Indulge in an Elevated Omakase Experience at Okane Sushi

The six sashimi courses

In January, Okane Sushi opened an elevated omakase experience on the second floor of its downtown restaurant. Omakase means “I’ll leave it up to you,” so each course is thoughtfully prepared by its chef. The only choice you have to make is your drink order. This was my first omakase meal, and I was looking forward to a relaxing evening without any food choices to make. I typically order the same few things, so I was ready to have my sushi palate expanded by Okane’s chefs.

Kasumi Lychee

Okane has an array of cocktails to choose from, as well as a selection of sake. My table and I decided to try both. I tried the kasumi lychee, which was basically a lychee cosmopolitan. It was sweet and fruity, and I relished every last sip. Many of the cocktails on Okane’s menu seemed to lean more toward the fruity and sweet end of the drink spectrum. We didn’t have much sake knowledge, so our waitress recommended one to us that was light and refreshing. It paired perfectly with every course.

After ordering our drinks and selecting the 16-course omakase option, the rest was up to the kitchen. Okane also offers 18- and 20-course options, but they’re significantly more expensive. After finishing the meal, I thought 16 courses was the perfect amount of food. I was full, but not overly stuffed. Although I will say I was sad to have missed the A5 wagyu that comes with the 18-course option.

Tempura wakasagi

The meal began with a few appetizers. The first dish to arrive was the tempura wakasagi. Wakasagi, also known as smelt, has a very mild, clean flavor, so Okane dressed it up with a sprinkling of herbs and togarashi seasoning (a blend of red chili with various other seeds and spices). The crunch of the tempura and tangy togarashi seasoning mingling together created a party in my mouth.

Our next appetizer was a uni and pork dumpling in a savory fish bone broth. When I read uni dumpling on the menu, I was not expecting it to come as a soup dumpling. I was not unhappy about a soup course, though. The broth was light but full of briny flavor. It complemented the uni (sea urchin) well. The dumpling itself was tender, and the uni and pork inside melted in my mouth. I finished every last slurp of soup because the broth was delicious and comforting.

The abalone rice

The abalone rice arrived next, and my mouth was watering just looking at it. The mushrooms and abalone both had a slight sweet, nutty flavor thanks to the teriyaki sauce. They also had a similar texture — firm, but still tender. Both of these ingredients mixed with the rice turned the flavor dial up to 100.

Salmon belly tart cigar

The most unique and eye-catching dish was the salmon belly tart made to look like a cigar. The differing textures of the creamy salmon belly mixture, the crispy seaweed posing as the cigar wrapper, and the crunchy chopped pistachios that you dipped the cigar in created a harmonious symphony when I took my first bite. This was perhaps the course I polished off the fastest.

With the appetizer courses finished, I was ready for some sashimi. All six of the sashimi courses came out together in a wooden box that was aesthetically stunning; each piece of fish was more beautiful than the next and bursting with color. The six courses included an oyster with ikura; a scallop with lemon and lemon curd; yellowtail with jalapeño; eel with crispy rice; toro with wasabi; and shrimp with roe. Every single piece of sashimi was incredibly fresh. It tasted like it had been caught that same morning. I was really impressed with the quality, considering we’re a landlocked city. I love oysters, and the ikura added another texture element with its popping bubbles. The scallop was one of my favorite sashimi pieces that evening. The lemon really brightened up the fish and added the perfect amount of tartness. The yellowtail was tender, and the jalapeño added a little zip to the otherwise mild fish. The eel was bursting with savory flavor, and the crispy rice added a crunchy element. The texture of the toro was luxurious, and the wasabi cut the richness a bit. The shrimp with roe was the most simplistic piece of sashimi, but it had a mild sweetness to it that I appreciated.

Our final five courses were all nigiri. Our plate was composed of tuna belly with black truffle; salmon belly with house mustard sauce; aji (Japanese horse mackerel) with lemon zest; red sea bream with wasabi; and fluke with crunchy garlic. It was a little difficult to really notice a difference between all of the fish, so the creative toppings really helped differentiate each piece of nigiri. I was expecting the nigiri to also be raw, as the sashimi had been, but each piece was lightly cooked. While I still enjoyed every nigiri, I would have personally preferred them raw. The tuna belly and black truffle were an uber-rich combo. The salmon belly was fairly mild, but the mustard sauce gave it some tanginess. You can’t go wrong with lemon and fish, so the aji with lemon zest tasted bright and fresh. The red sea bream had a sweetness that paired well with the sharpness of the wasabi. The fluke with the crunchy garlic was the most unique flavor out of the five nigiri. The crunchy garlic added both spice and a crackly texture to the fluke.

Our final course was dessert, and we sampled sesame mochi. I’ve only ever had mochi ice cream, so I was anticipating it to be served cold. Unbeknownst to me, traditional mochi is typically served warm. Serving the mochi this way made the texture of the outside pillowy and the inside gooey. The nuttiness of the sesame was also enhanced by serving them warm as well.

Sesame mochi

I savored every course, and there was not a single bite left untouched. I had a few standout favorites from my meal, including the abalone rice; the oyster with ikura; the scallop with lemon and lemon curd; the yellowtail with jalapeño; and the aji with lemon zest. Okane has the flavors and textures of its dishes down to a science. However, there are two things that the restaurant could improve to make the dining experience more enjoyable, in my opinion. I think they need to slow down the entire meal. Each appetizer course came out too quickly. I wasn’t yet done with one dish before the waitress was bringing out the next one. From what I’ve seen online, an omakase experience is supposed to be a luxurious, leisurely meal. My table and I were finished in a little over an hour, and I felt a little rushed. While the presentation of the six sashimi and five nigiri pieces was visually pleasing, I think it would also be wise to split those up into individual courses to draw out the length of the meal. My other note is that more description on both the food and drink menus would prepare customers for what to expect. Both of these elements would enhance the experience at Okane.

I definitely had my sushi palate tested and expanded with a few of the dishes, which was my goal for the evening. Okane’s omakase delivers where it matters most: thoughtful preparation, high-quality ingredients, and a sense of culinary creativity that keeps each course interesting. With a few tweaks to service, the restaurant has the potential to turn an already memorable meal into a truly exceptional dining experience.