Six seats, one seating, three stars. Keiji Nakazawa's Sushi Sho became New York's reigning sushi statement in November 2025, the same week Masa lost the third star it had held for fifteen years. That exchange tells you where the city's omakase scene now stands: the trophy counters are no longer the safe picks, the mid-priced rooms are better than they have ever been, and the right seat depends entirely on who is sitting in it. Nine counters, ranked, with the honest math on each.
What changed in New York omakase
Two things, and they compound. First, the November 2025 Michelin ceremony redrew the summit: Sushi Sho up to three stars, Masa down to two, the most public re-ranking American sushi has had. Second, the supply of serious counters kept growing while seat counts stayed in single digits, so the booking calculus, covered in full in the hardest sushi reservations guide, now matters as much as the fish. The good news for diners: below the headline rooms, New York runs the deepest bench of Edomae counters outside Tokyo, and several of the best seats in the city still book like normal restaurants. The New York dining guide holds the full roster; this is the counter chapter.
The nine, ranked
1. Sushi Sho — Midtown
Keiji Nakazawa, the Tokyo master who trained half the city's serious shari hands, runs six seats at 3 East 41st Street in the shadow of the Public Library, and in November 2025 Michelin made it one of America's rare three-starred sushi rooms. The style is his alone: aged fish, warm vinegared rice in multiple seasonings, a progression that ignores the standard omakase script. Sushi Sho's full review covers the seat strategy. Not for first-timers; the room assumes you know why each course is out of order.
2. Shion 69 Leonard — Tribeca
Shion Uino cut tuna at Tokyo's Sushi Saito before bringing his nine-seat counter to 69 Leonard Street, and the $420, roughly eighteen-course omakase is the best pure-Edomae evening in the city for the money. One Michelin star, a top-25 OAD ranking, and uni handling that justifies the Tribeca pilgrimage on its own. The Shion 69 Leonard review explains the two-seating rhythm. Book it for a sushi obsessive's anniversary rather than a chatty date; the counter rewards attention.
3. Masa — Columbus Circle
Masa Takayama's hinoki counter on the fourth floor of the Time Warner Center now holds two stars instead of three, and costs $750 at a table, $950 at the counter, $1,200 for the extended Chef's Reserve, all before tax and drinks. The toro-caviar spoon moments remain singular, and so does the bill. Masa's full review makes the case both ways. Worth it once, at the counter, for the diner who has already done everything else on this list; everyone else should start lower and work up.
4. Sushi Noz — Upper East Side
Nozomu Abe's room at 181 East 78th Street is the most beautiful sushi space in America, a hinoki shrine built by Japanese craftsmen, and the two-starred Edomae cooking inside it is as disciplined as the joinery. Aged akami, charcoal-warmed nori, a pace that never hurries. Sushi Noz's review covers both counters, including the more accessible Ash Room. The main counter books out fast; the experience justifies the chase.
5. Sushi Ichimura — Tribeca
Eiji Ichimura, the elder statesman who earned two stars at Brushstroke and again at Uchu, returned in June 2023 with his own counter at 412 Greenwich Street, and the room has run at capacity since. Two ten-seat sittings a night, fish aged with a patience few American counters attempt, and a chef in his seventies still cutting every piece. The veteran's pick on this list, and the one whose history you taste.
6. Yoshino — NoHo
Tadashi Yoshida closed his acclaimed sushiya in Japan to rebuild it on the Bowery, a move without precedent at this level, and the roughly $500 omakase imports the whole apparatus: rice grown to his spec, fish flown from his own buyers, four-star reviews following within the year. The counter runs quiet and ceremonial. For the diner deciding between Yoshino and Masa, Yoshino wins on rigor per dollar; Masa wins on spectacle.
7. Sushi Nakazawa — West Village
Daisuke Nakazawa spent eleven years under Jiro Ono before opening at 23 Commerce Street, and a decade later the room still runs one of the city's most complete omakase progressions at a price meaningfully below the Tribeca tier. One Michelin star, held year over year, and a dining-room option that makes it the group-friendly entry on this list. Sushi Nakazawa's review compares counter and tables. The counter remains the point.
