Sushi Kai Omakase - Fort Lee — Restaurant in Fort Lee

TLDR up front: -Sushi Rice +Fish Quality Restaurant Atmosphere +Takeout Presentation

Review: There is a new high end sushi restaurant in Fort Lee. After the closing of Hiura, it is something this town definitely needs.

But, I have a concern that would stop me from eating here with any sort of regularity, and that is the rice. The rice just wasn't good for me. It didn't taste like a good sushi rice (it's hard to explain). I would argue that the sushi rice is at least as important as the fish. When spending $200 for 2 premium omakase set, you don't want to think the rice is keeping the fish behind. My fiancee agreed.

Keeping in mind that the pandemic is still going on, we got 2 omakase set for takeout. First, when walking in to the restaurant, I do not like the atmosphere and vibe. It doesn't feel like my neighborhood Japanese establishment. It feels like something that would be in some posh building in Manhattan. Even without Covid, I would not feel as comfortable eating in this kind of setting on a regular basis. That is my own personal taste, I think you can see pictures of the space online. But, it was made worse by the rap music they were playing. If this was normal dine in experience and I was paying $200 for dine in omakase while rap played over the chefs, I'd probably never come back.

As far as the takeout presentation, I thought it was great. But they need to change the double ended chopsticks they used (they are just weird). The omakase set came in a premium "jewelry" box, which is important when it is having the $90 price tag. You want to feel like you are having a premium experience, even at home. In this regards, the takeout lived up to expectations.

Now on to the food... We got 2 omakase set, with a few extra sushi pieces. Each omakase comes with soup and salad. The soup has a nice flavor, but a bit too salty and wayyyyy too much seaweed. Really, more seaweed isn't better and this is an easy fix. Salad greens were nice, dressing was just OK, could be improved.

On to the omakase... selection of fish and quantity of pieces is very nice, and I was definitely full after eating. Taking the fish by itself, there was only one piece I truly disliked (not sure which). The fish was tasting very fresh and didn't have any strong tastes. Many of the bites were pleasant and savory. I thought the squid was exceptional. The toppings on the fish tended to be hit or miss for me, and there is room for improvement here.

HOWEVER! I just can't get over the sushi rice. For me, It took the meal from a 4.5* to a 3.5, which is a huge difference. Because I'm not going to spend $100/pp on a 3.5 meal. Luckily, i think if other people make the same criticism, this shouldn't be a hard complaint to address. The quality of the rice was most evident on the included roll, to the point where it basically ruined the roll for me.

I would probably come back again only if I knew they had revised their rice.

Thank you for the meal and wish you...

Wow! They really know how to create a great experience. I have a few places I typically go to celebrate a birthday or special occasion, but this experience blew them away.

First, I got stuck in ridiculous bridge traffic on my way in. Over 20 minutes stopped dead on the exit ramp off Rt.4, I was stressed and concerned because I was about 10 minutes late for my reservation. Luckily, they were so nice and accommodating that I quickly forgot my stress and was able to enjoy my amazing meal.

There was plenty of parking in the nearby municipal lot, but you can also luck out and get some street parking closer by. Either way, as long as you don't mind walking a couple blocks, you should be fine.

The service was so friendly, but also discreet. They kept our glasses full (it's a BYOB) and everything neat and clean without being overbearing. It felt like a premium experience without being stuffy.

My twin sister and I went for our birthday with a few family members, and they really made us feel special (without being awkward). All of the dishes were amazing, but they had a few special touches for my sister and I - some gold flakes on a few of the piece, a little extra uni (amazing), and a special scallop dish at the end that was absolutely amazing. I have learned not to expect much when you put a special occasion on a reservation because most places barely acknowledge it, but they did a great job of acknowledging it, while keeping it very classy.

Most importantly, the food was all fantastic. Each piece was cut with care, and the sushi chef did a great job of explaining everything.

The King Salmon (from New Zealand) with truffle was one of my favorite dishes I've ever had anywhere. It was so good.

The pacing was great, you had enough time to enjoy everything without feeling rushed, but you also never felt like you were waiting long.

Overall, a great omakase experience that I would recommend to anyone. We went at 5 p.m. and were a party of five, and there was just one other pair there. Not sure how much more full it is later in the evening or on a Saturday, but it's not a big place so I don't think it could be that much busier. The service was very professional, so I'm sure it would still be great if every...

We were excited to try this place but our experience was not nice at all! We went there for dinner a few days ago and were late about 10 minutes because of the heavy traffic in the tunnel. When we arrived, there were three small bite-size appetizers awaiting us at the counter. We felt very sorry and finished them very quickly to catch up with the pace. After we were done with the appetizers and the sushi chef started to move on making sushi for us, I noticed other customers were still enjoying a big plate of sashimi and oysters which were not provided to us. I thought maybe they just ordered something for extra. Then we were finished the sushi part for the meal, the chef asked us if we would like to order more sushi for extra cost. We did order some additional sushi since we still had some room. After the meal, I could not help asking the server about the sashimi and oysters we saw at other tables. Then the server confessed that those dishes were included in the 14 courses but because we were late and they thought we would not have the time to finish them. We ended up with being asked to pay a check for the full price of the 14 courses. To be honest, my party was pretty speechless when hearing this answer. We have been to many authentic Japanese Omakase restaurants such as Sushi Onodera Ginza, Sushi Noz and etc,. None of the restaurants treat the customers like thinking you don't deserve having your food if you are being late. Once we had dinner at Sushi Amane and the other party was late about 40 mins, the chef made all the dishes, reserved them on the side, and then served all the food when they arrived. But people at this place seems they don't care at all. They save the time for you to order additional sushi so they can make extra money rather than serve the food which is included in the meal. We would not recommend this place to our friends. If you see this post and still plan to pay a visit, DON'T BE LATE or you will be deprived of your food as a...