SHIKI Omakase: Fine Dining, Japanese Style

Joji Hattori, internationally renowned as a conductor and violinist, expands his SHIKI universe with a particularly intimate culinary project: SHIKI Omakase at Krugerstraße 15. Eight seats, a single menu progression, and an experience staged with the precision of a concert evening.

At first glance, the new space behind the SHIKI Boutique and Sakethek appears understated. But once guests take their seats, an evening unfolds that is fully devoted to the traditional Japanese culture of omakase. Omakase means “I leave it up to you” and describes an approach in which guests entrust the chef with complete decision-making. Every cut and every composition comes to life directly before their eyes. The close proximity between chefs and guests allows for deeper observation, questions, and true immersion.

A Culinary Experience in an Intimate Setting

Hattori explains that this concept matured within him and was intended as an expansion of the SHIKI offering. In the main restaurant, he focuses on modern Japanese cuisine, presented in a Western style and consciously designed to be enjoyed with knife and fork. “But I always wanted to create a small restaurant dedicated to truly traditional Japanese cuisine,” he says. Only with the new property did this vision become possible: a small sushi bar, two chefs, eight seats — nothing more is needed to realize the uncompromising essence of omakase.

The menu follows the logic of the sushi-kaiseki tradition: many small appetizers followed by sushi courses, all prepared à la minute. The sushi rice is cooked shortly before the guests arrive and cools naturally to the gently warm temperature considered ideal in Japan. “In a classic sushi-kaiseki restaurant there is no meat. Here we break that rule: we serve twelve courses, two of which include meat,” says Hattori.