Once again, Yelp? Please, will you introduce half-stars? I'd give 4.5. And being on the fence, thinking back on the times that I have been to Omakai, I have to give 4.
Here is the thing: If you like those "fancy specialty rolls" where you pay essentially for cream cheese (what is with Miami and putting cream cheese in everything? Cream cheese isn't an ingredient in Japanese cuisine...) and tempura flakes with eel sauce and "spicy mayo," this NOT the place for you! There are no rolls here, really! This place is for the truly experienced (or adventurous) sushi eaters who want a more traditional sushi experience.
I have been here for happy hour (GREAT happy hour!), the Omakai deluxe, OMA and the Omakai Experience. Fish is melt-in your mouth fresh and there are tasting pairings that you will NOT FIND at other sushi restaurants. They offer unique types of fish (Japanese uni, for example). I legitimately dream about the blue crab handroll in a sweet miso mayo. SO. GOOD. It has ruined any other crab handroll at any other establishment for me.
The deluxe is a filling course of first an appetizer that changes seasonally. I have been served most often the seaweed salad, which is good, but nothing out of the world special. Next come the sashimis, which again change occasionally. I love the sashimi in ponzu, which is also offered on happy hour. I also save some of the wakame leaves (the flat ones that are found in miso soup) that had accompanied the seaweed salad (the typical, rehydrated, pickled with sesame seeds wakame stems) and dip the leaves into the ponzu to eat. Yummmm.
The nigiri special and sashimi specials are always a bit different and usually are topped or paired with different ingredients to accompany the fresh fish texture and subtle flavor sushi lovers crave. For example, ponzu or a sheaf of shishito leaf between fish and rice on the nigiri. One of my favorite nigiris of all time is the sake toro (salmon belly) lightly torched and topped with a touch of pickled chopped daikon with truffle. YES. TRUFFLE.
Another favorite of mine is the tuna tasting, in which one of the nigiri tastings is chopped tuna, but not super fine, topped with different type of pickled veggies and wrapped in nori.
OMAKAI EXPERIENCE:
I had wanted to try this for forever!
1. Began with two oysters and one nigiri with caviar and a pickled quail egg yolk. The oysters were great and topped with a Japanese-style accoutrements. The nigiri was quite good, although the quail egg overpowered the taste a bit, but the caviar added the best "pop!" texture to the fresh fish and creamy yolk.
2. The palate cleanser: one of my favorite and something I would have NEVER thought to be together as a dish! The bottom was soft silken tofu, topped with UNI and ikura, all in a small martini-glass. Oh. MY. GOD!!! Silken tofu, with the slightly more dense, sweet and umami uni and then a salty, pop of ikura for texture. TO. DIE. FOR.
3. A sashimi came out and ... I honestly do not remember the dish or name of fish because of the complexity of ingredients and the fish was not one I'd tried before ever. One of those types of fish that is specifically found at Omakai and other high end sushi restaurants rather than the usual "salmon," "tuna," "escolar" or "yellowtail" (not that there is anything wrong with those cuts but the Omakai experience provided those rare species of nigiri!).
4. This is perhaps one of my favorites: wagyu carpaccio with sliced onions marinated in ponzu and topped with a few stems of fresh chive. WOW! One would worry that the ponzu would overpower the wagyu, but it cut through the soft richness of the wagyu perfectly to accompany the wagyu and bring out its natural, rich flavor and texture as a highlight. PERFECTLY balanced.
5. Next was a flight of 3 nigiris. Sea bream, um...crap, I do not remember, but it is not because it was not good! There were just many components to each dish and about 9 dishes in total!
6.) Next was also one of my favorite dishes. I know I have said that 3 times so you know how good this tasting was! It was black cod, cooked PERFECTLY, ontop of pickled cabbage slaw and topped with a miso butter. I. I literally melted. The fish was cooked PERFECTLY, and the miso on top was just enough to again bring out the texture and subtle flavor of the fish. The slaw I could have done without. It had no flavor and I was expecting an acidity and crunch which would have rounded out the dish texture and flavor wise- but the fish and miso was so good I do not care about the immperfection
7. 4 nigiris, one including saltwater eel, a first for me.
8. Last was the most disappointing- vanilla gelato. A let down to the meal and I wanted a hand roll!
All in all, great place. I'd write more but twice had to re-edit my review because I hit the max characters!!! read more