Best sushi on Long Island

WH Group owns 236 and House of Yoshin in Huntington, both intimate sushi hideaways anchored by sexy speakeasy-style lounges and private sushi bars beyond where blowout omakase is served to adventurous diners. At 236, start in the lush lounge full of blue-velvet chairs, moody table lighting and clubby wood paneling serving curated selections of imported sake and Japanese whiskey, plus cocktails like the Yuzu Verde featuring tequila, basil syrup, pineapple and yuzu. Its a la carte bar menu includes cold plates such as sea bream crudo with shaved uni and lemon zest; and a four-piece Toyosu nigiri selection that gives a glimpse of what’s happening in back. Through a speakeasy door hidden in walnut bookshelves, chef Isaac Kek guides diners through five small bites, like kanpachi, or amberjack, with a sambal kick, and a Jidori egg, soft and gooey, topped with a generous shaving of bottarga, a cured mullet fish roe. Next come eight pieces of meticulously prepared nigiri. There’s mild madai and ruby red akami (lean) tuna, uni served in seaweed, like a tiny taco from Hokkaido, and ishidai, or Japanese knifejaw, a tougher but no less tasty imported whitefish. From otoro topped with gold leaf to scallops dusted with Meyer lemon zest, one slick and shiny bite trumped the last. The coda, or closing, section of the menu, includes a fatty tuna handroll (toro taku temaki). Reservations are essential, as is prepayment for the roughly $250 all-inclusive experience that involves high-quality fish, an assigned seat and a menu inscribed with your name.. 

The newest spot on this list, Enso no Sato not only offers the most reasonably priced omakase but, also, one of the best. Owner Keai Carmen Shi creates an experience with vibe and price that attract locals. Omakase runs 12 courses for $85 or 18 courses for $135 — or go a la carte. Chef Alex Zheng, a 25-year veteran who most recently worked at Nobu, changes the menu weekly, encompassing bluefin tuna, amberjack and jumbo sweet shrimp, as well as smoked ocean trout, scallops from Hokkaido island and red sea bream from Ehime Prefecture. But even the non-sushi elements of this meal are superlative, from the exquisite plates (different for each course) and cubed ginger that is pickled in house to the chawanmushi (warm egg custard) and dashi (cured tuna) broth that bring it to a close. If fish isn’t your jam, Enso no Sato has an extensive selection of izakaya (savory small plates) plus teriyaki, katsu (fried cutlets), ramen and udon. More info: 631-470-4589, ensonosato.com

For ambitious sushi bars today, it’s common to fly in seafood directly from the wholesale fish market in Tokyo, but when Ginza opened in Massapequa in 2012, it was the only place on Long Island to do so. The original restaurant closed in 2020 but it has been reborn in a side-street strip mall. The focal point remains the sushi bar, where chef-owner Patrick Yam and his team strut their stuff. You might encounter madai (sea bream), baby yellowtail, fatty tuna, real king crab (not kani) and sea urchin from California or Japan (or both). The ultimate Ginza experience is Yam’s omakase: Sit at the sushi bar while he prepares, explains and serves the day’s most exciting offerings. But Ginza is also a great spot for a simpler dinner of sushi, udon or soba noodles, teriyaki or tempura. A lunch menu features more than a dozen dishes for no more than $21.

House of Yoshin — also owned by WH Group — changed from its initial kaiseki concept to omakase, delivers the same culinary punch as 236; its dark and cozy lounge also serves a small menu of Japanese-inspired libations and bites. Beyond, a 10-seat dining room and a 16-course omakase journey is led by chef Osan Weng, who moved over from Yoshin’s sister restaurant, Sora Omakase in Stony Brook. Similar to 236, five small bites begin the journey, most recently, sake poached oysters and an A5 Miyazaki Wagyu with Shiumeji mushroom and a citrus truffle sauce. Ten nigiri bites follow, ranging from lean tuna (akami) to sea bream (madai), striped jack (shima aji) to Golden Eye snapper (kinmedai), fatty tuna (toro) to a generous uni served over rice. Matcha creme brûleé satisfies the desire for a sweet ending. Like at 236, reservations and prepayment for the roughly $250 all-inclusive dinner is essential. 

