Best New York City Sushi 2025
Editor’s Note: This blog is part of the “2025 New York City Sushi Guide‘, presented by Ledge Headwear. The digital guide features a number of articles, collections, “best ofs” and “What to dos” for the Big Apple, and can accessed directly at NYCSushiGuide.com. As always, we appreciate your support of the blog and Ledge Headwear, the designer cap brand designed in New York and handmade in the hills of Piemonte at a generational family factory.,
THE SUSHI SEVEN
Alright, here we go with a topic I’ve hesitated to write about. 50% of the questions I receive are some variation of “what’s your favourite sushiya in New York City (unfortunately only 5% of those spell “favourite” properly)”.
That’s like asking me to pick my favourite child or asking Gary Bettman to pick his favourite american hockey team. Not possible.
Here’s what is possible. First, anything (dream big, kids). Second, a list of 13 sushiya that I consider my favourites in New York.
ANSWERING FAQs
How Does THE SUSHI SEVEN Work?
Think of it like the showcase showdown in the Price Is Right. If you want to get on the list, you need to bump someone off. The list may change weekly. It may never change.
SUSHI SEVEN? Aren’t there 13?
Seven is a tribute to Enid Blyton. Numbers are fluid by city. Anything else?
How are these sushiya sorted?
There’s this old, tattered hat. You put it on. It uses mind reading to sort these sushiya by potential, personality and values. It announces the decision – with a british accent – to a great hall of first graders.
How are they actually sorted?
Alphabetically.
Is This The Best Sushi in New York City?
I don’t really know. I judge sushiya like I do a movie; less focus on the individual ingredients, more focus on my feelings 24 hours later. Am I still thinking about it? Would I suggest it to my bougie friend who would hate me forever for a bad recommendation? Same sort of thing.
How does a sushiya get eligible?
I have to visit. So no Masa, no Noda, no Sushi Amane (yet).
Why Only Manhattan?
Just the way the oboro crumbles. That said, while this doesn’t include sushiya outside Manhattan (yet), there should be something for everyone.
Why Now?
Michelin holds more weight than ever, but seems like the general discontent with its process is also heavier than ever. Couple that with how often people – mainly celebration-doers and tourists – ask for recommendations, a responsibility I take veryyyyy seriously, and it made sense to post something.
My entire catalogue of articles on the New York City Sushi Scene can be found here or at NYCSushiGuide.com.
Have any issues? Feel free to drop me a line at info@thesushilegend.com or follow me on Instagram at @TheSushiLegend and slide into the DMs if not.
Thanks for reading.
Hasaki
Best for: Non-omakase
Cost: $50+
Style: A la carte (though I hear an Omakase is now available at the counter)
Location: St. Marks
We all have neighborhood joints that are part of what I like to call our “food fabric” (alright fine, I just made that up). You know what I’m talking about: the restaurant that you can go to at a moment’s notice, where the food is pretty good, reservations aren’t difficult, maybe the host knows your name, and consistency is the most popular dish on the menu (metaphors are free).
Hasaki is one of those restaurants. Located in the east village of Manhattan a block north of the infamous St. Marks, it can be found down the stairs from a lamppost decorated in Japanese imagery. 40 years after opening, it still bangs. I love this sushiya so so much. Review here.
Icca
Best for: Top-end sushi in New York City
Cost: $495
Style: Omakase-only
Location: TriBeCa-ish
After visiting 150+ sushi spots in New York, I feel comfortable in saying that – as of 2025 – Icca is the city’s second best.
It doesn’t have the cinematic Pete Wells endorsement like Yoshino, the multiple Michelin stars like Masa or the social media popularity like Sushi Noz.
Yet.
But it will. And when it does, remember it was your favourite sushi blogger that called it first.
My rationale can be found in my full review, right here.
