Sushi Nakazawa

Tucked onto crooked, tree-shaded Commerce Street, one of the West Village's prettiest blocks, Sushi Nakazawa has been one of New York's defining omakase restaurants since 2013. Owner Alessandro Borgognone hired chef Daisuke Nakazawa after watching the documentary Jiro Dreams of Sushi, in which Nakazawa appears as an apprentice to the Tokyo master Jiro Ono. Months after opening, Pete Wells of The New York Times awarded it four stars, a rare perfect score, and the Michelin Guide later gave it a star. The restaurant has just ten seats at the sushi counter and about 25 in the dining room, and the mood is calm, precise and quietly celebratory.

New York Turk booked a solo seat here in 2025 for a Michelin-level night out, and the counter is the right choice if you can get it: watching each piece formed and handed across is the experience. The format is omakase, a long progression of nigiri, roughly twenty pieces, served one at a time, each brushed and seasoned by the chef before it reaches you. Let the chef set the pace and eat each piece as soon as it lands. The dining room serves the same style of meal in a slightly more relaxed setting, and a lounge next door has offered an a la carte menu. Reserve well in advance, especially for the counter.