8. Odo — Flatiron
Hiroki Odo's hidden room at 17 West 20th Street holds two Michelin stars for a kaiseki-led omakase that treats sushi as one movement in a longer composition: clay-pot rice, seasonal small plates, then nigiri. It is the list's reminder that omakase means “I leave it to you,” not “sushi only.” Odo's review maps the format. Book it for the repeat omakase diner who wants the form stretched.
9. Sushi Yasuda — Midtown East
The room at 204 East 43rd Street that taught New York what Edomae meant, founded by Naomichi Yasuda and still run to his standard: rice seasoned precisely, fish unadorned, no truffle, no gold leaf, no soundtrack. Omakase here costs roughly half the Tribeca counters and delivers ninety percent of the fundamentals. Sushi Yasuda's review covers the counter etiquette. The right first serious omakase in the city, and the one regulars keep returning to between trophies.
Counters to skip, and when
Skip Masa if the $950 seat would be your first omakase; without the comparison set, you are buying a brand, and the two-star demotion says the inspectors agree the spread matters. Skip Sushi Sho if you want to chat through dinner; six seats and one seating make every conversation a public address. And skip the proliferating $59 express-omakase storefronts entirely when the occasion matters: the format only works when the rice is built per piece, and at that price it cannot be. The middle of this list, Nakazawa through Yasuda, is where the city's actual value lives, a point the wider New York sushi ranking makes at length.
Booking the seat
Masa sells through Tock with payment up front, and counter dates hold longer than the mystique suggests. Sushi Sho is the city's genuinely hard ticket; set the calendar for the release and take any seat offered. Shion 69 Leonard and Sushi Noz release on Tock and clear within hours for weekends, slower midweek. Nakazawa, Odo, Yoshino and Yasuda behave like normal reservations with a one-to-three-week horizon on Resy and OpenTable. Solo diners hold the structural advantage at every counter in this list; single seats surface days out even at the top, the core tactic in the solo counter-seat playbook. For format and etiquette before a first visit, the world's best counter seats sets the standard.
Keep reading
The global context for these counters is in the world's best sushi and omakase rooms, and the technique standard they answer to is laid out in the definitive sushi guide. For Tokyo's version of this list, start with the best sushi in Tokyo.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best omakase in New York right now?
Sushi Sho, Keiji Nakazawa's six-seat counter at 3 East 41st Street, which Michelin promoted to three stars in November 2025. It is also the hardest booking on the list. For the best balance of quality, price and bookability, Shion 69 Leonard in Tribeca at $420 is the working answer, with Sushi Nakazawa as the strongest entry point below it.
Is Masa still worth $950 after losing its third Michelin star?
Once, at the counter, for a diner who has already eaten through the city's other top rooms and wants the comparison. The toro-and-caviar excess is unlike anything else in America. As a first or only high-end omakase, no; Shion 69 Leonard and Sushi Noz deliver more disciplined Edomae work at roughly half the all-in cost.
How much does good omakase cost in New York in 2026?
The serious tier starts around $200 and runs to $950. Sushi Yasuda and the dining room at Sushi Nakazawa sit near the bottom of that band; Shion 69 Leonard runs $420; Yoshino about $500; Masa tops the market at $750 to $1,200 depending on seat. Below roughly $150, per-piece rice work generally disappears, and with it the point of the format.
How hard is it to book Sushi Sho in New York?
It is the city's toughest sushi ticket: six seats, one seating, and a release that clears almost immediately. Solo diners and flexible midweek dates have a real edge, and cancellations do surface close to the date. If the calendar will not cooperate, Shion 69 Leonard and Sushi Noz scratch the same Edomae itch with merely difficult rather than punishing books.
Which New York omakase is best for a first-timer?
Sushi Yasuda or Sushi Nakazawa. Both run classical progressions with staff who explain without condescending, both cost meaningfully less than the Tribeca counters, and both seat couples comfortably. Save Sushi Sho and Masa for later; their formats assume a calibrated palate, and their prices punish a wasted seat. Start classical, then escalate.
Prices, chefs, awards and opening status were checked against the restaurants' published menus, booking platforms and the current Michelin and local guide editions; all of it changes without notice, so confirm on the booking page before you commit. Restaurants for Kings is editorial, not sponsored. Some reservation links may earn an affiliate commission, which never affects a ranking or a score.