Kurumazushi
Best for: an excellent Omakase without breaking the bank, experiencing one of the OGs of the New York City sushi scene
Cost: $50ish for a la carte, $250+ for omakase (gratuity extra)
Style: A la carte or Omakase
Location: Midtown
it’s almost impossible to tell the Big Apple Sushi Story (future kid’s book) without mentioning the 45 year old Kurumazushi. 45 years isn’t nothing – for instance, my brother was born in 1977 and he’s old as dirt.
But the most impressive part about Kurumazushi?
Same Itamae since day 1.
Toshihiro Uezo moved to New York City in 1972, and opened Kurumazushi in a different midtown location 5 years later.
Despite two moves and a shift to the second floor of an office building, by all accounts the same hospitality Omotenashi (hospitality) and quality exists today as it did then.
Full review here.
Marumi
Best for: A fantastic neighborhood sushiya, last-minute reservations, no-frills
Cost: $40+ (Gratuity extra)
Style: A la carte
Location: Greenwich Village and NYU Central
Marumi is located on Laguardia Place, south of Washington Square Park, right in the heart of NYU’s campus. Ms. Legend and I actually discovered it the old fashioned way – by walking by it one day while looking for a brunch spot. Most of the people who eat there are local – you won’t find many tourists hearing about Marumi from their friends. But that’s completely fine; people who know sushi – and not just from Tao – know Marumi.
The Atmosphere inside is phenomenal. Brightly lit and open, it seats approximately 30 (with 12 or so at the “L shaped” Sushi bar). The staff is friendly and efficient; food comes quickly, and they are knowledgeable. Though the fantastic “clear soup” is no longer on the menu, there’s still plenty on offer for any sushi sensibility.
Read my full review here.
Nakaji
Best for: Passionate Itamae, Overall Wonderful Experience
Cost: $365 (gratuity extra)
Style: Omakase only
Location: Chinatown
You may know Nakaji from the incredible social medial presence of the incorrigible Itamae, Kunihide Nakajima.
Meet Nakajima-san for five minutes, and his passion for his craft will permeate. Sit there through the Omakase, for his Kohada, for his Tako, for his ANAGO (deserves the caps), and it will become even more apparent.
Read my full review here.
Noz 17
Best for: Top-end sushi in New York City
Cost: $195
Style: Omakase-only
Location: West west village
Fair warning: I don’t really know what’s going on with Noz 17. When I went, the bar offered a $195, sushi-only omakase and I immediately fell in love. Since, I’ve heard that the bar is gone, the main counter has shifted to the $195 model, and that the sushiya itself may close. So caveat emptor. But if Matsu-san himself is presiding over a $195, 15 course (10 sushi) omakase at the main counter like their website says, this is probably the best sushi deal in New York. Read my full review here.
Sushi Mumi
Best for: Serenity now, passionate Itamae, atypical Neta, under-the-radar sushiya that no-one else seems to focus on?
Cost: $250 (gratuity extra)
Style: Omakase
Location: East Village
Sushi Mumi opened inside the same space as Kura, which I reviewed – and loved – back in 2014. I wasn’t alone – Kura was famous for value and for pioneering high quality sushi in the neighborhood (alongside Jewel Bako).
This is far from a generic rebrand; Sushi Mumi looks completely different. Where Kura was energetic but informal, Sushi Mumi is serene and dignified. In truth, it’s a different world, both from Kura and the frenetic pace of the street outside.
And that’s what I love most about eating at a sushiya. At its best, stepping into a sushi temple is stepping off the roller coaster of life. Relax and enjoy for two hours.
None of the above matters if the sushi doesn’t deliver. Fortunately, little legends, it does. The legend behind the counter, Marco Lin, is an Itamae In the truest sense – chef and co-owner. Lin was previously at Sushi Ginza Onodera and Blue Ribbon, two well-regarded sushiya that nevertheless are part of corporate empires.
Mumi is an opportunity for Lin to not just be his own boss, but chart his own path creatively. And he takes full advantage.
