RFK Editorial · Annual Rankings · Omakase
Top 10 Omakase Restaurants in America, 2026
The ten best omakase counters in the United States for 2026. From Masa's $950 hinoki throne in New York to Wakuriya's quiet two-Michelin perfection in San Mateo and Sushi Noz's ten-seat Edomae shrine on the Upper East Side. Ranked by RFK.
By Fredrik Filipsson · Updated 2026-05-17
Omakase is the only category of American fine dining where Japan is still the unambiguous benchmark, and the ten counters below are the ten that have most fully closed the gap. The list weights rice technique, neta sourcing, chef stability, the proportion of nigiri to sashimi, and the experience of being a guest at the counter rather than at a table.
The price range is wide. Masa sits at $950 per person plus sake. Wakuriya in San Mateo holds two Michelin stars and serves for $185. Both are on this list because both are doing work that, in their respective registers, cannot be beaten. A great Edomae meal at $200 is not lesser than a great Edomae meal at $950, it is a different decision.
Geographic concentration is unavoidable. Six of the ten are in New York. Three are in California. One is in Los Angeles specifically. There are excellent omakase counters in Chicago, Miami, Houston, Austin, and Washington DC, but the ten counters below are, on RFK editors' direct experience over the past eighteen months, the ten where the meal would most reliably register at the level we are measuring.
Masa
Time Warner Center, New York · Edomae Sushi Omakase · $$$$
Masa Takayama's ten-seat hinoki counter is the only three-Michelin sushi room outside Japan. $950, two-and-a-half hours, and the closest thing to Sukiyabashi Jiro in the western hemisphere.
Stars: Three Michelin stars
Chef: Masa Takayama
Counter: Hinoki cypress, 10 seats
Sushi Noz
Upper East Side, New York · Edomae Sushi Omakase · $$$$
Chef Nozomu Abe's eight-seat hinoki counter on East 70th. The most traditional Edomae room in New York. The rice is aged red vinegar, the cuts are short, the silence is part of the meal.
Stars: One Michelin star
Chef: Nozomu Abe
Counter: Hinoki, 8 seats; private hinoki room 4 seats
Sushi Saito (visiting series)
Various US cities · Edomae Sushi Omakase · $$$$
Takashi Saito's intermittent US residencies (Asaya at the Ritz Reserve and rotating partners) bring the Tokyo three-star master to American counters for two- to four-week windows. The most thrilling Tokyo-direct sushi available stateside.
Stars: Three Michelin stars (Tokyo home base)
Chef: Takashi Saito
Counter: Varies by residency
Atomix
NoMad, New York · Modern Korean Tasting (counter) · $$$$
Not sushi (modern Korean) but the closest spiritual cousin to the great omakase counters. Fourteen seats, dedicated chefs narrating each course, a printed card for every dish you take home. The omakase format perfected in a different cuisine.
Stars: Two Michelin stars
Chef: Junghyun Park
Counter: 14 seats facing the line
Wakuriya
San Mateo, California · Modern Kaiseki · $$$$
Katsuhiro Yamasaki and Mayumi Yamasaki run a fourteen-seat kaiseki-omakase counter in a San Mateo strip mall. Two Michelin stars and the most unassuming great meal on the West Coast.
Stars: Two Michelin stars
Chef: Katsuhiro Yamasaki
Counter: 14 seats total room
Ju-Ni
Hayes Valley, San Francisco · Edomae Sushi Omakase · $$$$
Twelve seats in four-seat U-shaped pods, each with its own chef. The most thoughtfully designed omakase counter in San Francisco. Toyosu Market shipments four times a week.
Stars: One Michelin star
Chef: Geoffrey Lee and team
Counter: 12 seats across three 4-seat pods
Q Sushi
Downtown, Los Angeles · Edomae Sushi Omakase · $$$$
Chef Hiroyuki Naruke's downtown LA counter. Aged-rice Edomae of the highest order. The most considered sushi room in Los Angeles and the one most LA chefs eat at on their nights off.