Nothing is typical at this sushi spot, from the chirashi bowl topped with mounds of sea urchin, to miso butter on roasted figs, to a toro (fatty tuna) sundae topped with egg yolk, a nori puree, and Osetra caviar. With a luxe, moody interior that reads swanky, date-night lounge, Kissaki’s only remaining Long Island location opened in Manhasset in 2023 with a focus less on omakase, and more on a la carte. Start at the bar with a Momo Sour (vodka, sake, egg yolk, white, cinnamon, ume) and finish with dessert, an un-Japanese torrija, chef Edgar Valerio’s take on Spanish French toast, or matcha tiramisu. In between, choose from nigiri and sashimi flights filled with familiar Japanese names like madai (sea bream), toro (tuna), hamachi (yellowtail), ikura (salmon roe), as well as a succinct sampling of simple rolls Baked crab in soy paper shouldn’t be missed. Tableside omakase is available weekday evenings for $95. In keeping with their swank interior, any dish can be enhanced with caviar, Hokkaido uni, and A5 Wagyu beef.

Nagahama is a neighborhood sushi joint that's so charming it feels like a destination. Nagahama literally means "long beach" in Japanese, but regulars call the restaurant Hide's Place after its chef, Hide Yamamoto, a Japanese native who heads up the front of the sushi bar most nights. The restaurant is usually packed but you'll have the best time if you can snag a seat next to him. Nagahama's menu is straightforward, with all the usual nigiri sushi, hot appetizers and inventive specialty rolls, as well as plenty of beer and sake. Get the sushi/sashimi combo ($42.64) to try a little bit of everything without breaking the bank. 

Okaru, the Roslyn venture from Marc Spitzer, of Manhattan’s famed BondSt, quickly became one of our best new restaurants when it opened last year. The bi-level building, which dates back to 1890, embraces modern Japanese and Scandinavian design. Attention to detail is everything: The handcrafted cocktails are impeccable, the miso is made in-house. Don’t miss the "original" tuna tarts — paper-thin sheets of raw big-eye draped over crisp gyoza wrappers, brushed with truffled ponzu and crowned with shiso microgreens. Hand rolls include a Hokkaido scallop and uni, while cut rolls include creative salmon kimchi, yellowtail with smashed avocado and gochujang miso, and lobster tempura with brown butter ponzu. The O.G. spicy tuna roll, a pillowy flavor bomb crusted with black sesame seeds, is a standout. Sashimi and nigiri offerings are ample, with six kinds of tuna and salmon, five types of yellowtail, various whitefish, plus indulgent options like uni, caviar and Alaskan king crab. An eight-piece chef’s selection omakase runs a reasonable $76. The hot dishes are just as creative and delicious as the sushi.

Yuki Mori, formerly the manager of the East Village sake bar Decibel, took his act east in 2015, opening Stirling Sake a few blocks from the main action in Greenport. No surprise that the sake menu runs deep at this serene spot. The sushi selection favors freshness over innovation, and you'll often find local fish among the offerings. There's a small selection of rolls, individual pieces of sushi or sashimi and rice bowls topped with tuna, eel or as assortment. The impeccable sashimi deluxe is enough for two and includes a small cup of salmon roe. The kitchen puts out an eclectic lineup of Japanese small plates — perfect to accompany sake — including a refreshing seaweed salad (with some romaine for ballast), delicate agedashi tofu in a sweet-salty broth, takoyaki (balls of fried octopus} as well as some of Long Island’s most savory noodle bowls. 

Valley Stream native Tommy Yeh’s dependably delicious menu lists dozens of rolls featuring more than 100 ingredients combined in what feels like thousands of ways. There are rolls with localized names like Jericho (spicy yellowtail, white tuna and jalapeño), cute names like Charlie Brown (coconut shrimp, cucumber wrapped with purple rice, mango, seared scallops, peanuts) and Pink Panther (shrimp tempura, avocado and seaweed salad wrapped in soy paper; topped with spicy tuna and mango salsa) and for the purists, no names at all, like the salmon avocado roll. If you like your sushi styled with more fish, less pizazz, we’re partial to the Triple Crown (tuna, salmon, yellowtail with bluefin toro and wasabi salsa) or the Woodbury (king crab, cucumber, seaweed salad, lobster salad), as well as plenty of nigiri and sashimi options. Lunch specials are offered daily. For heft, try the sushi burritos, the pink version of which is stuffed with spicy tuna, spicy crab and salmon wrapped in white sesame soy paper.

