Omakase Westport Opens With 16 Course Omakase ONLY Dining

Last week I had the opportunity and privilege to attend the opening dinner at the newly opened Omakase Westport Restaurant at 45 Saugatuck Avenue in Westport. The vision of Chef Edwin comes to fruition in an incredibly intimate setting. Renowned for his ability to seamlessly blend traditional Japanese techniques with modern flavors and innovative presentations, Chef delivers a memorable experience. 

With decades of experience in prestigious New York City establishments including Sushi of Gari, Nobu, and Tender at the Sanctuary Hotel, Edwin has honed his craft to perfection. His most recent endeavors includes spearheading the sushi program at TerraSole Ristorante in Ridgefield, CT, and showcasing his talent at Omakase in New Fairfield. 

In collaboration with TerraSole owner Scott Yandrasevich, Chef Edwin is introducing his unique Omakase offerings to the local community, sourcing the finest seafood from Japan and fresh local catches. His passion for the art of sushi, combining the traditional with the modern, and dedication to excellence promise to delight and inspire all who visit Omakase Westport.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with Omakase, it’s a unique Japanese dining experience where the chef creates a menu featuring a series of small dishes of his choosing, take note of this important fact, his choosing. With the Omakase experience guests should be willing to have an adventurous palate and trust the chef. The result is a culinary journey that will surprise and delight, showcasing the chef's expertise, creativity, and mastery of flavors and textures through a meticulously curated selection of dishes rather than a fixed menu.  With Omakase there’s an emphasis on freshness, and you’ll taste the difference. The experience allows chef's ability to gather the best ingredients, ensuring the highest quality and seasonality in every dish. The meal unfolds as a carefully crafted series of dishes.

Omakase Westport seats 10 people in at an open counter space allowing the diners complete access to the chef as he works his way around his creations. He slices, dices and molds while offering entertaining and informative explanations about the fish, the flavors and his techniques. Here, Omakase is more than a meal of multiple courses, it’s a completely immersive experience involving all the senses. 
We started our culinary adventure with a Scallop, thinly sliced with a touch of Ponzu, simple and flavorful. Next to be plated was the Yellowtail from Japan in a “modern style,” with rice mildly seasoned with a sweet red wine vinegar is cooked al dente, as chef wants his diners to experience the “chew” from the firmer texter in contrast to the buttery fish. While there’s soy sauce at the table, I recommend not using it, at least initially. There’s so much flavor from chef’s seasonings in each small bite that the natural flavors shine through beautifully. The Scottish Salmon marinated in a soy broth is served skin on and “flame fired” for crispiness which is a lovely contrast in texture for a lovely mouthfeel. In between each course, chef gives us a thorough explanation about the fish itself as well as the preparation. 

The Snapper, served with the skin on, was poached to tenderize the skin thus making it much more palatable. The wild tuna was simple, straightforward with a touch of marinade, delicate and buttery. With each course I noted the vibrantly colored slices each time we were served. The octopus was boiled for three minutes to improve the texture, sliced thinly and wrapped over a small ball of the aromatic rice. I enjoyed the contrast of textures, but a couple struggled a bit with the chewiness of this one. Striped Jack was a new to me fish, stronger and firmer than yellowtail. I found it wonderful. The medium fatty tuna with grated radish and ponzu offered a gentle heat. The Salmon with tomato, chopped onion and mayo may have been my favorite of the modern creations, giving me bagel & lox vibes. The Spanish Mackerel was seared on the skin side and topped with ginger and scallion. The fattiness of the fish was a lovely complement to the “bite” offered from the ginger and scallions. The mackerel from Japan, a lovely flavorful oily fish. 

The next dish worried me slightly, I will admit. I am not an Uni fan. I am, however,  adventurous and willing to try anything once. The Uni with ikura and rice was divine! My issue with uni (sea urchin) is purely a texture thing. This foie gras of the sea, as it is dubbed, with its mildly sweet flavor isn’t for everyone, but paired with the texture and saltiness of the ikura (salmon roe) and the seasoned rice, this seaweed wrapped roll was absolutely delicious. The red snapper with flame was gently torched and drizzled with the ponzu, followed by a buttery king salmon. The shrimp, was lightly flame seared, sweet and tender was followed by, lastly, a handroll featuring bluefin tuna topped with radish, a fab contrast of flavors and textures from the crispy, salty seaweed that enveloped the clean buttery fish and contrasting chopped, slightly spicy radish.

A scoop of matcha ice cream was a lovely palate cleanser and the perfect way to end a delightful, memorable evening.

Omakase Westport offers three seatings, at 5:00, 7:00 and 9:00 PM five nights a week. The restaurant is open Tuesday through Saturday.
A typical meal features 16 course and is $185 per person. All menus are available on their website.