Stars: One Michelin star
Chef: Hiroyuki Naruke
Counter: 10 seats hinoki
Sushi Ginza Onodera
Midtown West, New York · Edomae Sushi Omakase · $$$$
The American outpost of the Tokyo and Ginza two-star sushi house. The most polished Edomae omakase in Midtown Manhattan, with a Toyosu-direct supply chain unmatched outside the Onodera group.
Stars: Two Michelin stars
Chef: Masaki Saito (succession line)
Counter: 10 seats hinoki
Sushi Ya
Beverly Hills, Los Angeles · Edomae Sushi Omakase · $$$$
A nine-seat Beverly Hills hinoki counter behind a sake bar. Chef Nick Hyun-Joon Yoo's aged-fish Edomae is the most under-publicised great sushi room on the West Coast.
Stars: One Michelin star
Chef: Nick Hyun-Joon Yoo
Counter: 9 seats hinoki
Sushi Ichimura at Uchu
Lower East Side, New York · Edomae Sushi Omakase · $$$$
Eiji Ichimura's eight-seat counter behind Uchu on the Lower East Side. The most traditional aged-fish Edomae in New York. Reservation by guarantor.
Stars: Two Michelin stars
Chef: Eiji Ichimura
Counter: 8 seats hinoki
The Verdict
The ranking above weights rice technique above all. American sushi has come a long way on neta (the fish itself) but rice remains the single most reliable proxy for a counter's seriousness. Masa, Sushi Noz, Wakuriya, and Sushi Ichimura all serve aged red-vinegar rice with grain temperature managed to within two degrees. The counters that do not yet do that fall out of the top ten.
The Saito visiting residencies belong in the top three of any honest list of American omakase, but their intermittence makes them difficult to rank. If a Saito residency is in your city in the window you are booking, it is the booking. RFK maintains a live page tracking visiting Tokyo chefs' US residencies (Saito, Sushi Yoshitake, Sukiyabashi Jiro alumni) at the URL below.
Beyond the top ten, the deep bench of American omakase keeps getting deeper. Sushi Sho New York, Sushi Amane, Sushi Tatami, Tanoshi Sushi Sasabune, Sushi Inoue, Shoji at 69 Leonard, Nakaji, and Hatsuzakura in NYC. Sushi Sho LA and Hayato in Los Angeles. Akiko's Sushi Bar, Saru, Hashiri in San Francisco. Kyo Ya and Yamato in Hawaii. The 2027 list will look different from this one, and that is the point.
For the reader new to omakase, RFK's guidance: start with Ju-Ni in San Francisco or Sushi Noz in New York. Both serve great Edomae at price points ($198-$425) that let you learn the form without the Masa-tier commitment. Once you have eaten at three of the counters on this list you will know whether the Masa booking is worth $1,400 all-in for you. For most diners it is one of the great American dining experiences. For others it is a beautiful meal that is not, on rice alone, three times better than Ju-Ni. Both answers are defensible.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the price range for top-tier omakase in America in 2026?
Roughly $185 at Wakuriya in San Mateo to $950 at Masa in New York. The cluster between $295 and $425 (Sushi Noz, Q Sushi, Sushi Ya, Sushi Ginza Onodera, Atomix) represents the heart of the American omakase market in 2026.
How long does an omakase meal take?
Two to two-and-a-half hours at most counters. Masa is closer to three. Ju-Ni at twelve seats per pod runs ninety minutes between bowls. Plan the evening around the meal, not around it.
Should I order sake or wine with omakase?
Sake pairing is the orthodox choice and remains the strongest match. The top counters now offer sake-junmai-only pairings, sake-and-shochu pairings, and burgundy-and-champagne wine pairings. Pricing typically adds $150-$400 to the meal.
Is Atomix really an omakase restaurant?
Strictly no, it is a modern Korean tasting menu, but its format (counter, dedicated chefs, single-narrative tasting) is closer to omakase than to a conventional restaurant. RFK includes it on the list because the experience tracks the omakase format in everything except the cuisine.
Which omakase counter should I book for a first visit?
Ju-Ni in San Francisco or Sushi Noz in New York. Both are accessible price points, both are at the top of their tier, and both serve in a register that lets a new omakase diner understand what the form is.