€448 FOR THE MENU! IS THIS AUSTRIA’S BEST SUSHI RESTAURANT?

With sturgeon caviar and A5 Wagyu! Expensive — but worth every euro. This Thursday, Shiki Omakase opens in Vienna. Our author Jürgen Schmücking visited in advance. Here is his report!

When boarding a flight home in Tokyo, one almost marvels at the silence upon entering the cabin. In the days before, however, one sound was ever-present — at least for those who visited Japan for culinary reasons. “Irasshaimase,” the final “e” drawn out for several seconds. A warm welcome, joyfully sung to every guest in every restaurant. Japanese-style hospitality. Now let’s turn things around. At the beginning of December, Shiki Omakase launched in Vienna, filling a long-standing gap. Put differently: with Shiki Omakase, Joji Hattori and his team are entering new territory in Austria — and probably beyond.

Omakase is a culinary concept that originated in Japan’s traditional sushi bars and literally means “I leave it up to you.” It describes a deep trust between guest and chef: the guest consciously refrains from choosing a menu and instead entrusts the master entirely with deciding which dishes will be served and in what sequence. The foundation lies in the freshest ingredients of the day, the chef’s intuition, and his ability to translate the moment into a composition of flavors.

Omakase is therefore not a fixed sequence of courses but a living process that unfolds in real time before the guests’ eyes. Every movement, every cut, and every combination is created in the moment and individually attuned to mood, seasonality, and quality. In this way, the meal itself becomes a dialogue — not through words, but through aromas and the sensitive harmony between host and guest. Omakase stands for reduction, precision, and authenticity, opening a gateway to a cuisine devoted to the essentials: the pure taste of the products and the chef’s dedication in presenting them at the perfect moment. At Shiki Omakase, “I leave it up to you,” by the way, means: “I leave it up to Alois Traint, Ruben Gorcea, and Peter Dallinger” — the head chef, sushi master, and sake sommelier, respectively.