Omakase means more or less “I leave it to you” and it is a code word for luxury multi-course meals in Japan where the chef decide what you get. Typically an omakase involves sushi and this was the case with Sushi Tanabe, a premium dining venue in Sapporo, Hokkaido. Sushi Tanabe has been around for around 13 years (my visit dates back to July 2018) and 3 years ago moved in the current location a stone throw away from Sapporo station in a fancy commercial tower, The Rokkattei Building, on the 9th floor (where, by pure coincidence, you can find another interesting venue, Molière Café, the coffee shop spin-off of one of the most renown restaurants in town). In 2012 it was one of the 4 restaurants to get three stars (the highest award) in the inaugural Michelin guide for Hokkaido. The stars were abruptly dropped in the 2017 guide (more on this later).
The visit
I was able to make a reservation for dinner (it is not open for lunch) by email (a, rarity in Japan), but it does not look like a sold-out location any longer so walk-ins are probably possible. By the way, they have a pretty large location, with a big counter seating 13 guests and two cooking stations for two chefs to work simultaneously (they also have two private rooms, but the beauty of an omakase is to seat close to the chef).
I ordered the basic omakase set including an appetizer, 10 pieces of sushi and desserts for 10,500 yen plus plus (more on this in the “the check” section). Two more menus were available with additional grilled dishes and sashimi (the most expensive being priced 16,800 yen or around 150 USD).
As it happens in this kind of restaurants, the chef personally grated the horseradish to use in the sushi rice (no horseradish/wasabi available for the diner, all is taken care by the chef including the soy sauce) and cut the ginger (that was not replenished during the meal).
On the contrary of what happened in my previous omakase in Osaka, the chef served multiple customers arriving at different times and ordering different menus.
Here’s what I got:
- Appetizer: a succulent oyster from Hokkaido with vinegar (but it was a small bite, I did not have the time to dip it).
- Hirame: white fish usually translated with halibut.
- Maguro: classic slice of tuna.
- Kohada: gizzard shad is a small fish (around 5 inches) and the preparation involved to cut the fish slice on the surface, I guess to make it softer and get the flavor to emerge). According to the Sushi Geek, this fish undergoes extensive preparation and is marinated in vinegar.
- Hotate: a meaty Hokkaido scallop, cleaned on the spot by the chef from the shell.
- Aji: Japanese horse mackerel, with spring onion.
- Kin medai: a reddish slice of golden eye snapper.
- Uni: served on rice sprinkled with salt.
- Sake: salmon, a piece with a bit of skin attached for extra flavor.
- Ikura: a generous amount of salmon roe.
- Miso soup.
- Anago: a melt-in-your mouth saltwater eel.
- Tamago: two bites of Japanese omlette.
- Two desserts: Japanese tea and a cup of crème brûlée and ice cream with a bite of Hokkaido melon.
From the drink menu I ordered a Japanese peach juice. You can browse the gallery below to see pictures of each dish.
All dishes were delicious and executed by the book by the chef in front of me.
The check
The total damage for the dinner was 12,398 yen (around 112 USD). For an omakase dinner like this I find the price acceptable. I was put off by the flat service charge of 1,500 yen (that’s 13.5 USD) that I had not seen mentioned on the website. I know that it is normal for Japanese restaurants to levy cover charges (usually in exchange for a small appetizer called otashi), but I would have preferred them to embed this charge in the menu price or declare it on the website. While overall I was satisfied and I got my omakase, the large space and the fact that the chef was serving multiple customers with different orders at the same time made the meal less intimate than my omakase in Osaka. I would call this omakase “by the book”. Everything was executed well, no complaints, but I found the chef a bit too mechanic and hasty. Maybe was this the reason the restaurant lost its Michelin award? This is just speculation, but I felt there was no soul in the overall experience and I was in a cookie-cutter type of operation. This is not meant to be a disparaging comment. I would certainly recommend the place to others, especially considering that they are accustomed to deal with foreign customers and that’s certainly a plus. Personally, now I know what I want: in the future I will scout for smaller and more intimate places where I can see the chef/owner truly involved and enthusiast about the food he or she is preparing.
Where in Sapporo:
The Rokkattei Building 9 floor, 3-3, North 4 West 6, Chu-ou-ku, Sapporo city
Address in Japanese: 札幌市中央区北４条西６丁目 六花亭ビル９階
See website in English for more information.