Sushi Noz

The story

Crafted with passion, served with love

A Hokkaido Childhood, Realized on East 78th Street

Chef Nozomu Abe grew up in Hokkaido, where his grandfather ran a seafood company. That early immersion in exceptional fish — uni, salmon roe, king crab — shaped everything that followed. After apprenticing in Sapporo and spending years in Tokyo mastering the centuries-old Edomae tradition, Chef Noz arrived in New York in 2007 with a clear ambition: to bring his particular vision of Japanese cuisine to an American audience. He spent three years at the storied Sushiden before opening Sushi Noz on the Upper East Side.

The Space Itself Is Part of the Meal

The dining room was conceived in the Sukiya architectural style — the same refined aesthetic associated with traditional Kyoto teahouses. A dozen varieties of cedar line the walls. The woodwork is joined without a single nail. At the center of it all sits a 200-year-old hinoki wood sushi bar, flanked by a traditional hinoki ice chest of the kind sushi chefs used in the Edo period before modern refrigeration. Every element is deliberate, calibrated to produce a sense of harmony rather than spectacle.

Guests choose between two counters: the 8-seat Hinoki Counter, where Chef Noz himself presides Monday through Friday, and the 6-seat Ash Room, built from Tamo Ash — a rare wood once reserved for Japanese royalty — where the sous chef presents the same menu twice nightly.

Edomae, Course by Course

The tasting menu follows a classical Edomae structure. It opens with five or six otsumami: small plates built around seasonal fish and vegetables. From there, twelve to fourteen courses of seasonal nigiri progress in a deliberate sequence, closing with miso soup, tamago, and dessert. The beverage program offers two pairing options — Signature and Prestige — each drawing from sake, Champagne, and white wine, a combination that earned Sushi Noz the Wine Spectator Best of Award of Excellence.

The Japanese cuisine here is not adapted for accessibility. It is presented on its own terms: shellfish are central, rice is non-negotiable, and the menu shifts with what the season offers. That specificity is precisely the point — and the reason a seat at either counter remains among the more sought-after reservations in the city.