Kaiten Sushi Ginza Onodera
This is one of the best quality sushi restaurants in Omotesando. It's called a kaiten sushi restaurant but nothing is moved on the conveyor belt. Each seat /table has a tablet where you can place up to 5 orders at a time and the orders are brought to your seat. This is great and allows you to eat at a leisurely pace without waiting too long for each plate (even when it's busy!). The tablet has English as well as Japanese. There are seats at the counter and a few tables for larger groups. Each seat has a cup, there is a container with green tea powder and a hot water dispenser between every 2 seats.
Some plates come with 2 pieces and some are single pieces so be sure to check when ordering. Most of the fish comes with soy sauce already applied but there is a soy sauce container and saucer for dipping the gunkan (boat) or maki (roll) pieces.
My recommendations: chuu toro (medium fat tuna 620 JPY), shime saba (pickled mackeral 440 JPY - generally I'm not fond of this type but it is done very well here, the vinegar is very mild), salmon harami (salmon 400 JPY), shima aji (mackeral 650 JPY), kanpachi (amberjack 600 JPY), tuna nakaochi gunkan (minced tuna 720 JPY)
To pay, take the tab with your seat number (it's clipped to the tablet) to the cashier by the entrance; take all the tabs for your group even if you only ordered from 1 tablet. For repeat visitors, there is a reward program where you can collect 1 point for every 3000 JPY spent. After 10 points, you get a discount coupon of 1000 JPY.
NOTE: No reservations are allowed. To queue, get a ticket from the machine in front of the entrance. For the weekend, try to get there at least 10 mins before opening at 10:30am, otherwise be prepared to wait awhile. (Last time I grabbed a ticket just as the store opened on a Sat and was 22nd in the queue. Luckily 3 groups didn't show up so we were the second last group shown in. When we left at noon, the wait time was 2 hours).
Sushi no Midori Akasaka
The sushi is generally decent but the service setup is not as good as Kaiten Sushi Ginza Onodera.
You can order sets or a la carte. Sets will generally save you 50-150 JPY per set (having waited in the restaurant for long durations, I have had ample time to calculate the meager savings to be had by ordering sets). There is an English menu and you can place orders with the waitress.
My a la carte recommendations: The broiled engawa (flounder 250 JPY) is really great and the main reason I return. The fresh engawa, salmon and hotate (scallop) at 250 JPY are generally good. The chutoro (medium fat tuna) at 400 JPY/piece and the ootoro at 500 JPY are hit and miss.
I don't usually order the premium a la carte items as they are often not available, or when it is available, have not enjoyed it (tasted sour).
The wait times can be really long when it is busy. Having been seated at the counter, I am often amazed by the terrible setup. Fish is placed on the plates to be made into sushi by different chefs. Sometimes the plates progress to being made into sushi quickly and sometimes just sit there for a long time waiting for one of the 3 to 4 chefs to notice. I have sometimes seen a chef making takeout sushi (to be placed in the refrigerator at the front entrance) rather than making the many plates of fish waiting. I'm sure that they are trying to catch the lunch crowd who want to buy the ready-made containers but I think that serving customers who have already ordered food should be the priority. For this reason I have started to avoid this restaurant during weekday lunch/dinner time and anytime on the weekend.
Note: Reservations can be made in advance using their app but not for the current date. For the current date, go to the restaurant and take a ticket from the machine at the front of the entrance.
Tenkasushi
There are several menus for 130 JPY, 190 JPY or more. The pieces of fish are small but for the price and quality, it's a great place for those minding their budgets.
I recommend the chu toro (medium fat tuna), toro tekka maki (tuna handroll), iwashi, yaki salmon (grilled salmon), Canadian maki (salmon and avocado roll), and salmon. The hamachi (amberjack), ika (squid) are also decent.
For my list of restaurants, check out my new map.
