PHLGuide
The Best Sushi Omakase Spots In Philly
photo credit: Mike Prince
It's boom time for sushi omakase in Philly. There used to be approximately three options. Now, you can eat exceptional fish while feeling like Philly nobility every night of the week. But not all of Philly's elaborate sushi experiences are worth your time and money. Take it from us—stick to these 10 restaurants.
THE SPOTS
photo credit: GAB BONGHI
At $300, the sushi omakase in the back of Royal Izakaya is the most expensive version in Philly. It's also the best. There are only eight seats, most of which get snatched up by regulars with monthly spots. But once you're in (look at Resy after midnight or make a rich friend), you'll eat 17 courses of flawless fish. Most recently, we had buttery Spanish bluefin tuna topped with osetra, and non-nigiri dishes like lightly fried icefish in a salty broth that normally goes with agedashi tofu. If you like a certain sake, the servers will even write down your preferences for next time.
We’ve tried to think of another restaurant that combines yellowtail with an uni soy sauce, shots with chefs, and Miguel sing-a-longs with dinner. We can’t. This 17-course, $185 sushi omakase spot in the back of Izakaya Fishtown has an eight-seat chef’s counter that's more fun than any other similar option right now. Head here for a special occasion, like when it's your birthday and you don't have to pay.
photo credit: GAB BONGHI
The price has gone up since Sakana first opened—it's now around $150. But what sets this BYOB in Queen Village apart is that each meal ends with an uni bowl full of high-quality fish. It's also casual enough that you’ll feel right at home, instead of like you're in some museum of fish. Order at least one of the add-ons, like a toro hand roll.
photo credit: Mike Prince
After 23 courses of nigiri, a few composed plates, drinks, and tip, you're looking at $280-ish per person at this Old City spot. That price includes excellent and friendly service, suede towels to warm your hands, and $25 apricot highballs (or the additional $65 sake pairing that comes with detailed placemats describing each). There's a mix of straightforward cuts—think Spanish mackerel or Australian lobster topped with dry soy sauce or lemon—and more creative dishes, like Japanese firefly squid with white ponzu sauce and rice cracker balls. You may find similar quality for less elsewhere but not the same atmosphere that makes you feel like a VIP.
Hiroki's $155, 20-course omakase might not be new, but it's still worth the money. You might eat expertly cooked wagyu beef tongue covered in white bean foam and gold flakes, poached quail eggs, and spongy matcha tea cake to end your meal or birthday dinner. And whether you’re at the crowded sushi bar watching the chefs precisely slice each piece of fish or sitting at one of the intimately lit tables with a group of friends, you’ll feel like everybody working at the Fishtown restaurant can somehow read your mind.
photo credit: GAB BONGHI
Usually, a good sushi omakase costs as much as a backstage pass to Made In America. This BYOB in Midtown Village offers something rare—15 courses of solid fish for under $100. You'll sit at a 14-seat sushi bar, surrounded by stacks of Japanese cookbooks, and hear Ariana Grande while waiting for your bluefin with truffle mushrooms. They have some of the same flair as other sushi omakase spots, like wagyu, foie gras, caviar, and gold flakes. But unlike those other spots, this meal happens in 60 minutes.
photo credit: Kerry McIntyre
Fishtown’s Dawa has a lot of a la carte sushi options and some of our favorite ramen in town, but the $180 sushi omakase is why you come here. The tasting includes 22 pieces. And while the chef seamlessly places sea bream and delicate otoro in front of you, he also talks about the right temperatures and origin of the fish. With a meal this good, you’ll completely forget about the El train that’s constantly whizzing by.
Zama is packed every night of the week, so you can sit in the back at the wooden sushi bar and speak at Citizens Bank Park-volume levels and nobody would blink. The Rittenhouse restaurant has two chef’s tasting menu options—one for $65 and one for $100. Both are seven courses and come with hits like Alaskan king crab oshizushi and toro with a red-yuzu pepper. But the pricier menu includes fancier things like juicy, torched wagyu.
POWERED BY
To get to this Old City sushi bar, you have to walk downstairs, past the grand piano and rowdy dining room. K-pop blasts from the speakers while strangers dance. But it’s the omakase menus—which cost $150 and $180—that are the real life of the party. You’ll eat Japanese mackerel topped with scallion and ginger, a toro tartare bowl with a flower-shaped cucumber, and peppery wagyu beef (if you get the more expensive option). The chef might even sneak you some uni while you hear a mashup between Black Pink and whatever the sake-fueled guy from Happy Hour is playing on the piano.
We recommend Double Knot to anyone looking for an omakase in a setting where you don’t have to get as dressed up as an English Duke. The busy Midtown Village restaurant has a $68 chef’s tasting menu with 10 items from each section of their menu, like salmon sashimi, a crispy shrimp taco, and tuna in an onion ponzu. You also get robatayaki and soft serve. It's a good amount of food for the price.
