Sushi Mizumi

The story

Crafted with passion, served with love

A Bar of Ancient Hinoki Cypress, Twelve Seats, Two Masters

Sushi Mizumi at Wynn Palace in Cotai occupies one of the most deliberately intimate spaces in Macao's fine-dining landscape. Guests are seated at a counter fashioned from ancient Japanese Hinoki Cypress — a material chosen as carefully as anything on the plate — facing a maximum of twelve places. That ratio of space to attention is not incidental: two master chefs work the bar simultaneously, which means every piece of Edomae sushi is prepared with a level of focus that a larger room simply cannot sustain.

The Chef at the Centre

The restaurant is helmed by Chef Tsutomu Shimamiya, who holds the title of contemporary master craftsman — the highest honor of artisan expertise awarded by the Japanese government. His guest list over the years has included Presidents Clinton and Obama, a detail that speaks less to celebrity and more to the calibre of precision his Edomae sushi demands. Watching him work from close range is part of what Sushi Mizumi offers; the counter format makes the craft visible, and a few words of Japanese, however modest, tend to open the conversation.

Ingredients and the Logic of Freshness

The kitchen's sourcing discipline is straightforward and rigorous: ingredients are flown in from various regions of Japan five times a week. Seasonal scallops, sea urchin, and whatever the Japanese fishing grounds are producing at their peak arrive in Cotai as close to market-fresh as geography allows. The menu follows that produce rather than the other way around, which is the defining principle of Edomae sushi done properly.

Sake as a Serious Pursuit

The sake list is shared with the neighboring fine-dining room Mizumi and is overseen by a dedicated sake sommelier. With more than 70 varieties of the Japanese rice wine available, it is considered one of the strongest collections in the region — a complement to the food rather than an afterthought.

Recognition That Reflects the Room

Forbes Travel Guide awarded Sushi Mizumi its Five-Star rating, citing precisely the qualities that define the experience: the two-to-twelve chef-to-guest ratio, the proximity to the masters at work, and the consistent quality of seasonal Edomae sushi outside of Tokyo. For a restaurant this small, that recognition carries particular weight.