Now half-way into its second year, Sushi Yūgen continues to raise its already elevated game.
Some things stay the same. The restaurant continues to combine two authentic Japanese dining experiences into one small, elegant package. Reserve at the Chef’s Counter and you’ll find yourself seated at an eight-seat bar, in a small, private oasis at the rear of the restaurant. There, Kyohei Igarashi prepares a nightly omakase that reflects his unusual multidisciplinary training in Edomae sushi and kaiseki. All the fish and seafood is sourced from the finest Japanese fish markets and flown in directly. And the same is true for all the other ingredients on its tasting menu – save for the truffles and caviar.
The Main Counter is instead almost entirely concerned with a separate and equally pleasing Japanese tradition of serving quality sushi correctly (from the itamae’s hand to yours, one piece at a time) and swiftly. But now, the original quick pace of the lunchtime omakase has been slowed to match the one hour allotted for dinner.
Whether you choose Chef’s Counter or the Main Counter, you get one of the best experiences of their kind in the city.
Japanese cuisine of quality is always acutely seasonal. Nanohana (canola flowers and greens) on the plate means springtime. And mekihari (green eye fish) signals peak summer. Just as surely as ingredients evolve through the seasons, so does the sake that goes best with them. At Sushi Yūgen, the seasonality of sake is moving to the forefront of consideration.
As new sakes arrive continually, and others grow less seasonally relevant and drop off the list, every few months the list seems entirely new. Some of the sakes on offer are unique to the restaurant, flown in on exclusive consignment. Other bottles are merely rare. Starting very soon, a combination of both will be offered in tasting flights, precision matched to each dish in the omakase.
As an alternative, the restaurant is also bolstering its wine program – and in particular promoting the contemporary thinking that top quality white, Burgundy is an ideal match for sushi and other Japanese cuisine. With a view to presenting this convincingly, in March, the restaurant hosted renowned Burgundian winemaker Pierre-Vincent Girardin for a sold-out event. And now, the restaurant has leveraged one of the best selections of PVG vintages in the country – including the exceptional 2022 Meursault Les Narvaux 2022 Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Folatières and the much sought after 2022 Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru.
Other oenophile sushi enthusiasts might consider champagne. Vintages blended without the fruity notes of pinot meunier are a particularly successful pairing. Think Dom Pérignon, which includes only pinot noir and chardonnay in roughly equal measure – and is of course always on offer at the restaurant.
Photo Credit: Rick O’Brien
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