Hatsu Omakase: The All-You-Can-Eat Omakase Experience in NYC

Hatsu Omakase Introduce

In a city where omakase restaurants can often come with a triple-digit price tag and a formal atmosphere, Hatsu Omakase in the East Village offers a refreshingly unique concept. This Japanese restaurant specializes in an all-you-can-eat omakase experience, a truly rare find that combines the premium quality of a chef's tasting menu with the generous spirit of unlimited servings. Hatsu provides a fantastic value proposition, serving meticulously prepared nigiri and small bites in a cozy, trendy setting. It’s a place that has quickly gained a reputation for its excellent food, attentive service, and a celebratory vibe that makes it a favorite among both locals and visitors to the city. For those seeking an incredible and indulgent meal without the pretense, Hatsu Omakase is a must-visit destination.

The atmosphere at Hatsu Omakase is best described as a tale of two parts. While the interior is cozy and trendy, some customer reviews note that the ambiance may not be the restaurant's strongest point for a formal or romantic occasion. One reviewer mentioned some outdoor issues with dripping AC water and mosquitoes, which are part of the "NYC AC struggle." However, the same reviewer still gave the restaurant a five-star rating, underscoring that the food and service are so exceptional that they "overlook the ambiance a bit." The focus here is on the lively and engaging experience with the chefs and staff. As one satisfied customer put it, Hatsu is the place to get "a great meal and a pregame wrapped up in one," highlighting its celebratory and fun atmosphere. The open kitchen and the opportunity to watch the chefs work with "so much focus and experience" add to the unique and personal feel of the dining experience.

The food is, without a doubt, the star of the show at Hatsu Omakase. The meal begins with a set number of courses, including a variety of expertly prepared nigiri and a few small bites. From there, the magic of the all-you-can-eat concept comes into play. Customers can order more of their favorites, with popular options often including salmon, tuna, shrimp, and the coveted A5 Wagyu beef. Reviewers praise the quality and freshness of the fish, noting the "thoughtful combos" and "great fish-to-rice ratio." Standout items mentioned by customers include the salmon and foie gras, seared chutoro (fatty tuna), and the A5 Wagyu Beef. A customer who compared Hatsu to a competitor noted that for "value and incredible food," Hatsu "wins." The dessert is also part of the all-you-can-eat deal, with the mochi ice cream being a simple but satisfying end to the meal.

Hatsu's menu features a variety of premium sushi courses that are available for the all-you-can-eat portion of the meal, with some specialty items like Botan Ebi and Toro (fatty tuna belly) available. This provides an excellent opportunity to try a wide range of high-quality fish and unique preparations. The focus is on traditional Japanese fare with a few standout offerings, like the A5 Wagyu Beef from Miyazaki, that elevates the experience beyond a typical sushi meal. The combination of a structured omakase tasting and the freedom to indulge in your favorites makes the dining experience both sophisticated and fun.

Location and Accessibility

Hatsu Omakase is located at 133 E 4th St, New York, NY 10003, USA, in the lively and central East Village. This puts it in a great spot for both residents and visitors exploring the downtown area. The restaurant is easily accessible by a variety of subway lines and buses that serve the neighborhood. For those driving, paid street parking is available, but as with most of Manhattan, it can be a challenge to find a spot. The best way to get there is by taking public transit or a rideshare service, allowing you to fully enjoy the evening without worrying about parking.

The restaurant is a cozy space that is focused on the in-house dining experience. While specific details on physical accessibility were not publicly available, the restaurant's welcoming nature suggests a focus on customer comfort. It's a small, intimate space, and the best experience is had when you are fully present to enjoy the chef's craft.

Services Offered

Hatsu Omakase is an exclusive dining experience, and its services are designed to ensure a seamless and memorable meal. The services include:

Dine-in Only: The restaurant's service is centered on the in-person omakase experience, with all courses and preparations happening at the chef's counter or table. This allows for a direct connection with the chefs and an authentic feel.
Reservations Required: Due to the intimate size and high demand, dinner reservations are required and highly recommended. This ensures that every guest has a dedicated seat and a prime spot to enjoy the full multi-course meal.
Table Service: All food and drink are served by attentive staff, ensuring a smooth and enjoyable dining experience. The service is often praised in customer reviews for being "fantastic" and "attentive."
Full Bar Offerings: The restaurant serves a variety of alcoholic beverages, including beer, wine, and sake. A major highlight noted by customers is the all-you-can-drink sake option, with reviewers mentioning their cups were "constantly being filled" with a "variety" of sake.

