Restaurant in New York City, United States
Solid omakase, easier booking than downtown.
Sasabune is a credentialed Upper East Side sushi counter with back-to-back Opinionated About Dining rankings and a calm, focused room that suits serious sushi dining. It is easier to book than the top tier of New York omakase and delivers consistent quality — a strong choice for food enthusiasts who want OAD-validated sushi without a months-long wait or a $500-plus commitment.
If you are choosing between Sasabune and Joji for omakase on the Upper East Side, Sasabune is the easier reservation to secure and the lower-stakes commitment — Joji operates at a more formal register with a harder booking window. Sasabune earns its place as a neighbourhood anchor for serious sushi on the East Side, with consecutive appearances on the Opinionated About Dining Leading Restaurants in North America list: ranked #452 in 2024 and #455 in 2025, following a Recommended listing in 2023. That upward-to-stable trajectory on OAD signals a kitchen that has found its level and holds it. For food enthusiasts who want credentialed sushi without the theatre of a $500-plus omakase seat at Bar Masa, Sasabune is worth serious consideration.
Sasabune sits at 401 East 73rd Street, which tells you something about its function in New York's sushi map. This is not a downtown destination restaurant drawing cross-borough traffic; it is an Upper East Side institution that serves a neighbourhood with high expectations and the spending power to match. The room is quiet by Manhattan standards — this is not a place where noise competes with the meal. The energy runs calm and focused, which suits the format: sushi dining here is about attention paid to what is on the plate, not ambient spectacle. If you are coming for a charged atmosphere and a buzzing bar scene, redirect to Blue Ribbon Sushi instead, which operates at a different energy register entirely and stays open late.
The OAD ranking puts Sasabune in a specific competitive band , credentialed enough to benchmark against the top tier of New York sushi, but not in the same conversation as Shion 69 Leonard Street or Sushi Sho, both of which operate at a more rarefied and harder-to-access level. What Sasabune offers is a reliable, OAD-validated sushi experience that is genuinely bookable without a months-long lead time. That is not a small thing in this city.
Lunch service runs Tuesday through Friday from noon to 2 pm, with dinner running Monday through Saturday from 5:30 to 9:30 pm. Sunday is closed. The lunch window is worth noting for explorers who want a more considered pace , midday service at a sushi counter of this calibre tends to run quieter than the dinner rush, and the time constraint of a lunch sitting can sharpen the focus of the meal. Dinner on a Friday is the highest-energy slot; if atmosphere matters less to you than ease of conversation, aim for an early Tuesday or Wednesday dinner instead.
Booking is rated Easy by Pearl, which in the context of Upper East Side omakase is meaningful. You are not dealing with the lottery-style reservation systems that govern seats at the leading of the New York sushi hierarchy. Book one to two weeks out for a weekday dinner; the Friday dinner service and Saturday slots fill faster and warrant booking three weeks ahead. Lunch reservations are generally more available. The Google rating of 4.4 across 186 reviews is consistent with a kitchen that performs reliably rather than one that swings between brilliant and inconsistent , useful signal for a venue where you are committing to a set format with limited ability to course-correct mid-meal.
For context on where Sasabune sits globally, the OAD ranking places it comfortably within North America's upper tier of sushi restaurants , a different scale than Tokyo references like Harutaka or Hong Kong's Sushi Shikon, but the comparison is useful for explorers calibrating their expectations. Sasabune is a strong New York representative of the form, not a pale imitation of a Japanese original. Explorers who have eaten at serious sushi counters in Tokyo will find the gap narrower here than at many comparable New York addresses.
For more on where Sasabune fits within the broader dining picture, see our full New York City restaurants guide. If you are building a longer trip around the meal, our New York City hotels guide, bars guide, and experiences guide cover the rest of the visit. For a sense of how New York's sushi scene compares to the broader US fine-dining picture, it is worth considering what is happening at venues like Smyth in Chicago or Providence in Los Angeles , different cuisines, but useful calibration points for what OAD recognition at this level actually means.
Sasabune is at 401 East 73rd Street, New York, NY 10021. Hours run Monday dinner only (5:30–9:30 pm), Tuesday through Friday lunch (noon–2 pm) and dinner (5:30–9:30 pm), Saturday dinner only (5:30–9:30 pm). Closed Sunday. Booking is direct , one to two weeks out covers most weeknights, three weeks for Friday and Saturday dinner. Price range is not confirmed in available data; given the OAD ranking and format, expect the spend to sit in the upper-mid to high tier for New York sushi.
| Venue | Cuisine | Price | Booking Difficulty |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sasabune | Sushi | Easy | |
| Le Bernardin | French, Seafood | $$$$ | Unknown |
| Atomix | Modern Korean, Korean | $$$$ | Unknown |
| Per Se | French, Contemporary | $$$$ | Unknown |
| Masa | Sushi, Japanese | $$$$ | Unknown |
| Eleven Madison Park | French, Vegan | $$$$ | Unknown |
Comparing your options in New York City for this tier.
Yes, and it may be the format where Sasabune works best. Omakase counters are built for solo diners — you eat at your own pace and engage directly with the service. Sasabune's Upper East Side address at 401 East 73rd Street makes it a practical solo stop without the downtown commute. OAD has ranked it in North America's top 500 three years running, so the quality warrants the solo spend.
Small groups of 2–4 should be fine with advance planning, but omakase venues at this tier are not built for large parties. If you are planning a group of 6 or more, check the venue's official channels before booking — omakase pacing and counter seating both create constraints that can make larger groups logistically difficult.
Omakase is a chef-directed format, which means serious dietary restrictions — shellfish allergies, vegetarian requirements, or anything that removes core fish courses — can substantially alter the experience. Flag any restrictions at booking, not on arrival. If the restriction is significant, consider whether omakase is the right format for the meal at all.
Lunch runs Tuesday through Friday (noon–2 pm) and is worth considering if you prefer a quieter room or want to fit a serious sushi meal into a working day. Dinner runs nightly except Sunday (5:30–9:30 pm, Monday dinner only). Neither service carries a public reputation advantage over the other based on available data — choose based on your schedule rather than assumed quality differences.
It works for a low-key celebration where the food is the occasion, not the theatrics. Sasabune's OAD Top 500 North America ranking (2024 and 2025) gives it enough credibility to feel intentional as a choice. If you need a room with more ceremony or a broader wine program, Per Se or Eleven Madison Park will deliver a different kind of event — but at a significantly higher price and booking difficulty.
For omakase on the Upper East Side, Joji is the most direct comparison — higher profile, harder to book, and priced accordingly. Sushi Noz is another Upper East Side option with stronger critical recognition. If you are flexible on neighborhood, there are several downtown omakase counters that compete in the same tier. Sasabune's OAD ranking puts it in legitimate company, but it is generally the easier reservation among Upper East Side peers.
Book at least 2–3 weeks ahead for dinner, particularly on weekends. Lunch slots Tuesday through Friday tend to be more available and are a practical fallback if Saturday dinner is full. Sasabune is not the hardest reservation in New York's omakase circuit, but its OAD-ranked status means it fills faster than undiscovered spots.
Keep this venue in your Pearl passport, rate it after you visit, and track it alongside every other place you collect.
