Restaurant in New York City, United States
Low-key booking, high repeat-visit rate.
Okonomi is a focused Japanese restaurant in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, with consecutive Opinionated About Dining Casual North America rankings and a 4.5 Google rating across more than 1,200 reviews. Under chef Yuji Haraguchi, it delivers consistent, ingredient-led cooking that holds up for special occasions and solo dining alike. Easy to book and better than its casual label suggests.
Most people arrive at Okonomi expecting a casual Japanese spot with a short menu and a fast turnaround. Correct that assumption before you book: this is a focused, ingredient-driven Japanese restaurant that has earned consecutive Opinionated About Dining Casual North America rankings — #760 in 2024, climbing to #716 in 2025 — and it deserves more deliberate planning than a neighbourhood drop-in. If you want Japanese food in Brooklyn at a relaxed price point without sacrificing quality, Okonomi belongs near the leading of your list. If you want a high-ceremony tasting experience, look at odo or Noda instead.
Okonomi sits at 150 Ainslie Street in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, a neighbourhood that has accumulated enough serious restaurants to make a bad meal feel like a genuine waste. Chef Yuji Haraguchi runs a spare, disciplined room where the kitchen's restraint is the point. The format spans both lunch and dinner, with service running from 9 am through mid-afternoon and returning in the evening most days , Friday and Saturday service starts slightly earlier at 5:30 pm, a detail worth noting if you're timing a pre-theatre or early-evening plan.
The drinks program at Okonomi is worth taking seriously on its own terms. At a restaurant operating in the OAD Casual tier, the expectation is often that the beverage list is an afterthought , a handful of Japanese beers, a short sake selection, something functional. Okonomi positions itself differently. The Japanese culinary tradition that informs the kitchen extends to how the drinks work alongside the food: sake chosen for compatibility with the menu's flavour profile, and a drinks selection that holds up to the precision on the plate. If you are coming for a special occasion and want a drinks pairing that actually tracks with the meal, this is a better bet than most Brooklyn contemporaries at a similar price point. For comparison, Blue Ribbon Sushi Izakaya offers a broader late-night drinks operation, but Okonomi's tighter, more considered selection suits a sit-down dinner better.
On the question of special occasions: Okonomi works well for a celebratory dinner or a considered date, particularly if both parties value cooking over theatre. It does not offer the formal ceremony of Tsukimi, but it also does not charge at that level. The 4.5 Google rating across 1,296 reviews is a useful signal , at that volume, sustained ratings reflect consistent execution rather than a single good night. For solo diners, the format is well-suited to counter or small-table dining; Japanese restaurants at this scale typically seat solo guests without issue, and the focused menu means you can work through the food without needing a group to share across dishes.
The OAD Casual ranking tells you something important about positioning: Okonomi competes in a category defined by quality-to-price ratio, not by grand gestures. Its upward movement from Recommended (2023) to #760 (2024) to #716 (2025) indicates a kitchen that is tightening its work, not coasting. That trajectory matters if you are deciding between this and a Brooklyn peer , the direction of travel is positive.
For broader context on eating and drinking in New York, see our full New York City restaurants guide, our full New York City bars guide, and our full New York City hotels guide. If you are building a longer trip, our full New York City experiences guide and our full New York City wineries guide are worth consulting. Fans of Japanese cooking travelling beyond New York should consider Myojaku and Azabu Kadowaki in Tokyo, or Chikarashi for a different take on Japanese-influenced cooking in New York City.
Booking difficulty is low. Okonomi does not require weeks of advance planning the way a Manhattan omakase counter would. That said, weekend dinner slots on Friday and Saturday move faster than weekday lunch. If your schedule is flexible, a Tuesday or Wednesday dinner gives you the most room to manoeuvre. Lunch service runs until 2:30 pm daily, which makes this a workable option for a long midday meal if you prefer that format. Phone and online booking details are not publicly listed in our current data , check directly with the venue for the current reservation method.
| Venue | Cuisine | Price Tier | Booking Difficulty | Leading For |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Okonomi | Japanese | Casual | Easy | Date night, solo, special occasion at value |
| Tsukimi | Japanese | Higher | Moderate | Formal celebration, tasting format |
| Blue Ribbon Sushi Izakaya | Japanese / Izakaya | Mid | Easy | Late-night, group dining |
| Chikarashi | Japanese-influenced | Casual | Easy | Lunch, quick format |
| Venue | Price | Booking Difficulty | Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Okonomi | Easy | — | |
| Le Bernardin | $$$$ | Unknown | — |
| Atomix | $$$$ | Unknown | — |
| Per Se | $$$$ | Unknown | — |
| Masa | $$$$ | Unknown | — |
| Eleven Madison Park | $$$$ | Unknown | — |
Comparing your options in New York City for this tier.
check the venue's official channels before booking, as the menu format at Okonomi is compact and fish-forward by the nature of the cuisine. Given the focused, chef-driven approach associated with Yuji Haraguchi's cooking, substitution flexibility may be limited. If you have serious allergies or strict dietary requirements, flag them when you reserve rather than at the table.
Yes, with the right expectations. Okonomi is OAD-ranked in North America's Casual category three consecutive years through 2025, which signals consistent quality rather than grand-occasion theatrics. It suits an intimate birthday or a celebratory weeknight dinner better than a milestone anniversary requiring ceremony. If you want a bigger production, Atomix or Eleven Madison Park fit that bill; Okonomi is the choice when the food matters more than the occasion packaging.
Okonomi is an OAD Casual-ranked spot in Williamsburg, so dress expectations are relaxed. Clean, everyday clothes are the norm for this neighbourhood and format. Overdressing would feel out of place; a jacket is neither required nor expected.
Lunch runs 9 am to 2:30 pm daily and draws a different crowd from the dinner service, which starts at 5:30 or 6 pm depending on the day. If you prefer a quieter, less booked-out window and want to avoid competition for weekend slots, the lunch service is the lower-friction option. Dinner is the more deliberate choice if you want the full evening format. Neither service is dramatically harder to book than the other, but weekend dinners fill faster.
Yes. A casual Japanese counter-style restaurant in Williamsburg is close to the ideal solo-dining format: the food is the focus, the pacing works for one, and you are not paying a premium for an unused seat the way you would at a $$$+ omakase. Okonomi's OAD recognition confirms the cooking justifies the trip alone.
Keep this venue in your Pearl passport, rate it after you visit, and track it alongside every other place you collect.
