The omakase trend has blossomed in Denver. Currently the Mile High City surges with new, top-notch sushi concepts featuring stand-alone tasting menus. While the idea of an omakase isn’t novel, these three spots diverge from the normal and don’t offer anything else.
Traditionally, the omakase experience involves leaving the menu choice up to the chef, who often curates each item just for the diner. The latest trend leans more to a set, seasonal menu featuring sushi and Japanese-inspired bites using local ingredients. While dietary needs are accommodated for, there’s more of a structure to the meal than just chef’s choice. Seatings are limited too, and these intimate spaces offer two or three dinners a night.
Don’t be surprised if this concept sounds familiar. Plenty of Denver’s high-end Japanese restaurants offer an omakase experience along with a regular menu. Sushi Den‘s famous Chef’s Table ($MP) has been an exclusive reservation for years, with only two people seated each hour in the restaurant’s private room with the chef. Kumoya in Highland has a 12-piece omakase option for $90 on its menu. In RiNo, Uchi Denver features a 10-piece tasting menu ($MP) daily, and a vegetarian and non sushi tasting menu as well.
These three new omakases bring yet another layer to the experience. Each showcases an outstanding, celebration-worthy meal that not only highlights the quality of seafood and sushi-grade fish we can get in Denver, but the raw talent of the chefs behind the counter too.
Ukiyo Denver’s Hidden Omakase
A year ago Ukiyo took residence below Bao Brewhouse in LoDo, bringing a speakeasy-style omakase downtown. Like any good clandestine operation, diners must head to the alleyway and find the barely-marked door in order to enter the restaurant. From there a hostess greets guests with a tipple, and ushers them to the closed off room containing the 12-seat, horseshoe-shaped sitting area surrounding the culinary stage. On that stage, chef Phraseuth ‘Paul’ Sananikone whips up a seasonal menu highlighting both Japanese and Laos flavors, the latter a nod to his own heritage and upbringing.
Right now Ukyio is on its third menu it calls Kizuna no Tabemono, which showcases a fusion of Southeast Asian, Japanese, and Western flavors. On the current 17-course line up you’ll find Mikan hamachi with ponzu, akami (tuna) with Lao Crack Sauce, otoro (fatty tuna belly) with ginger, and chutoro with thom yum creme caviar. On the non sushi side, the focaccia with thom yum butter started the meal in a tasty way, and later in the experience the chef broke out a gorgeous piece of A4 wagyu with sukiyaki.
The cocktail, sake, and Japanese whiskey program are on point too. Helmed by Jeremiah Watson, diners can order craft cocktails, mocktails, drams of spirits, zero-proof beer, and more. Opt for a beverage pairing with the meal, or request recommendations on sake to complement whatever stage of the omakase you’re at.
Ukiyo offers two seatings every Tuesday to Saturday at 5:45 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. For the omakase alone it’s $175 per person, tip and tax not included. 1317 14th St., Suite 0, Denver, ukiyoomakase.com
Sushi By Scratch Brings a Popular Omakase To the Mile High
Chefs and owners Phillip Frankland Lee and Margarita Kallas-Lee opened their Denver location of Sushi By Scratch at the very end of 2024. It’s the 11th city the company has brought the omakase concept to, each showcasing super fresh fish and talented chefs overseeing the program.
In Denver, Sushi By Scratch resides on Larimer Square, below Frankland’s other concept, the fast-casual wagyu burger joint, Not a Damn Chance Burger (NADC). The sushi den has a speakeasy feel given you need to enter through a “secret” door in the burger space, or find the elevator and head down to the basement. Once inside the vibe continues. The dark, moody room has a bar and seating, but that’s not where dinner is. This is the first space where guests can hang 30 minutes before their reservation, sipping on a house-made refresher and sampling small bites.
Then, a panel in the wall opens up to another room hidden behind it. Guests will find their names written on a slab placed before their seat, 10 in total. Once everyone has settled in, the sushi theater starts with the making of a vat of rice. Expect various hands-on interactions, some flame work, chats about the food, and all your questions asked while indulging in 17 superb pieces. It’s a truly intimate experience. The only flaw is the ever-changing menu, which means when you fall in love with a certain bite, you might never get it again. Luckily, at the end of the meal the chefs offer a revisit to one last piece, diner’s choice.
The restaurant seats three times a night at 5:00 p.m., 7:15 p.m., and 9:30 p.m. every day of the week. Each person runs $195, with the option to add on premium ingredients and drink pairings. A 20-percent service charge also gets added onto the final bill. 1441 Larmier St. (inside NADC), Denver, sushibyscratchrestaurants.com
The Counter at Odell’s Bagel Offers a Secret and Superb Omakase
When Miles Odell launched his Highland bagel shop last fall, part of the plan was to do an off-hour omakase tasting too. After all, Odell has the pedigree for it. Not only did he study Japanese food at Michelin-star, fine-dining restaurants in Japan, but he helped open Nobu and Masa in New York City. He was also just one of 15 chefs from around the world selected for Japan’s prestigious Minister of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries’ Culinary Ambassador Program. Diners at his eatery can sense the skills too, with bagels topped in sushi-grade hamachi or bright salmon roe (each $11 per half) during normal business hours.
Dubbed The Counter, the omakase launched at the end of March. Now in its third week, diners can book a seat at the literal counter Friday through Sunday, at 6 p.m. or 8:30 p.m. The tasting menu runs $175 per person, with an optional beverage pairing at $85 per person.
On a recent visit items included hamachi with chili ponzu and shiso, grilled lamb, and a starter featuring small, delicate bowls filled with an array of tasty bites from soft tofu to delicately cooked and spiced chard.
On the nigiri side, the focus of the meal, we had Spanish bluefin tuna, sea urchin, wagyu beef that tasted like the most luxurious cheeseburger, and a horse mackerel that changed what the fish meant to us. Overall 10-plus pieces tickled the taste buds, and a white miso soup to cleansed the palate before dessert. And yes, the sweet course also wowed with homemade ginger ice cream, mochi and honeycomb. 3200 Irving St., Denver, odellsbagel.com
