Sushi Akazu Mochizuki — Restaurant in Osaka

OMG!!! This has been one of the most amazing culinary experiences I have ever encountered. They have a maximum of 7 guest per seating so the chef and 3 staff were able to pay detailed specific attention to all of our needs. Everyone was, friendly, polite, efficient, professional, and welcoming. We were also able to feel the personality of the staff and cheff coming through. Service: 10/10. I've eaten at some very trendy sushi spots in LA, Vegas, NY, Houston and nobody can compare to the freshness, quality, and artistry of Akazu Mochizuki. Chef Satoshi Katsuragi is a true master at hus craft. The fatty tuna was melt in your mouth. I could remember three distinct tastes of savory soy sauce upon initial chew, followed by a mild acidity from the vinigered rice mid chew, and the sweet richness after taste post swallow. Exquisite! My favorite of the night was the abalone followed by the abalone liver sauce over rice. The rich butteriness had my eyes rolling to the back of my head. Food: 10/10. Quaint, cozy atmosphere. I love that there were only 7 total guests for the entire house. I got to convers with the chef and we shared some sake together as well at my behest. My wife and kids also enjoyed their experience. My son is a very picky eater and he was raving about the place. We were so happy to celebrate our 20th anniversary here....

Tldr, a good experience with highs and lows, and mostly caters to tourists.

There are two seating locations, the main room on the first floor and one in the basement. I was in the basement room and it felt still traditional but a bit dingy. Every other guest in our room was a tourist like me, and they happened to all be from Hong Kong (2 unrelated groups). Staff spoke decent English and even had photos on iPad prepared to show us pictures of the fish.

Some elements of the omakase were phenomenal, particularly the cooked dishes. The swordfish was the most tender, best swordfish I've ever had (I'm usually not a fan, but this was so tender and delicate! Delicious). I was underwhelmed by the actual raw sushi and honestly didn't particularly enjoy any nigiri other than the shrimp (lightly poached) and baby snapper. Otoro was just OK and the other tuna I disliked. This was really unfortunate as I was hoping to have really good sushi.

Service was kind and attentive.

Total cost for food after service tax 10% was 24200. Overall, I think you can...

Belated review as we came here back in Feb 2024 but this was one of the best omakase places I’ve been to in Japan, hands down. In terms of both value of money and quality of food. I was debating between the different Sushi Akazu branches because each is led by a different chef and has a different menu but I’m so pleased that we went with this one in the end.

At $200+ per pax, we ate till we were so stuffed and I literally couldn’t walk. 19 courses in total! I loved how they used some ingredients that aren’t common in other omakases too. Staff were incredibly attentive as well, and chef was super nice.

Only con is that it’s quite a distance from the nearest train station (seems like they target the office crowd) but it’s good to burn off the calories after...