Sushi Noz
New York, USA
Sushi Noz is a Japanese sushi restaurant on East 78th Street in New York’s Upper East Side, at 181 E. 78th St., between Lexington and Third Avenue. The restaurant is the namesake project of Chef Nozomu Abe, whose background includes apprenticeship in Sapporo, further training in Tokyo, and a move to New York in 2007 before opening Sushi Noz. The house presents itself as an intimate dining room shaped by Japanese design traditions rather than a broad, all-purpose restaurant format. Its cooking is built around an Edomae-style tasting menu. According to the restaurant, this begins with several otsumami, followed by a longer sequence of seasonal nigiri, then miso soup, tamago and dessert. Michelin also describes the food as a refined Japanese-sushi experience with carefully handled fish and an emphasis on balance, while noting dishes that may include elements such as king crab, oyster and eel preparations. That combination suggests a highly structured omakase format led by seasonal produce and seafood. The setting is notably compact and purposefully detailed. Sushi Noz says the dining room is conceived like an ancient Kyoto temple, with sukiya-style architecture, varied cedar woods, and a 200-year-old hinoki sushi bar at the centre. Michelin notes an eight-seat sushi bar made from old hinoki wood and an authentic icebox chest used for fish storage, while the restaurant adds that guests may sit either at the 8-seat Hinoki Counter or the 6-seat Ash Room, the latter built with rare tamo ash wood. Service is arranged as a series of limited seatings rather than open dining. The restaurant says Chef Noz serves at the Hinoki Counter on weekdays, while the Ash Room is presented by the sous chef; it also offers private dining in both rooms and some private catering. Michelin identifies air conditioning and a notable sake list, and the restaurant states that beverage pairings may include sake, champagne and white wine, reinforcing a formal, reservation-led experience with an emphasis on precision and pace.