Towa – Amazing Value for Omakase in NYC

If you are looking for a good omakase experience in NYC that’s under $100, consider Towa. They have two omakase menus. One is $75 and the other $95. The main difference is one has a sashimi course. You can also add a blue fin course for $30 and uni for MP. We did the full. Here was the $95 menu.

They also have al la carte and you can sit in the dining room or sushi counter. For omakase, you should sit at the bar. The meal started with a selection of appetizers:

…and then the sashimi course:

I’m not a fan of sashimi in general. I prefer with rice. However, I liked that this one was served with sauce and some garnishes. I think you can skip this and just go for the $75 menu. The next up was the blue fin course served sashimi style:

Then the uni. I was impressed by the uni course because they had BC uni and Santa Barbara uni. I have always felt that BC produced some world class uni but it is not common to find outside BC. I was surprised to see it in NYC (and yes, comparing the two side-by-side I would say the BC uni tasted better):

After this, the sushi started. I liked that the menu is focused primarily on sushi.

I thought that the sushi was pretty good with the enhancements not overpowering the fish, just the right amount of soy, perfect wasabi, and good execution on the rice. After the first five pieces, the meal switched to a chawanmushi:

Then back to sushi:

(they asked if I wanted to add an extra piece which was their special of the day, the clam, so I did)

The meal ended with miso soup:

…and well executed handroll:

…and dessert:

Overall, this was an extremely enjoyable meal. The service was fantastic. From the server who took our order and poured drinks, to the men behind the counter preparing the sushi. We had good interaction with the chefs, and I also learned they served Japanese breakfast in the morning. I will definitely check it out in the future. Its extremely rare to find this level of omakase sushi for under $100 anywhere in the US, let alone in NYC. I would gladly return and highly recommend.