Bizarre $265 Sushi Omakase Really Made Me Question the Michelin Guide

[@munkeescrotum]

I appreciate you sticking it out for us viewers though -- love your content

[@jennyfoodtravels]

Thank you so much! I just want to tell it as it is!

[@mjlnr]

I've had this happen a couple times in NYC; the younger chef-apprentices are forced to use inferior ingredients to what the head chef uses. It's a hierarchy inside the restaurant. And you still pay the same price. The second time, the head chef was standing to the side and literally told my omakase chef NOT to use a certain ingredient next, and the young guy (enthusiastic and friendly) had been reaching for it in the case! And that was at a well-known 1* Michelin starred restaurant in NYC at the time. It can be an unfortunate reality of sushi restaurants, so it's important to get to know your chef!

[@jennyfoodtravels]

That is horrible! If everyone is paying the same price, it should be the same quality and taste. If it's not achievable, simply lower the price and state it's different or don't take in more guests than they can handle!

[@uguensonam1459]

@@jennyfoodtravels I am not sure about sushi quality but there is a world of difference between sitting infront of Noz himself and his mongolian sous chef.

[@Arkinsire]

What a brutal review. I could feel the steam coming out of your ears simply through your subtitles and editing. At some point you could tell you just wanted it to all end.

[@jennyfoodtravels]

You read my mind exactly! I was furious

[@japanjiaks]

Hey Jenny, thanks for the review. I almost booked it on my previous trip but I somehow managed to see bad reviews. Your video solidify my gut feel and I’m glad I was right. Sorry you had to take one for the team! I cannot wait to try Akira and Satake thanks to your review next month!

[@jennyfoodtravels]

I'm so glad you dodged it! Hope you'll enjoy Akira and Satake as much as I did!

[@TheZenguitarguy]

I have been making this point for a while on a number of sites that are reviewing "Michelin star and Omakase" restaurants. I think that the idea of Omakase has been ruined by this idea of a fixed menu under the guise of chefs choice. An Omakase meal was traditionally about the relationship between the chef and the patron and the chef knowing the likes and dislikes of the person who is sitting at the bar. They would then prepare the best available fish in the order and the style that the person who was ordering sushi would like because they knew that person. Omakase has now become basically a fancy word for fixed menu and a lot of the times these high priced restaurants don't recognize that many of the flavors and combinations may not be something that the client will like and possibly not even in the order that they are served. I think it is an over priced marketing scheme, and in many cases definitely not worth it. In Japan, there are so many amazing restaurants that you can eat a great meal at for a reasonable price with a friendly sushi chef and a good environment. Your point about the service with the caviar was accurate and the flavor combinations and also the fact that the chef served the caviar with a metal spoon, changing the flavor of the caviar, without really noticing or caring, but simply the presentation of caviar being an expensive item with strange flavor combination is not Omakase? It's just fancy for the sake of being fancy. In fact many of the stylistic presentations are gimmicky, trying to to be like molecular gastronomy in sushi but forcing someone to eat a style of prsentation and forgetting what makes sushi great in essence is NOT Omakase.I am not saying that these are not friendly or professional people, or that the idea of what they are trying to present is not beautiful or special to them, it's just not something I think I would want to invest in for a meal. just my personal opinion....PS a great example of the opposite of this is the standing sushi bar in TOKYO station near the imperial palace. One of the best sushi experiences I had traveling all through Japan from kumamoto to Hokkaido. Great service, amazing sushi, and a really fun and unique way to eat at a reasonable price.

[@threengcircus]

The honesty is appreciated. They are either sourcing inferior products or are lowering their standards due to low turnover.

[@sharkl11]

$265 can be spread over 2 weeks of eating delicious inexpensive food in Japan

[@jennyfoodtravels]

Agree! I was so disappointed. All that money wasted

[@papagen00]

In my decades of eating out, Michelin Guide is only dependable in Europe. In the rest of the world, it's a complete joke!

[@jennyfoodtravels]

Oooh now I'm excited to try Michelin restaurants in Europe!

