This lunch omakase has a new home

Consider this a second chance. For two-and-a-half years, I’ve lived with a little nagging feeling of regret. It’s because @sushi — contemporary styling for Atsushi — was the last restaurant I reviewed just two days before the first of our pandemic shutdowns in March 2020. So the review served no one, neither diners who might have wanted to try the omakase restaurant, nor chef-owner Atsushi Kumagai, who, after being able to reopen a month later, returned to a world of takeout-only operations.

But for diners, perhaps it has worked out for the best. Two years ago, they would have found themselves surrounded by the hustle and bustle of Ohana Hale Marketplace. Now @sushi has a much more elegant, private new home for its exclusive experience at Waterfront Plaza, at a custom monkeypod counter that seats up to eight at a time.

It’s so new that the restaurant’s signage has yet to appear, so for now look for the glass doors with rock wall imagery in the alleyway behind Hairscapes Salon.

In the interim, plenty of competitors have appeared on the scene, but at a current $150 per person for 15 courses before tax and tip, it’s still on par with the best, a handful of comparable establishments offering omakase at closer to $300 per person.

The omakase starts simply before becoming more and more extravagant. First up are single pieces of maguro and chutoro nigiri, brushed with the chef’s thickened soy glaze flavored with sake and mirin. Don’t go looking for extra shoyu and wasabi for dunking your sushi, a local ritual considered déclassé in the motherland where, traditionally, the proper amounts of both are left in the chef’s capable hands.

Chef Kumagai’s rice is a 50-50 blend of Niigata koshihikari, considered ideal for sushi, and Sendai sasanishiki, paying tribute to cities where he grew up.

Next came nigiri of Kona kampachi topped with a dab of potent citrusy and spicy housemade yuzukosho— always a treat.

Similarly, what might have been nigiri of plain red snapper was enhanced by a wrap of shiso and ume paste.

What followed were fatty king salmon nigiri, then sashimi of Iwate scallop seasoned with a bit of salt and summery burst of lemon, as well as sweet local amaebi nigiri, also finished with soy glaze and lemon.

At this halfway point came more elaborate offerings, starting with one of Kumagai’s personal favorites of kawahagi topped with its own creamy liver, accented with spicy radish and green onions.

Then came one of my favorites, nigiri of nodoguro (blackthroat sea perch). Aburi-style torching helped release the flavorful oils locked within this tender, fatty fish.

I’ve never been a fan of shiso, which packs a herbal potency that tends to overwhelm every dish in which it appears, but Kumagai maintains a good balance when including it in pressed saba nigiri, also with green onion and ginger blanketed under a sheet of kelp. The garden flavors helped to neutralize any unpleasant aspects of this fishiest of fishes.

Nigiri of seared ahi marinated in jalapeño soy sauce had a nice finishing kick, before chef hit us with a couple of extravagant dishes.

The first was a lush bowl of Santa Barbara and Russian uni with ikura over rice, followed by nigiri of aburi toro crowned with gold flakes.

Winding down the meal was miso soup with the amaebi head from a previous course, and finally, the chef’s mini upscale loco moco with Miyazaki A5 wagyu and quail egg over flavorful beef fried rice with egg and onion.

The only thing missing was dessert that I hope he can add.

Lunches are timed to last two-and-a-half hours, which is exactly the time allotted for free parking validation in the plaza, so to stay within that time you may have to rush those last bites. But if you want to linger and savor them, $3 extra for parking is a small price to pay for the enjoyment.

At the moment, Kumagai has no plans to offer dinner service.

@sushi

Waterfront Plaza
500 Ala Moana Blvd., Honolulu
Food: ****
Service: ***½
Ambiance: ****
Value: ****
Call: 808-358-4593
Hours: Two lunch seatings at 11:30 A.M. and 2 P.M., Tuesdays-Saturdays
Prices: Omakase about $150 per person before tax and tip; BYOB

Nadine Kam’s restaurant visits are unannounced and paid for by Honolulu Star-Advertiser. Follow Nadine on Instagram (@nadinekam) or on YouTube (youtube.com/nadinekam).