Yuzu

Omakase in Harlem? WHO KNEW?! Typically, my beau and I celebrate special occasions at our fave low-key Italian restaurant. This year, however, I wanted to celebrate by trying out a new-to-me restaurant, put on a dress, and have a date night. It was a way to feel special and celebratory without actually making any sort of real celebration out of my birthday.

I had been wanting to try Yuzu for a while since I had read really good things – high quality sushi (and omakase style meals) at very affordable prices. Since Albert is not a big sushi guy, my birthday is one of the few occasions where I could convince him to go to a place like this.

This article pretty much sums up the goal of the restaurant – introducing high quality sushi to Harlem. (There is also an NY Times piece but, alas, I’ve reached my article limit there.) Basically, you can get omakase for $50 – a steal in sushi circles. (Say that 5 times fast.)

I love that this place is super casual. It feels very much like a neighborhood sushi spot. We sat at the bar and started with some sake. They offer flights, so I made sure to do one of those to then identify my favorite. Then it was on to the meals. We ordered some gyoza and edamame to start – standard.

For our mains, I went with the sushi set and Albert got a couple of rolls. That’s the good thing about this place – there is plenty of “easy” sushi on this menu for the less adventurous eaters. That said, I still got to get my omakase. The sushi set comes with 10 pieces and a roll for $50. I later added two more pieces (roe and seared toro), which brought my total to $75, the same price as the full omakase for essentially the same meal. Don’t be fooled by the fact that the sushi set seems basic. It’s still chef’s choice and comes with some amazing pieces of ngiri, like sweet shrimp and uni.