Philly has many omakase options. Here’s what’s worth the sushi tasting menu splurge.

There’s a reason the sushi faithful lurk by the hundreds on the Resy app waiting to pounce on a cancellation for the omakase at Royal Sushi & Izakaya. Reservations book a month in advance, and the few seats that aren’t already claimed by returning customers disappear within seconds. So a stray last-minute opening is a score worthy of the gold-plated tuna, uni, and caviar open-faced sandwich on duck fat milk toast that chef-owner Jesse Ito has been serving lately. True Philly treasure. And it happens.

“Every night there are new people,” Ito says.

The fuss is merited because Ito is simply in an omakase league of his own. He touches every one of the 17 pieces of hand-molded rice and rare imported fish that 16 lucky diners each night eagerly pay $175 to devour, and then open their wallets to buy add-ons. (Come to Papa, tuna sandwich!) Ito has honed a style all his own over the last couple years that draws stunning complexity from subtly hidden layers. Paired with the more accessible a la carte izakaya in front that remains our best destination for traditional Japanese cooking, Royal Sushi & Izakaya (780 S. Second St., 267-909-9002; royalizakaya.com) easily still ranks among my Top 10 Philly restaurants for 2022.

But it’s hardly Philly’s only omakase. In fact, more seem to open every couple months given that the omakase’s tasting format offers efficiencies — predictable food costs, focused menus, and sometimes prepaid reservations — that can benefit restaurants still struggling with labor shortages. The triple-digit prices for these luxury menus are only going up, considering huge cost hikes for everything from the basic English cucumbers, which have nearly quadrupled, to the precious bigeye tuna that has doubled. But when all goes well, there are few special occasion dining experiences more intimate, more focused on craft and prime ingredients than a sublime sushi meal prepared right before your eyes.

But are they worth it? I put several to the test.

» READ MORE: The Inquirer's 2022 Dining Guide

I’ve been looking forward to Kevin Yanaga’s solo debut since he became a talented fixture on Philly’s sushi scene after working at Morimoto, Zama, and then Michael Schulson’s Izakaya, and Double Knot. But it took nearly a year after his partners at Glu Hospitality opened the a la carte tavern portion of this restaurant in 2021, Izakaya by Yanaga, to build the dramatic black omakase counter in the back of its Fishtown space. The izayaka’s first year has been rocky due to the labor shortage, resulting inconsistent service and food, and the inability to hire a lead izakaya chef, aside from Yanaga, since February.

Yanaga, though, has finally been able to focus on his sushi stage in the dramatically lit back room. The Kawasaki-raised chef is lit by backlights, bopping to a Japanese chill rap soundtrack and wielding Louis Vuitton chopsticks to craft a feast of crunchy jellyfish salad over mozuku seaweed, warm eel atop silky chawanmushi custard, and a suite of prime raw fish over excellent rice tanged with a blend of five vinegars. Kombu-cured scallop. Golden eye snapper. Salmon smoked counterside in a glass box. The optional sake pairing, ($80 for six), brought some excellent pours, including the intriguing Sango Kura from the Poconos.

Yanaga’s omakase is Philly’s most expensive at $195, but also its largest meal at 25 courses.

“Is it enough?” Yanaga jokes with his adoring crowd as he adds pads the grand finale of his “Big Daddy” futomaki roll with multiple cuts of tuna.

It’s too much, actually, by at least three courses. But I can’t fault Yanaga for overexuberance and wanting to be sure patrons don’t leave hungry. His long-awaited return to the sushi counter is already a win.

Omakase by Yanaga, located inside Izakaya by Yanaga, 1832 Frankford Ave., 267-310-3554; byyanaga.com

When Xiangyu “Sam” Lin debuted Sakana in 2019, the New York-trained sushi chef positioned his Queen Village counter as a relative omakase bargain, with $108 tastings served in 70 minutes flat. But then came the pandemic’s doubling of fish prices. Lin’s strategy has since been to focus on upgrading at all levels, closing for renovations this summer to give the façade and room a minimalist makeover, reducing staff, and shrinking from 14 to 10 seats, and now importing more premium Japanese fish varieties daily. It’s $148 now for about 20 plates, which is still less expensive than most, with more savings when BYOB is factored in.

