06/03/08

Come on, you are no conniosseur-- $500 sushi is OVERRATED.

by dangarrison

I have tasted great food, ridiculously expensive food, and the world's rarest food. I am not sore that I wasted money at this place. I just believe that their sushi was simply around $100-150 level. Don't let the reputation fool you; you know that people wouldn't say anything but "bestest food ever!" because they just paid 500 bucks for it. The place is also a huge disappointment. Small, dirty, and crowded. It should fit about 3 people.

go to a much cheaper place to get the same quality food.

• Pros: well, at least you get the once in a lifetime experience i guess
• Cons: overrated; sub-par environment; gets boring

04/12/08

Something Different

by mssammichan

First of all, I would liketo try to explain the service style of omakase. "Omakase" style basically means "In the hands of the chef." Traditionally, the chef will go out to the market every day and select the best seasonal ingredients available and create dishes that brings out the best in those ingredients. So like the previous reviewer said, this type of restaurant does not necessarily follow customer's request. So there's no menu... Basicaly you take what they serve you, and at Urasawa, you'll never go wrong with whatever dish he provides. Hiroyuki gives fantastic, delicate dishes that is also pleasing to the eyes. The blowfish samshimi are beautifully garnished with gold paper and tiny buds of purple flowers(which are both edible). He serves up perfect traditonal kaiseki dishes such as egg custard topped with uni and ikura, and simple yet excellent black sesame tofu. He also provides dishes with a twist like shrimp and foi gras shabu shabu in a seaweed broth. And if it's available he'll make an excellent seared kobe beef sushi that is to die for. Honestly, it's like heaven in your mouth. After all that you have to wash the food down with one of the best selected cold sake. So if you are someone who is used to set menu and likes to make certain requests on dishes, you will problably be more inclined to dine somewhere else. But if you are someone with adventurous taste buds, then prepare to maxx out your credit card since (It's $275 per person plus extra for drinks and tip)

• Pros: great traditional japanese food
• Cons: BIG bill

02/29/08

Rude? I don't think so

by asianfoodaddict

This is a comment to the person that left the message claiming to be mistreated.

You do not understand what this restaurant represents. This is an Omakase restaurant that on some nights serves as few as 6 people. Omakase means that the chef decides what is to be served based on the availability and quality of ingredients. Thus, your special requests might have been unavailable or not available at the highest level of quality. This might not be known until a day or two before your reservation. At that point, a restaurant like Urasawa would make the choice not to serve you average or below average quality food just because it was your preference.

When I go to restaurants like Urasawa and Masa or true Kai Seki restaurants, I do not expect that they will serve me anything other than the best food available. They will respect my food allergies, but they won't serve me a cheeseburger because I happen to be in the mood for one.

• Pros: One of the finest meals in the world
• Cons: none