Features / Highlights

What makes Hatsu Omakase a standout choice in New York's competitive dining scene? It's the combination of its unique concept and its high-quality offerings. Here are some of its key features and highlights:

All-You-Can-Eat Omakase: This is Hatsu's most defining feature. It provides an exceptional value for money, allowing guests to enjoy unlimited servings of premium sushi and other dishes, which is a very rare offering in the fine dining space.
High-Quality Ingredients: The restaurant is known for its fresh fish and high-quality ingredients. Customers rave about the fresh tuna, salmon, and particularly the A5 Wagyu beef from Miyazaki, which is a rare treat.
Expertly Prepared Nigiri: The chefs at Hatsu are highly experienced and focused on their craft. Guests get to witness the meticulous preparation of each piece of sushi, which adds to the overall theatrical and authentic experience.
Generous All-You-Can-Drink Sake: The generous and varied sake refills are a huge plus for many customers, adding to the fun and celebratory atmosphere of the dinner. The attentive service ensures your glass is never empty.
Cozy and Trendy Atmosphere: While not a formal setting, the restaurant's cozy and trendy ambiance makes it a great spot for a fun and engaging dinner. The focus is on the communal enjoyment of food and drink, rather than a stuffy fine dining experience.

Contact Information

To secure your spot for a truly unique omakase experience, here is the contact information for Hatsu Omakase.

Address: 133 E 4th St, New York, NY 10003, USA

Phone: (631) 868-8600

Mobile Phone: +1 631-868-8600

What is Worth Choosing

For New Yorkers who are passionate about Japanese food and are looking for a unique and high-value experience, Hatsu Omakase is an essential choice. What makes it stand out is its groundbreaking all-you-can-eat format. While some omakase spots can feel rushed or leave you feeling like you didn't get enough, Hatsu ensures that you leave not only full but also completely satisfied. The ability to reorder your favorite pieces, especially the premium ones like Wagyu and fatty tuna, is a game-changer and a huge draw for regulars.

The quality of the food is another key reason to choose Hatsu. Even with the all-you-can-eat model, the freshness and preparation are top-notch. As a reviewer noted, the fish is "fresh" and the flavor combinations are "thoughtful." This is a place where value doesn't come at the cost of quality. The friendly and attentive service further enhances the experience, with staff members like Amy and the chefs themselves creating a welcoming and personal environment that makes you feel cared for.

Finally, the overall vibe of Hatsu is a major draw. It’s a place for celebration and indulgence, not a quiet, romantic dinner. The lively atmosphere, combined with the all-you-can-drink sake, makes it the perfect place to kick off a night out or simply to enjoy a fantastic meal with friends. For those who want to experience the artistry of omakase without the stuffiness and with the added bonus of unlimited food and drink, Hatsu Omakase is the number one choice in the city. It's a place where you get more than you pay for in terms of both food and fun, and that's a combination that's hard to beat in New York City.

Hatsu Omakase Menu

Sushi Courses
Hamachi $8.00
Sawara-Spanish Mackerel $8.00
Gindara-Sablefish $8.00
Botan Ebi-Sweet Shrimp $10.00
Hotate-Sea Scallop $10.00
Sake-Salmon $8.00
Akami-Bluefin's Tuna $8.00
Toro-Fatty Tuna Belly $12.00
A5 Wagyu Beef-Miyazaki Cow $15.00
Unagi-Eel $8.00
Toro Hand Roll $10.00

Desserts
Mochi Ice Cream $3.00

Hatsu Omakase Details

Service options
Dine-in
Delivery
Takeout

Popular for
Dinner
Solo dining

Accessibility
Wheelchair accessible parking lot

Offerings
Alcohol
Beer
Wine

Dining options
Dinner
Dessert
Table service

Amenities
Restroom

Atmosphere
Cozy
Trendy

Planning
Reservations required
Dinner reservations recommended
Accepts reservations

Payments
Credit cards
Debit cards
Credit cards

Parking
Paid street parking
Parking

Hatsu Omakase Photos

Hatsu Omakase Location

Hatsu Omakase

New York New York County New York East 4th Street

133 E 4th St, New York, NY 10003, USA

Hatsu Omakase Reviews

An average rating of ★4.5 from 78 user reviews.