[@PeterParker-jm4dc]

As a sushi chef i think sushi meal is something very special and it depends not only chef but on thousand of things. It is very hard for me personally to find good sushi anywhere in the world. I have visited some best sushi with highest ratings but most of them make mistakes and not caring because most people not noticing small details. I think noticing small visual details and understanding flavours is unique ability but at the same time it makes our lives harder. I think because of how much i know about sushi theres no more than 1% of all sushi in the world where i can actually enjoy meal. But because i am minority it is my problem as most of the world can enjoy anything pretty much.

[@jennyfoodtravels]

My mission is to find that 1%! Haha

[@keithwilliams9213]

Whoa, this is by far the worst review I've ever seen you give a place. You usually seem to go out of your way to find something positive, but I totally get it. First off, they couldn't get the rice right--strike one. Second, I saw no unique ingredients, pairings, preparations, or presentations that rated a star. Third, the fish was NOT top quality and most of the meal looked like it was intended for a visitor's palate-y'know-something easily recognizable from that other sushi place you went that one time in (NY, LON, PAR, et al) and had omakase. I've seen so many of your more reasonably priced omakase videos where everything just blew this place away. Fried abalone? So-so caviar? Gimmicky toro smoking? Not even the head chef, but the B-team? C-mon, man. The place is a tourist trap. Thanks for the video and the tip.

[@jennyfoodtravels]

Correct! This is definitely the lowest I've rated so far. It was such a let down in all aspects

[@johnng261]

A good chef also needs to have a good taste-a palate that allows them to discern subtle flavors, what's delicious and what's not.

[@jennyfoodtravels]

Totally agree!

[@Jarboe420]

Sometimes just good traditional sushi is the best, thanks for the video always on point.Honestly with the quality of your videos you should have more subs, so if you are listening people sub to the channel.

[@jennyfoodtravels]

Thank you so much for the support! I really appreciate it! I agree! Traditional sushi is the preferred way for me too!

[@kenfern2259]

theirs is sushi omakese for 1k in nyc and ppl say its over price for what its worth , your paying that much money just for some raw fish compare to other french Michelin for 300-400.

[@Mryodamiles]

I got January reservation for this place …. I’m worried now lol. Will update with my experience.

[@jennyfoodtravels]

Hopefully they'll have a big improvement during your visit! I hope your meal will be much more enjoyable than mine!

[@eggplantandpeach]

I went there in Feb and it was just fine. This person sounds like someone I know. Negative and dissatisfied with everything in life. Too hard to please.

[@TheLittleQuokka]

Wow! That’s tough 😢 - you took one for the team 😂 What I found with Michelin starred restaurants is a bit of a hit and miss. To understand the rating, one needs to look at the judging criteria but what was surprising to me is that this was reasonably well rated on tabelog which is my go to for Japanese eateries.

[@jennyfoodtravels]

The Tabelog rating was actually one reason why I had a bit of hope, but now I feel it's because most locals probably enjoyed their meal with the head chef which provides high quality in skills and ingredients 😞

[@Mryodamiles]

Idk what’s going on but vast majority of Michelin restaurants I been to over the past few years have been terrible. Not just in Japan either… US, Thailand, Spain, etc.

[@jennyfoodtravels]

Sadly, I have the same experience. Many Michelins have let me down whether it's in Japan or US

[@schmoopyboopy]

Such a contrast to the usual excellent restaurants you present! Oh my goodness. Sorry you had to go through that :(

[@jennyfoodtravels]

It was a major disappointment, but I'm glad I could warn others!

[@hemispherecompensation]

Udatsu Sushi lost their star immediately after they won it. So at least Michelin stripped them. What's disappointing, though, is Udatsu's opening in HK means Araki is gone :(

[@jennyfoodtravels]

They still had one star in the 2024 Michelin Guide and sadly they're still in the Michelin recommended guide for 2025. I haven't tried Araki in HK but to be replaced by Udatsu sounds like a big downgrade

[@wolf-yw9wk]

you could tell just by looking at the ingredients well before you took a bite it wasn’t going to be that great.

[@marshallgreen7815]

Thank you for revealing the new truth about sushi.

[@jennyfoodtravels]

Thank you for listening and supporting me!

