In proper sushi bars in Japan there are often no menus at all. There is usually just a list of fish on the wall telling you what are the recommended fish that day. You can then sit down at the sushi bar and leave it up to the chef saying “omakase onegaishimasu” (お任せお願いします).

This tradition is not very common in Norway, so I did not really know how to behave when doing this. It was my goal for the LA trip to learn and appreciate the tradition of leaving my food choices up to the one behind the sushi bar. It was a bit scary but worthwhile experience!

Omakase (お任せ) is the Japanese word meaning “entrust” or “protect”. When you go to a sushi bar and you ask for omakase onegaishimasu (onegaishimasu meaning “please do me the favor”) you give the sushi chef the right to make you what he thinks you would like based on the ingredients he has. It then comes in the order that he decides (because it usually is a he, isn’t it…) and also at the price he sets. You just let him know when you are full. It is allowed to tell him if there are things that you really don’t like, but you should do that in the beginning of the meal.

According to Zoran in “The Zen of Fish”

“Omakase should start with three kaiseki-style appetizers. The appetizers could be small simmered or grilled dishes that use any number of ingredients. Then the chef would serve fish. You want to move from light to heavy, and be seasonal. For example, white fish, followed by scallops, followed by octopus. Those are all light, clean flavors. Then serve salmon or tuna, the heavier-flavored fish.

I also liked John Maeda’s description of the concept in Laws of Simplicity. He refers to trust as the sixth law of simplicity, and writes about omakase:

Omakase translates roughly to “I leave it up to you” where you refers to the sushi chef. The process is simple. The sushi chef looks at you, does a rough analysis of your general disposition, reflects upon the season and the day’s weather, factors into consideration the variety of fish he has available in his arsenal, forms a rough idea for the optimal menu, starts the process of delivering the meal in measured increments, attentively observes your reaction, and tweaks the meal accordingly.

Some days when we went to a sushi bar we did not feel like interacting with anyone in particular. Then just ordering from a menu was my preferred choice. But I have to say, usually when we actually did ask for omakase sitting at the sushi bar, it was an amazing experience. The fish and the presentation and the chef’s attentiveness to us really made it worthwhile.

Ordering omakase can be a gamble, because you kind of have to eat what you get. But you do typically receive the best quality fish the restaurant currently has in stock and often at a price cheaper than if it was ordered from the menu. The task of the sushi chef is to measure you up - what are you in here for? A light lunch? A fast dinner? A proper meal or a romantic dinner? All of it important in the type of food he serves you and how much is in the presentation.

In the beginning I felt it was hard to know what I should expect from the meal. You should expect them to serve you anything, and I had things I have never tried before, but I guess my open mouth and terrified eyes made the chef not that experimental… It was not hard to pick up that I was a novice. Making special requests is a part of the chef being attentive to you and also his way of getting to know you as his customer. Going back again to the same place all the time will probably improve your omakase experience, because then the chef learns your likes and dislikes and can serve you based on that.

We had omakase several times in LA, and almost all of the times were just amazing. Asanebo was my favorite because all the food was absolutely amazing and beautifully presented in addition to that we really felt that the sushi chef(s) actually wanted to get to know us and our taste in food. Sushi Gen was a pleasant and food wise wonderful experience, but not that interactive. Ike Sushi was traditional and Japanese, while The Hump was more of a bit extreme, but very memorable experience where ordering omakase and sashimi moriawase turned out to be live fish; ikezukuri. We also hit bad tempered and grumpy sushi chefs, and then omakase was just painful and long.

I guess omakase then is a two way communication thing. We look at the sushi chef and analyze his general disposition, and they feel us out in regards to current situation and needs. When you order omakase and the chef looks at you like you speak a different language, grab for the menu. Not all restaurants are capable of doing this.

I do feel more comfortable with ordering omakase now. I highly recommend it.
Now - why don’t you tell me about your experiences with it? Have you gotten used to it?

Some useful links:

• Omakase - definition Wikipedia
• Sushi omakase - SushiFaq
• Advanced sushi - ordering omakase