For more than 20 years, Long Island's sushi cognoscenti have flocked to Taka despite its modest decor and location. Chef-owner Taka Yamaguchi procures the freshest fish, cuts it with surgical precision and sauces or garnishes it with the sole purpose of accentuating its flavor and texture. You'll find some elaborate sweet / spicy / crunchy American-style rolls here, but the emphasis is on the simpler sushi and sashimi. Optimally, settle in at the counter and ask for the omakase, chef's choice. Depending on season (and whim), you might be served marinated mackerel, Arctic char, Spanish mackerel cross-hatched through its shimmery skin and topped with ginger and scallion, yellowtail sushi with its own little belt of shiso leaf, fluke, toro (belly tuna) or sweet shrimp, the tail served raw, then whisked away to the kitchen to be deep-fried. No slouch, that kitchen: It’s one of the few places on Long Island that makes oyakodon (chicken and egg over rice) with leg meat.

Dining at Takumi comes as close to eating in a Japanese home as you're likely to find on Long Island. Husband-and-wife team Yukio and Kiyomi Okamura run this tiny restaurant, one of a handful of Japanese-owned sushi spots on Long Island, with warmth and passion. "Takumi" is Japanese for "craftsman," a term that befits Yukio: He started his kitchen apprenticeship in Japan at age 15 and has mastered not only sushi but such little-seen Japanese dishes as unagi kogushi yaki (skewered barbecued eel), kinpira gobo (stir-fried slivered burdock root and carrots sprinkled with sesame seeds) and satsumaimo (Japanese sweet potato). Kiyomi does everything but the cooking, including calling regular customers to spread the word when special seasonal fish show up. Slices of kamburi — large amberjack caught at their fattest and most succulent in winter — might be topped with a pinch of grated, pickled wasabi stem; warmer months bring aji (horse mackerel) that Yukio fillets for sashimi and, afterward, he might deep-fry its delicate frame into a crisp shard. (The bones are so soft you can eat them.)

With its Brooklyn style and rock and roll vibe — all signature rolls are named after bands, musicians, or songs — you can expect great things to land on your table at Tiga. The bustling spot puts chefs Roy Kurniawan and Dhani Diastika center stage — or center sushi bar — making playful and creative rolls, with specials pairing unexpected ingredients like salmon, Brussels sprouts, sweet potato crisps, and Parmigiano-Reggiano in rice paper with a truffle yuzu aioli, a recent highlight. Popular mainstays include the Sweet Jane (after the Cowboy Junkies song) featuring kani salad on the inside topped with seared salmon and spicy barbecue sauce. The Grandwazoo (album, Frank Zappa) has spicy scallop, avocado, masago and crunch all rolled up in a layer of squid that Kurniawan blasts with a blowtorch. The Phish Sandwich is a spicy tuna square with avocado, tobiko, bonito, and sweet soy. Sure, there are classic rolls and sashimi combos, but with so much excellent experimentation, why bother?

Umami in Albertson found its way onto our radar last year with its minimalist dining room separated into wood-paneled, windowed nooks. The brightly lit sushi bar offers a 13-course omakase dinner for $175, while the extensive a la carte menu is the work of owner Alex Dai. Umami may read like your neighborhood sushi spot, but its quality and presentation raise the bar. Recent specials included creamy uni and live scallops, sliced thin and layered atop a big, shiny shell. Shima aji, or lean strips of striped jack, sing with dollops of zippy green jalapeño dressing and crunchy chili garlic. Even the humble chirashi bowl, a rainbow of sliced fish options over vinegar rice, is a display of impeccable workmanship, and wildly satisfying. Salmon to squid, sea eel to surf clams, sea bream to Spanish mackerel, snow crab to octopus to sweet shrimp, sashimi and nigiri are all presented traditionally, with minimal fanfare. Sake selections range from a reasonable $35 to $300 for a bottle of Sawanoi Hojo 35, featuring water that spends seven years filtering down a mountain.