[@SuperSushidog]

What the general called chutoro looks closer to shimofuri otoro to me. Chutoro is more evenly pink, and the texture is softer compared to the netting pattern seen on the firm slices seen here. Of course, I wasn't present so could be mistaken. I wonder what kind of rice he's using? Perhaps a Calrose or an even longer grain, which is why you were disappointed - not appetizing at all. His tuna is obviously aged, so it's a shame he chose a poor specimen on which to ply his craft. You know the old saying, "you can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear." I don't think the Michelin judges know how to evaluate a sushi bar. They are experts at judging a restaurant's service, ambience and even pretentiousness though. I have eaten at a couple of great Michelin starred restaurants, but the rating correlates more with price and only inadvertently correlates with the quality of the meal. I think word of mouth from trusted friends is a better indication of whether a restaurant is worth your consideration.

[@jennyfoodtravels]

Totally agree! I might agree with their judgement on French cuisine, but when it comes to Japanese cuisine, I don't think it's accurate

[@Solomonsjc]

do you speak japanese by any chance?

[@dannychao5053]

From just looking at the ingredients, they don’t look good or fresh. Wonder if “foreigners” get inferior chefs and ingredients 😢

[@stephen129]

Did you pay for this meal?

[@jennyfoodtravels]

Sadly, yes

[@kiplingglobal5413]

Oh my. Our local offerings are pathetic. I am astonished that anything there can be more pathethic...but apparently it can be. I didn't even need to hear the sounds or descriptions....the video footage of that massacre was enough. They have a star?

[@jennyfoodtravels]

It really made me question things too! They have one star in the 2024 Michelin, but I hear in 2025, they're just Michelin recommended

[@scarlett8782]

the ingredients looked so strange, even on camera! that tuna did not look right at all - both color and texture were completely wrong for raw tuna, especially the belly, and the yellowtail sashimi looked well done cooked somehow, which would make it really dry. what bizarre ingredients... these really don't seem to be the best quality. I feel terrible you paid $265 for old mushy tuna.

[@jennyfoodtravels]

It's really a shame the quality didn't match the price! A $265 lesson I won't forget

[@gokul016]

This restaurant represents why the Michelin Guide is not the final word in fine dining, it is merely another opinion especially in Japan where the guide is rather hit or miss. The Michelin Guide seems to poorly evaluate ethnic non-white cuisine. Udatsu is a beautiful space but the food leaves a lot to be desired. It has some of the worst shari that I can recall. It is overall rather poor considering the wealth of sushi options in Tokyo. Tabelog remains the bible for Japanese Cuisine in Japan

[@jennyfoodtravels]

I'm definitely sticking with just Tabelog for restaurants in Japan from now on!

[@gokul016]

@@jennyfoodtravels If you travel outside Tokyo, Sushi Mekumi is Kanazawa is not a difficult place to reserve though will become the gold standard on how you judge Sushi going forward. It is absolutely phenomenal. In Tokyo, Sushi Harutaka is excellent, especially considering that he was a beloved apprentice at Sushi Jiro. Sushi Inomata is a bit of a trek out of Tokyo though will blow your mind. Relatively easy to book though exemplary in service and taste....highly highly recommended

[@jennyfoodtravels]

@gokul016 I dined at Sushi Harutaka once and loved it, but reservations are so hard to make! As for Sushi Inomata, I literally just went there so video will be coming up soon! Haha. I see we have similar tastes so Sushi Mekumi is definitely going on my to go list!

[@gokul016]

@@jennyfoodtravels I had Kujira Sushi (Whale) at Inomata which was not only unique but phenomenally good....Inomata is arguably one of the best sushi places I have every been too....I hope you enjoyed it as well....Mekumi will be a life defining experience if you have the chance. You seem to enjoy sushi so "Sushi Shokunin: Japan's Culinary Masters" is a book you would greatly enjoy...look for it. Great coffee table book

[@munkeescrotum]

Michelin's in Japan aren't worth going to at all imo..

[@jennyfoodtravels]

100% agree! Maybe unless they have tabelog awards too

[@eggplantandpeach]

I went to Udatsu earlier this year an enjoyed it. You seem to just complain about everything..