Koete Omakase is one building south of the Ed Sullivan Theater, which still features the marquee…read morefor the Late Show with Stephen Colbert. (Unfortunately, "late" now means "deceased" rather than "at an advanced time of night.") It's in a part of town I don't love, thick with tourists and big firms. Non fast-casual restaurants in this neighborhood are often more performative than substantive, designed to wow business clients or summer associates. Happily, Koete bucks the trend.
Chef Jason Lin helms a legitimate operation. The menu is, I think, omakase (set meal) only, with the option to add on pieces.
Chef Lin serves sushi that leans traditional Edomae (which you all know is my cup of tea), made with well aged and cut, flavorful, high quality neta. The shari was a bit softer than standard and more heavily vinegared, which detailed-oriented itamae prefer in summer. The neta to shari ratio is perfect, the size of the nigiri traditional Edomae and not too large. He also makes his gari in-house and dices it fresh for each service.
Our July 2026 menu included mostly peak season summer fish:
Chef's choice appetizer, which was, in our case, Shima-aji (striped jack) with silky, umami-rich wakame. Shima-aji was buttery and sweet, a pretty, summery pink.
MADAI / sea bream was a firmer, leaner summer cut. It is safe and probably a bit trite to serve madai as a first course in omakase / set menus. The clean, mild flavor and firm texture of madai does make for a nice opener -- though in this case, the shima aji preparation was more strongly flavored, somewhat negating the subtle opening effect. The madai was seasoned very simply with sea salt and a spritz of yuzu. This was exactly what I wanted to eat in hot weather.
HAMACHI / yellowtail came with a brush of soy sauce and light sprinkling of scallions: classic and wonderful. It's traditionally considered to be best in winter, but our summer-season cut was surprisingly rich, perhaps the result of careful aging.
HOTATE / scallop with shiso flower was Hokkaido sourced, per Chef Lin, and very rich, almost buttery, at its summer best. The bright note of shiso offset and emphasized the richness. Excellent.
BOTAN EBI / raw shrimp came with pickled, salted wasabi, made out of the spicy root and some chopped stem, I think. This is a fun course. Chef Lin allowed guests to choose a spice level from 1 to 10 and warned us that the burn would be intense, but short lived. I let myself be egged on and chose 10. It was indeed sinus-clearing. I was a little worried that the spice / salt would impeded my ability to taste the sweetness of ebi, which I so love, but after the first few moments of pleasant burn, the sweetness came through.
UNI / sea urchin, also sourced from Hokkaido, was creamy, umami-rich, and sweet, a healthy, vivid orange at its summer best.
KANPACHI / amberjack came with a wee sliver of yuzu and, I think, wasabi microgreens. The fish was nicely aged.
ISAKI / threeline fish was topped with sturgeon caviar and quickly seared with a blowtorch, which slightly renders the summertime fat under the skin.
KINMEDAI / red snapper is more delicate in summer. Its lighter flavors acted as a palate cleanser between the more oily isaki and marinated akami.
AKAMI / lean tuna, served as akami zuke, was well made at Koeti. Many places -- even some well known restaurants -- overmarinate akami so that soy sauce / mirin / sake flavors overwhelm those of the fish. Here, it was minimal, allowing you to taste the clean akami flavors.
CHU TORO / medium fatty tuna + truffle (and the subsequent two pieces) were a nod to fusion sushi movements, performative opulence for the Instagram set. Chef Lin does demonstrate a good understanding of traditional techniques before he goes here, so you know it's not a coverup for lack of skill. Here, chutoro was in balance with earthy, freshly grated black truffle.
O TORO / fatty tuna + caviar was lightly seared to release the richness of fat.
The A5 Miyazaki Wagyu with fried leeks was thinly sliced and tender enough that the mouthfeel was actually enjoyable. The fibrous leeks ate a little too much like grass.
SAKE / king salmon came with just a dab of pickled wasabi, focusing attn on the fish.
UNAGI / eel was well balanced, not overly sweet.
TORO hand roll included creamy, finely minced fish mixed with crisp, salty takuan.
All in all, this was a very good mid-tier omakase experience and well worth the $138 pp price tag for a set that included one appetizer, fifteen pieces of nigiri, and a hand roll, all made with very high quality ingredients.
More here: https://eatersdigestnyc8.wordpress.com/2026/07/18/legit-mostly-edomae-style-sushi-at-koete-omakase-midtown-manhattan-new-york-city/