served. Nakaji is an experience of refinement where three generations of sushi making inform the preparation. To dine at Nakaji is to experience a subtlety of flavors, eloquently combined in a traditional atmosphere, with gracious hospitality. Expect a 5:30pm seating to finish around 8pm and an 8pm around 10:30pm. Reservation is required.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Daniel Schiff
One of the easiest 5 starts I had given. The experience as a whole is one of the best I’ve ever been. Many times you go to high level Omakase and the atmosphere could be a bit tense. At Nakaji, it feels a great combination of both high quality service and food together with warmth and easygoing feeling. A great mixture. The food was unbelievable, I was most admired by the special Otsumami. Very special dishes you don’t get to try in many places. The sushi itself was so well balanced. I loved how the cured fish were cured for perfection. Normally those arnt my go to, and in this dinner it was so good. The Anago and the Kama toro was one of the best bites I’ve ever tried. I’ll definitely recommend and will return. Value for money 10/10. Chef Nakajima is the nicest person and such a professional. And the team were both professional with a lot of knowledges and nice and funny. Thanks Leila! And chef Nakajima!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Josh
I’ve visited several high-end omakase restaurants in the city, but Nakaji stands out as my favorite. I’ve had the pleasure of dining there twice, and each experience was an unforgettable adventure.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Hokkaido Uni Sea Urchin, Sashimi, Unagi Nigiri
Daphne Fong
Overall, an excellent meal!
The standouts were (1) the aori ika (bigfin squid) with onsen tamago and soba soy and (2) the two different uni (a black uni from Hamanaka, Hokkaido, and a purple uni from Daisen, Aomori). The uni was heaped on and the best I've ever been served in NYC. Also notable were the aka ebi (Italian red shrimp) and aji (horse mackerel). The rice here is a bit more vinegar forward (which I like), and perfectly sized.
Service was perfect too, although I can't speak for a normal evening as my seating (8pm on a Tuesday) only had three people.
I received a $365 omakase. In conclusion, I don't think there will be a repeat. The bar counter in the front is cool! But the moment I stepped into the sushi counter, hmm? It smells like fish... It looks clean though. The main dish, the bowl dish, was delicious. However, the sushi is not as delicious as you would expect, and the quality and quality are disappointing for this price. I also couldn't enjoy it much because of the fishy smell that hung in the space. The unagiju I received as a souvenir had a bad smell and was inedible. The atmosphere of the store is wonderful. The service isn't anything special, but it's not bad.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 2
Service: 4
Du Rainie
There wasn’t an impressive dish, but I do remember one being overcooked with a burned smell and taste. I completely agree with some of the low ratings. Just read them. Party of 2 spending about $1500, this is absolutely not the standard we were looking for.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 1
Service: 1
Seth Taube
The entire experience was wonderful, from the welcome when we arrived to the many helpful staff that brought some courses and explained the sake and what each dish was and where in japan it came from. Each dish was a taste delight, so hard to choose a favorite course. We celebrated two birthdays so the chef drew us a menu in japanese with birthday wishes. Chef was a master at making sushi and designing a fabulous menu. Cant wait to return.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Mackerel, Hokkaido Uni Sea Urchin
Siyuan Liu
We didn’t get our first course until 25min after the reservation time, and we didn’t get our first sushi course from chef until 1.5 hours after the reservation time.
Food had highs and lows. Pickled ginger was sliced unevenly by chef in large chunks. The unagi in the soup had many bones to chew through and was overcooked. Tamago was unrefined.
Uni, salmon roe, and the bluefin tuna jawline were delicious, and the rice and yuzu accompanying many of the pieces were great.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 3
Service: 4
Mitch Greenbaum
This is definitely an experience but no meal for upwards of $700 for two especially when the chef values the food more than any connections that might be made sharing this experience. He demands attention - at the expense of customers full experience. Don’t eat half of a piece of sushi or use chopsticks-as he will not be happy with you. He actually took a piece of sushi off my plate and remade it to ensure the entire piece was eaten whole. Maybe I didn’t want the whole thing?
