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Sushi Ginza Onodera in Tokyo's lively Ginza district is the original restaurant of a group that has expanded to include locations in Los Angeles, Shanghai, and Hawaii. It's located at 5 Chome−14−14, with lunch seatings at 11am and 1pm, and dinner seatings at 5pm, 5:30pm, 7:30pm, and 8pm. We made a reservation through the restaurant's Tablecheck page for a 1pm lunch seating, and chose the JPY 10,000 per person option, with 15 sushi pieces, appetizer and dessert.
After arriving a bit early, we were met outside the building, and then at the appointed time, invited to take the elevator to the second floor, where the sushi bar is. We were asked for our drinks order (I had green tea, which was complimentary, while my husband and teen had ice water), and provided an oshibori towel.
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We started with an appetizer of chawanmushi, a traditional Japanese egg custard, although this one was enriched with crab, probably my favorite chawanmushi variation to date.
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The first sushi piece was Red Snapper (Tai), which was fine, but not my favorite.
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Next was lean tuna (akami) with some fine grating of yuzu, a very good piece:
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Next we were able to choose whether we wanted a type of shrimp that would be boiled (on the left) or fresh shrimp (on the right); we chose fresh. The shrimp were live when presented to us.
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The next piece, sardine, was one of my favorite of the omakase. You wouldn't think that sardine would make such a special piece of sushi, but the briny balance served with a squeeze of lime was excellent.
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Next was bonito. The dried flakes are used to make dashi for miso soup, and the fresh fish, as you'd expect, is strongly flavored. This was in my top half of sushi pieces for this omakase.
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The next piece, filefish (kawahagi), was fine, although not that memorable.
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The chutoro (medium fatty tuna) was full of flavor and among my favorite pieces. It was especially good paired with the shari, the vinegared rice that forms the foundation of the sushi. Ginza Sushi Onodera uses red vinegar with a strong umami component to flavor its rice.
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I didn't catch the name of the next fish, which at first I thought was squid (ika), but was a type of white fish. This was my least favorite of the omakase, a bit chewy like squid.
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Saba (mackerel) followed, another very strong piece:
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Amberjack (kampachi) was also very flavorful:
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Palate cleanser of radish with yuzu:
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Negitoro (fatty tuna mixed with green onion) was a bit misshapen but tasty:
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Buri (mature yellowtail), which is at its finest in winter, kinki (rockfish) and Hokkaido uni (sea urchin) were all standout pieces:
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Interestingly, we were served miso soup (which typically concludes a sushi meal) after the buri sushi and before the rockfish.
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After the sushi part of the meal concluded, we were served a square of fluffy tamago (sweet egg omelet), and then a dessert of silky coconut panna cotta with green tea and an azuki bean, flecked with gold leaf, along with hojicha (roasted green tea).
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The Verdict
Highlights of our Sushi Ginza Onodera visit were the crab chawanmushi, sardine, chu-toro (medium fatty tuna), saba (mackerel), buri (yellowtail), kinki (rockfish) and Hokkaido uni (sea urchin). We also appreciated how friendly the sushi chef was to us even as non-Japanese, which isn't always the case at sushi bars. Recommended for a sushi omakase lunch in Tokyo
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