Sushi Noz
Best for: Top-end sushi in New York City
Cost: $495
Style: Omakase-only
Location: TriBeCa-ish
After visiting 150+ sushi spots in New York, I feel comfortable in saying that – as of 2025 – Icca is the city’s second best.
It doesn’t have the cinematic Pete Wells endorsement like Yoshino, the multiple Michelin stars like Masa or the social media popularity like Sushi Noz.
Yet.
But it will. And when it does, remember it was your favourite sushi blogger that called it first.
My rationale can be found in my full review, right here.
Sushi Ouji
Best for: Sub-$150 omakase in NYC
Cost: $139
Style: Omakase-only
Location: SoHo
I don’t think I’ve ever been as surprised about a sushiya as I was about Sushi Ouji. There’s a variety of factors for that, but the bottom line is that I thought this sushiya punched far above its price and aesthetic (Taisho don’t need nametags, this isn’t Marshall’s and I love Marshall’s).
What I can say is that I don’t think i recommended a sushiya more in 2025, and every ounce of feedback was positive. Read my review right here.
Sushi Sho
Best for: Best in the world outside Japan?
Cost: $450 and up (gratuity included)
Style: Omakase followed by okonomi
Location: Bryant Park
My words – as pithy, witty and intelligent as they may be – will never do Sushi Sho justice. I visited twice in 2024 and once in late 2025; all three meals were excellent and uniquely different. So it goes at a sushiya that changes its menu daily – a menu that holds almost 50 outrageous courses (you don’t have to get them all) blending tradition with complexity and simplicity. Presiding is Keiji Nakazawa, a renowned – RENOWNED – itamae. Nakazawa-san may not be in NYC for long, so if you can get a reservation and don’t need to take a second mortgage out, go.
On second thought, even if you need to take a second mortgage…
Sushi You
Best for: Sushi from Kanazawa
Cost: $280
Style: Omakase-only
Location: UWS but moving to TriBeCa soon.
The point of this list is that it’s a cross-section of great sushiya in New York. It’s not just omakase, it’s Okonomi. It’s not just new starchasing sushiya, it’s throwbacks to the pre-boom days of New York City sushi. No place represents the early aughts better than Turtle Bay’s Sushi You. Visit the downstairs sushiya and see for yourself. Or read my review here.
Takeda
Best for: Sushi from Kanazawa
Cost: $280
Style: Omakase-only
Location: UWS but moving to TriBeCa soon.
Takeda isn’t just a sushiya with a soul, it’s a sushiya with a brain and a heart. Though that line surely breaks my self-imposed ban on superlatives, hear me out. It focuses on ingredients from Toyama and Ishikawa prefectures, where the sushiya’s purveyors are from (heart). It is, besides Sushi Mekumi NYC, the only sushiya I’m aware of in New York that does so. In a crowded market, that’s smart (brain). That it appears on this list instead of the far-more hyped Mekumi, should illustrate how much I adore this sushiya. My reviews are here and here.
Yoshino
Best for: Top-end sushi in New York City
Cost: $500 (gratuity extra)
Style: Omakase-only
Location: Bowery
Even in a city that has been recently inundated by openings of high-end sushiya, the online buzz around Yoshino in the East Village has been a surprise. I guess it shouldn’t have been.
That’s because by all accounts, Tadashi “Edowan” Yoshida, the Itamae and co-owner, is the first itamae to close their high-profile sushiya in Japan and re-open in New York City (no clue who actually tracks this stuff). Even for a city that is extremely addicted to sushi, and familiar with similar-echeloned spots like Shion 69 Leonard, Sushi Noz and Masa, that means something.
From 2012-2019, Yoshida’s world was in Nagoya, the capital of Aichi Prefercture, hometown of his wife, and change point for me and my wife on our trip to Ise Shima. There he built Sushi No Yoshino, 4.64 on Tabelog (Japan’s Yelp), one of the best restaurants in the region. In 2019, he moved to New York, and with the assistance of a who’s who of architecture and restaurant management, he began to build in the big apple. Review here.