What Lin may lacks in splashy ambiance, he compensates for in quality and surprises, from the yuzu-foamed kumamoto that launched our omakase to the grand finale of a smoke-filled bubble that burst over a bowl of uni, scallop and Wagyu in tangy yuzu jelly. There were also several fish I’d yet to taste in Philly, the melon-flavored Japanese sweetfish (ayu) and pinky-shaped Japanese cockle clam, whose delicate flesh snapped with a surf-tinged sweetness. Even more memorable: Lin’s double toro pairing of fresh pink tuna belly over a wine-red slice of toro that had been carefully aged for 40 days. The duo had a savory depth that lingered long after the meal was done. 616 S. Second St., 215-922-2149; phillysakana.com

Hiroki Fujiyama’s omakase room has been the closest competitor to Royal Sushi since it opened in 2019 in back of Wm. Mulherin’s Sons, tucked behind a concrete porthole hiding one of most serenely beautiful dining rooms in Philly. With its teak floors, white oak counters, and leather chairs, it’s still a posh oasis for premium fish interspersed with intriguing cooked bites such as conger eel with miso mustard or a shabu shabu of thin-sliced Wagyu with truffles. There were some outstanding sushi bites, too, like the buttery swordfish and pairing of uni and caviar over chips of Wagyu ribeye and rice.

But Fujiyama was absent during both my visits over the last two years, and his presence was missed, both in the impersonal presentation of a very personal meal and the lacking execution. In particular, the otherwise excellent rice which is intended to be served warm sat too long. The most engaging aspect of this $155 meal was my outstanding server, Dustin Davis, whose impressive sake knowledge made the smart beverage pairings (six for $65) absolutely worth indulging. Hiroki, corner of Lee and Master Streets (behind Wm. Mulherin’s Sons), 215-422-3222; hirokisan.com

Masaharu Morimoto’s original restaurant offered Philly’s first omakase. In 2001 the Iron Chef debuted with partner Stephen Starr inside their stunning Chestnut Street space with light-shifting booths and wavelike walls. It’s also been singularly influential, launching the careers of Hiroki Fujiyama and Kevin Yanaga (both on this list) plus Hiroyuki “Zama” Tanaka.

Morimoto still offers some inventive destination dining, and the $165 omakase remains a fresh and worthy splurge. It’s different from most on this list in that it primarily showcases cooked food — nori-wrapped halibut, butter-poached lobster on a warm charred barrel stave, pasta uni. Seven pieces of seasonal sushi are served are served on a platter as the final savory course. Were they fantastic? Yes, from the pristine fish with subtle flourishes to the perfectly polished rice. But the sushi master’s art in this omakase felt too much like an afterthought. Morimoto, 723 Chestnut St., 2154-13-9070; morimotorestaurant.com

After Sushi Hatsu was closed for six months to recover from pandemic burnout, owner Harrison Kim’s saw the controlled costs, focused menu, and limited labor of producing a prepaid tasting menu as exactly what the restaurant needed to get back on track. It worked. But once business and enough staff returned for this stylish Ambler restaurant to open four nights for a la carte, the omakases retreated to a monthly pop-up events. They’ve also unfortunately shown the potential pitfalls of dabbling in the occasional omakase when neither the service staff nor kitchen is in sync or up to presenting a meal worth $135.

At my late-August omakase, the rice was dry and bland. The accompanying sauces overwhelmed the fish with unbalanced acidity. And the dishes themselves were consistently underwhelming: a Hokkaido scallop minced to unfortunate bits, a piece of standard eel so stiff and pointy it poked when I took a bite; and some pedestrian paddlefish caviar erroneously billed as “local.” (Me: “You mean from the Schuylkill?” Server: “No. ... Wisconsin”).

I’m rooting for Sushi Hatsu to reclaim its pre-pandemic groove as one of Ambler’s highlights. But until it can consistently produce something truly special, it should lay off the omakase. Sushi Hatsu, 51 E. Butler Ave., Ambler, 267-705-2485; sushihatsu.com