This one of the most Racist Japanese place I been to. Spent 500$ a person to eat here just be discriminated. The chef slams the tables and told us to get off my phone. There was other party that was there that offer us drinks when we was about to be finished and employee told the guest not to give us any and told the guest to just leave. I don’t know if they treated us like that because we was Chinese. I don’t think anyone should be supporting an establishment with the worst costumer services.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 1
Wow, what an incredible sushi counter experience. My girlfriend and I, who have been fortunate enough to have experienced other great omakases, both consider this the best sushi experience we’ve had. The service was impeccable and responsive. The chef was very attentive to both his craft and his guests. While everything we tried was in the category of “best we’ve ever had”- the purple sea urchin for me was a huge favorite, while my girlfriend loved the classic toro nigiri. Truly a 10/10 experience, could not recommend more highly.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
10/10 experience
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Love the whiskey bar! the bartender was so nice and recommended me different whiskies to try! Bar snacks go perfectly with their cocktails and whiskey.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Superb Experience! Chef Nakaji is an artist! always a different menu each time you go!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
There are Japanese culinary experiences to be had outside Japan that merit 3 Michelin stars, and this is one of them!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Our experience at Nakaji was worthy of five stars. The food, service, and atmosphere all met the threshold of excellence. Tucked away in the alley off the corner of Canal and Bowery, you would not be mistaken for walking past it. A sleek wood unassuming door with a subtle sign serves as the entranceway. The kind hostess greeted us in traditional beautiful Japanese garb. There was a handsome bar with a friendly and knowledgeable bartender before the room where food is served. Nakaji is an experience of refinement where three generations of sushi making inform the preparation. To dine at Nakaji is to experience a subtlety of flavors, eloquently combined in a traditional atmosphere, with gracious hospitality. Expect a 5:30pm seating to finish around 8pm and an 8pm around 10:30pm. Reservation is required.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
One of the easiest 5 starts I had given. The experience as a whole is one of the best I’ve ever been. Many times you go to high level Omakase and the atmosphere could be a bit tense. At Nakaji, it feels a great combination of both high quality service and food together with warmth and easygoing feeling. A great mixture. The food was unbelievable, I was most admired by the special Otsumami. Very special dishes you don’t get to try in many places.
The sushi itself was so well balanced. I loved how the cured fish were cured for perfection. Normally those arnt my go to, and in this dinner it was so good. The Anago and the Kama toro was one of the best bites I’ve ever tried. I’ll definitely recommend and will return. Value for money 10/10. Chef Nakajima is the nicest person and such a professional. And the team were both professional with a lot of knowledges and nice and funny. Thanks Leila! And chef Nakajima!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
I’ve visited several high-end omakase restaurants in the city, but Nakaji stands out as my favorite. I’ve had the pleasure of dining there twice, and each experience was an unforgettable adventure.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Hokkaido Uni Sea Urchin, Sashimi, Unagi Nigiri
Overall, an excellent meal!
The standouts were (1) the aori ika (bigfin squid) with onsen tamago and soba soy and (2) the two different uni (a black uni from Hamanaka, Hokkaido, and a purple uni from Daisen, Aomori). The uni was heaped on and the best I've ever been served in NYC. Also notable were the aka ebi (Italian red shrimp) and aji (horse mackerel). The rice here is a bit more vinegar forward (which I like), and perfectly sized.
Service was perfect too, although I can't speak for a normal evening as my seating (8pm on a Tuesday) only had three people.
I'd definitely be willing to visit again.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Restaurantji Recommends
I received a $365 omakase. In conclusion, I don't think there will be a repeat. The bar counter in the front is cool! But the moment I stepped into the sushi counter, hmm? It smells like fish... It looks clean though. The main dish, the bowl dish, was delicious. However, the sushi is not as delicious as you would expect, and the quality and quality are disappointing for this price. I also couldn't enjoy it much because of the fishy smell that hung in the space. The unagiju I received as a souvenir had a bad smell and was inedible. The atmosphere of the store is wonderful. The service isn't anything special, but it's not bad.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 2
Service: 4
There wasn’t an impressive dish, but I do remember one being overcooked with a burned smell and taste. I completely agree with some of the low ratings. Just read them. Party of 2 spending about $1500, this is absolutely not the standard we were looking for.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 1
Service: 1
The entire experience was wonderful, from the welcome when we arrived to the many helpful staff that brought some courses and explained the sake and what each dish was and where in japan it came from. Each dish was a taste delight, so hard to choose a favorite course. We celebrated two birthdays so the chef drew us a menu in japanese with birthday wishes. Chef was a master at making sushi and designing a fabulous menu. Cant wait to return.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Mackerel, Hokkaido Uni Sea Urchin
We didn’t get our first course until 25min after the reservation time, and we didn’t get our first sushi course from chef until 1.5 hours after the reservation time.
Food had highs and lows. Pickled ginger was sliced unevenly by chef in large chunks. The unagi in the soup had many bones to chew through and was overcooked. Tamago was unrefined.
Uni, salmon roe, and the bluefin tuna jawline were delicious, and the rice and yuzu accompanying many of the pieces were great.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 3
Service: 4
This is definitely an experience but no meal for upwards of $700 for two especially when the chef values the food more than any connections that might be made sharing this experience. He demands attention - at the expense of customers full experience. Don’t eat half of a piece of sushi or use chopsticks-as he will not be happy with you. He actually took a piece of sushi off my plate and remade it to ensure the entire piece was eaten whole. Maybe I didn’t want the whole thing?
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 4
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