Sushi Yukinari

Sushi Yukinari (鮨 ゆきなり)

⭐⭐⭐⭐

🍣 Sushi / 📍 Kita-Aoyama

📓 Visits: 2 (2023-2024)

"Basement, Grim Building, Shibuya" was not the most auspicious address on paper but the closure of Sushi Yukinari in its original location no sooner I published the original version of this review was only because (I'm pleased to report) the chef was moving to a brand new building in Kita Aoyama.

I had the omakase lunch again on my second visit, now priced at JPY 16,500 inclusive.  The omakase prices have risen by 25% since the move, a larger increase for the now 11k nigiri-only lunch (which was 8k).  Oma chutoro I rated 9/10 on flavour and 8/10 on size.  The hokkigai I rated 9/10.  Hirakawa Hokkaido bafun uni gunkanmaki had no taste of alum.  No hikarimono were included in the set this time (a shame, because the kohada was sensational on visit #1) so I added shime saba, which was not as good as the rest of the neta, and the kind of neta where "not as good" is "not great".  Shari is seasoned with aka-zu only but is mild and not dry.

The highlight of my first meal at Sushi Yukinari were the tsumami.  Suppon chawanmushi was everything you ever hope you'd get from a suppon chawanmushi: packed with meat and not simply flavoured with dashi.  It was served again in my second meal but was it bigger last time?  Excluding the chawanmushi I only noted two tsumami on my second visit.  Shako was literally just that.  Awabi was served with a tamamoto mayonnaise and then finished with a little rice to make a "risotto".  Compared with my previous meal there was one less tsumami (a perfect satoimo manju last time) and one more nigiri.  The unagi temaki was also replaced with a more conventional anago nigiri and the owan was miso soup instead of clear soup.  The matcha blancmange was as good as before.

I noted that I felt like Yukinari-san needed a kitchen assistant on my first meal as he frequently disappeared into the back kitchen leaving gaps in service.  My second meal was quicker, as I was the only diner.  Baba Yukinari (who was general at Gotanda Sushi Tokyo 81 and trained at Ginza Onodera) loves to chat and his English seems to have improved (a little) since my last visit.  The new location is much better: cleaner, more spacious and (a rarity for sushi restaurants) a window letting in natural light and a display of a few outdoor plants.

I'd have been pretty miffed with the tsumami count if I'd looked at the Tabelog page, which states "5 tsumami, 10 nigiri, soup and dessert" for the omakase lunch, before my visits.  The nigiri are also modern Tokyo small.  But overall, this is still one of the better new sushi restaurants in this price range in the last couple of years and I think the chef has tremendous potential.  I just wanted more of those banging tsumami.

📌 https://tabelog.com/tokyo/A1306/A130603/13296431/

❓ My Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ 4.1

📱 Booking: 🟩 Easy.  Next day via Tabelog or same-day by phone.

📍 Location: 

5F, 3-1-14 Jingumae.  7 mins north-east from Omotesando Station Exit A2.

Map data ©2025 Google

📅 Visit November 2024

🕛 Omakase Lunch 16,500

🥚 Suppon chawanmushi 
🐟 Shako
🐟 Awabi, tamamoto mayonnaise 
🍣 Chutoro 
🍣 Sumi ika
🍣 Shima aji
🍣 Kasugo
🍣 Tairagai
🍣 Buri
🍣 Hokkigai
🍣 Kuruma ebi
🍣 Akami zuke
🍙  Hirakawa Hokkaido bafun uni gunkanmaki
🍣 Anago
🍙  Kanpyo 1/2
🍲  Aka dashi
🍣  +Shime Saba
🍣  +Amai ebi
🍵  Matcha blancmange

💴 Damage: 18,100 inc. water

⏱️ Time taken: 1h15m

📅 Visit November 2023

🕛 Omakase Lunch 13,000

🥚 Suppon chawanmushi
🐟 Hirame, engawa, Yoichi ankimo ponzu
🐟 Mehikari yakimono
🍣 Sumi ika nigiri
🍣 Amadai shiro
🍣 Hokkigai
🍣 Chutoro
🍣 Sawara zuke
🍣 Katsuo
🍣 Kasugo
🍲 Satoimo mangu ika geso
🍣 Kuruma ebi
🍣 Kohada
🍙 Hokkaido bafun uni temaki
🍙 Unagi temaki
🍲 Owan
🍬 Matcha blancmange

💴 Damage: 13,000 inc. water
⏱️ Time taken: 1h40m