When I went to Sushi Enya for the first time, I was seated at a booth and ordered their omakase. This time, I returned with a reservation and sat at the counter, in front of the sushi chef. It was such a different experience!
First, the staff came by and asked what we would like to order and if we wanted anything else to drink besides water. We got the regular omakase, which has 16 courses, and a glass of Sapporo draft beer.
The appetizer came first: Bluefin Otoro and Crab with Tamago Tofu. The bluefin otoro tasted so delicious I couldn’t help but smile.
Next came the nigiri. We watched as the sushi chef prepared each piece and placed it on the plate in front of us one by one. The pacing is very different sitting at the counter. When seated at a table, a few pieces of nigiri would be served on the plate at a time. At the counter, each piece gets its own time to shine, and the sushi chef also describes how he prepared it and what he put in it.
Nigiri: White Fish (seared), Striped Mackerel with ginger, soy sauce, and a special ingredient (I wonder what the special ingredient is…), Red Snapper with shiso leaf, Black Snapper with lemon juice and lemon zest, and Japanese Sea Bass with yuzu.
The chawanmushi steamed egg with ikura and Santa Barbara uni came next. There was a very generous amount of ikura! I really liked this dish.
It was time for the next round of nigiri: Golden Eye Snapper with black pepper, Halibut Fin with ponzu and yuzu from Korea, Chutoro from Spain with wasabi and soy sauce, Otoro with caviar, gold flakes, and soy sauce, and Rosy Sea Bass (seared) with soy sauce.
The hand roll came after. It was a Lean Bluefin Tuna Handroll. The handroll was good, but it definitely is pretty hard to follow the nigiri that came before.
This next course was very unique: Mackerel Roll with rice mixed with shiso, ginger, onion, and soy sauce, and topped with mackerel (seared), soy sauce, and konbu. This was so good! I wish I was able to have a second piece of this. I had to open my mouth so big to fit this in my mouth!
The Enya Special was next, which I had once before! It had scallops, tuna, and Santa Barbara uni topped with black truffle. For the hand roll and Enya Special, the sushi chef handed it directly to us instead of putting it on the plate.
The last nigiri was waiting: Japanese A5 Wagyu, seared on both sides and topped with lemon juice. What a great way to end!
Before dessert, the sushi chef asked if there was anything else we wanted. I wish I could’ve asked for another round of everything, but we were pretty satisfied. Dessert was Yuzu Cheesecake!
This was an amazing and delicious meal (all thanks to my friend who brought me there, of course). I had never sat at the counter for omakase before, and I liked it so much more than sitting at a table! There is just something different about watching the sushi chef prepare your meal, and getting to enjoy each piece one by one. It also gave me time to remember what I ate too. I’d definitely choose to sit at the counter again the next time!