Omakase Sushi & Sake Bar @Chevy Chase — Restaurant in Lexington

I'm on the line between 4 and 5 stars, but I've only been here once so far so I'm leaning towards the shadow of doubt.

I got the star of the menu: the Omakase plate, to share with a friend. This is accompanied by strange, foreign salts and spices as a novel pairing with the sushi which you get to choose the pairings with, and it's an impressive touch. Though personally I'd prefer the head chef to pair everything for me rather than have to do it myself--the name "omakase" after all literally means I'm putting all my faith in him (her?). I trust their knowledge and taste over my own!

The quality of fish is excellent. The cucumber infused water is a nice touch. Probably the best miso I've had. This place is basically fine dining Japanese very focused on serving sushi in a French-influenced style of presentation, perhaps sometimes ostentatiously that gives way more to presentation than taste. This is the kind of place you want to bring friends to impress them visually. It's a contemporary art gallery of sushi.

Yet Lexington is littered with the protégés of legendary sushi chef Sugano who maintain selective product connections to Japan, and competition is fierce. So, that being said, you can get the same quality of excellent sushi fish here at a few other gems in Lexington, but in bigger portions and at smaller prices--namely, Michikusa, SRO, and for a few things even Zen Sushi or Zundo. A lot of what you're paying for here is the presentation and the staff they need to form the kitchen in the manner to support that emphasis (I don't think I've ever seen a sushi bar with so many sushi chefs). Hence why I border between the 5 and 4 stars, and also because the level of presentation ideally enhances the flavor in balance.

It will be interesting to see if this place survives in Lexington, a cruel mistress to neat, conceptual gourmandism. Especially with the prices, it will be a market open to only a few....

Be warned: this is not your typical sushi restaurant! There are other places in town to get sushi with high quality fish, but most are bound by the Japanese tradition of sushi and the popular variations on this side of the Pacific.

Omakase elevates above the others by breaking with that tradition. As an example, the first piece of sushi in our omakase set was eel with pimento cheese and avocado - an unique combination that set the tone for the rest of the meal.

The creative aspect was not just a crutch for mediocre fish - every piece was amazing and masterfully crafted with a creative twist. A set of salts, wasabis, yuzu, and a dish of shoyu on the side give you the opportunity to add your own creativity to the meal, though entirely optional as each piece of nigiri or sashimi stands well on its own.

The service was amazing as well. It's very different (especially these days) for a Japanese restaurant to give you hot towel that's actually a towel and not a plastic wrapped disposable wet napkin. The service staff was so polite, helpful, and our server was thoughtful enough to squat down when talking to us so he wouldn't be talking down to us (he was fairly tall). Little details like these really make a dining experience memorable. If you have ever experienced the quality of service at a Michelin starred restaurant, you probably understand.

This was a pleasant surprise of an experience to be able to have at home in Lexington! I have previous only had creative sushi like this in major cities like New York and Orlando. I can't wait to go again and see what new combinations are in...

In summary, the best word I can use is adequate.....This was our first time (and possibly last) dining at Omakase....my expectations were high, however what I found was food that was adequate....the rolls were tasty, however they were very much the same that I get at other much more inexpensive places (minced rather than proper cuts of tuna and salmon), small pieces of fish (not traditional size cuts for sashimi or nigiri), the soup was watery and flavorless (much like a cheap hibachi grill), the tempura cheesecake was straight from a carnival (and completely frozen in the center).....presentation was plain and boring (no plating technique/imagination....just here's your food), we had to ask for wasabi separately

After our meal we realized this was a place that if you know the staff you are treated like royalty and if you are new......you are sheep to feed and get out so more "friends" can be seated

We made a reservation online and listed that we were celebrating a significant anniversary.....but that was overlooked as no one recognized our names (again sheep to feed) or our celebration......we were greeted by Mr. ManBun wearing outdoor camo pants (didn't see venison on the menu, but he looked to have just returned from hunting deer).....our server was.....adequate, but seemed to be interested in moving things along...

Overall, mediocre food at inflated prices....trendy if you can name names....an eatery pretending to be a Sushi restaurant, but franky not worth the time...