Sushi Kaito — Restaurant in New York

Don’t get me wrong, it’s still ok, but it changed a lot when re-opened after the COVID shutdown. It used to be a very private experience with the chef who learned sushi for 18 years and was always happy to see You. It was bringing me back to Tokyo. Since reopening it became a Manhattan establishment. It’s not the same chef now and he has many helpers to rush you through the meal. They opened tables outside ( not heard for an omakase place). The fish is still extra fresh and high quality, but the real fresh wasabi root and chef’s - made ginger disappeared: they’ve been replaced by the regular colored horseradish mix and canned ginger. The sushi size became smaller, but the most important thing is the atmosphere is gone. They give you 2 hours slot and rush you through it. They do that very politely, but if you’re planning to enjoy the last pieces of omakase - be ready ti swallow them looking at your check. And the check is different now: it used to be non-American all inclusive style with no place for tips, but not anymore. So, if you’ve never been there, you can try it. If you went to this place before the shutdown, when it was a real omakase jewel -...

Sushi Kaito serves Omakase only. Two seating of up to eight people each time. I've only done Omakase twice before so we splurged for the premium menu. The presentation of the meal is quietly elegant. No fancy setup or extravagant presentation. It's a subtle presentation of really good food. The menu changes weekly but this is what we had:

Appetizer plate-Oyster, scallop, egg wrapped in seaweed salmon-cream cheese, shrimp Sea Bream Amber Jack Scallop Horse Mackerel Fluke with sides Scottish Salmon, miso sesame sauce, topped with Salmon roe Lean Blue Fin Tuna from Spain Medium fatty Blue Fin Tuna Fatty Blue Fin Tuna Black Throat Sea Perch from Japan Golden Eye Snapper from Japan Madagascar shrimp Grilled Yellowtail with pickled shallot Sea Urchin Fatty tuna paste hand roll We order an extra of the day - Kohada Shad Miso soup Green Tea Mochi

Some fish are imported from Japan.

Be sure to strike up a conversation with sushi chef John and ask questions. It was a fun night and...

Came here with high expectations and was not disappointed! Staffs and chef was authentic Japanese. I did the 16 piece omakase for $120 per person and apparently no tips required but recommended tip cash as an optional choice. Each sushi piece melts in my mouth and full of flavor of the different fishes I intake. I was amazed about the texture that I was able to feel which is comparable to a lot of other Michelin places out there. However I didn't like the shrimp piece as it was super mushy... And did not give me a clean feeling... But I don't blame them - not many sushi places are able to create that taste. The eel piece seems to be grilled from fresh but a bit different from the eel you usually eat at sushi places. I was soso about it but it wasn't too bad. All the other pieces were pretty good. The ending course was just ok though - wrapped up with this egg piece and miss soup that I was just ok about. But either way I would totally recommend this place to any sushi...