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★ 5★ 4★ 3★ 2★ 1

We had our favorite meal this past trip at Hatsu Omakase. You start with 13 courses of nigiri, along with a few small bites. My favorites out of these courses were the salmon and foie gras, seared chutoro, and unagi. The best part was the AYCE portion of the meal, where I ordered quite a few pieces of chutoro and wagyu.The service here was fantastic, with our sake cups constantly being filled with quite a bit of variety for their AYCD menu. Shoutout to Amy for the warm hospitality. It’s also pretty awesome to see the chefs in action, with so much focus and experience.Hatsu is the best. You get a great meal and a pregame wrapped up in one. I will come here every time I’m back in NYC.
May 14 · Andy Jan
Rating: 5/5 for food & service, 3.5/5 for ambianceIf you’re anything like I was two hours ago, you’re probably wondering the same thing: how does this place stack up against the other AYCE omakase in NYC (yes, the one that starts with “S”)? I went to that one recently, so I was curious to see how Hatsu compared.The food: Excellent. Fresh fish, thoughtful combos, great fish-to-rice ratio. The AYCE options were salmon, tuna, shrimp, and wagyu. Salmon and wagyu were fantastic. The tuna could have been amazing, but the yuzu tobiko on top gave it a weird texture I didn’t love. After the four AYCE courses, they gave us a “last call” round so we could re-order our favorites. The mochi ice cream at the end was also AYCE! The Labubu drawing game was fun too although sadly we didn’t win.The service: Our server was wonderful, super attentive and generous with the sake refills. I literally lost track of how much sake I drank.The ambiance: Now the not so great part. While we waited outside, AC water was dripping from a pipe next to the door, leaving the entryway covered in water. My boyfriend came away with a collection of mosquito bites (despite being out in NYC all day with no bug issues). Trust me I understand the NYC AC struggle in the summer but there must be a better way that doesn’t leave puddles of water around the entrance that attract mosquitoes…Once inside, we had booked a “window” seat. The vibe and ambiance of a restaurant is importabt to me so I always try to get a good view. Imagine my surprise when the entire window was covered with Labubu and sake boxes. LOL.Overall: The food was fantastic enough that I overlook the ambiance a bit, which is why I still landed on 5 stars. But personally, this wouldn’t be my #1 pick for a romantic date or special occasion.Hatsu vs. S.A.:Food, sake options, AYCE dessert → Hatsu winsAmbiance & vibe → S.A. winsBoth are good, but if you want value and incredible food, go Hatsu. If you want a more romantic or upscale atmosphere, go S.A.
August 16 · Nicole Linderman
After much research we opted to try out Hatsu as our first AYCE omakase experience and it was amazing. Food service started promptly after seating, we were offered the appetizer and miso soup immediately. The chef also introduced us to the sake options (all you can drink as well!).The pacing during the main courses was well-timed. It was a full house during our reservation and there was only 2 chefs, but chef Jackie still took the liberty to explain each dish to us in detail. It’s very clear that he really cares about his craft and is very knowledgeable. He had so much patience in answering our questions and was very enthusiastic in explaining how he designed the menu. My favorite pieces of the meal was amberjack with crispy shallots, salmon for gras with grated white truffle, and the Hokkaido uni was also very sweet and creamy. During the courses, our drinks and miso soup were also promptly refilled throughout.For our AYCE options, we were given the choices of salmon, toro, shrimp, and wagyu. You get one round for each sushi, and after that you also get one final round to order as much of any of those 4. The fish to rice ratio was perfect. This is something I really appreciated from Hatsu, is that they didn’t try to stuff us with large amounts of rice for the AYCE session. Also, I was pleasantly surprised with the attention to detail for all the AYCE pieces, i.e. salmon was topped with a white truffle sauce, toro was topped with yuzu tobiko etc., to me that shows me how much they care about the quality of their food. There was 90 minutes total for the main course+AYCE, and at no point did we feel rushed. Finally, we had mochi ice cream for dessert and that was AYCE as well. Overall, the food was great and the service was immaculate. I highly recommend Hatsu and will definitely be back!
June 21 · Vanessa L
My boyfriend and I had an amazing time here. There were courses that came out that we were eh about and some that we were talking about for the rest of the night. All you can drink sake included and I tried about 5 of them? The owner, Jackie, is the main chef and superb in what he does. The sushi is on the smaller size but the perfect pop in your mouth size and then the all you can eat at the end, they are VERY generous. I left so full haha
May 30 · S
One of the best ayce omakase places I've been to. The main course was full of flavor and seasoned just right. Compared to other ayce omakase places, I liked that this place offered two chances to order more pieces. The other ayce omakase I've been only let you order from the ayce menu once so you may find yourself ordering too much. At this place, I felt at ease ordering a small portion the first round to see how much more I can eat. The way do it here is very much appreciated! The pieces were on the small side so I would recommend that you order more than you think you can handle. I ended up eating 21 extra pieces when in other ayce omakases I was struggling with 12. The server did mention they offer unlimited mochi ice cream but at that point it was almost the end of service so most people didn't take advantage of that. Overall, I had a great experience here and I would definitely come again!
August 13 · Cass Tan