The Counter

Nori exists because Chef Kenji Tanaka believes the best meal is the one where you watch it being made. Twelve seats at a hinoki cypress counter. One seating per night. No menu. You eat what the ocean and the seasons bring.

Tanaka trained for eight years under Master Jiro Yamamoto in Ginza, learning the discipline of simplicity. Every cut matters. The angle of the knife against the fish. The temperature of the rice, which must be body temperature, exactly. The wasabi grated fresh for each piece, not a minute before it reaches your hand. These are not details. They are the whole point.

He came to New York in 2021 with a single suitcase and a set of knives his teacher gave him. He found a narrow space on Spring Street that reminded him of the counter in Ginza where he spent his twenties. He stripped it to bare concrete and white oak. He installed a single glass case for the fish. He hung one scroll on the wall. That was enough.

The omakase is twelve courses. It begins with lighter fish and builds toward richer, fattier cuts. The rice is seasoned with red vinegar from a brewery in Chiba that has been making it for three hundred years. The nori is roasted daily. The soy sauce is aged. Nothing on this counter is accidental.

Tanaka sources fish from Tsukiji through a buyer he has known for fifteen years, supplemented by day-boat catches from Montauk and the Maine coast. If a fish is not perfect, it does not get served. There is no backup plan. Some nights the menu is ten courses instead of twelve because something was not right. He would rather serve less than serve anything mediocre.

There is a sake pairing curated by our sommelier, Yuki, who selects five pours to follow the progression of the meal. There is also a non-alcoholic pairing of house-made teas, fresh juices, and a dashi broth that is worth the visit on its own.

Reservations open thirty days in advance and fill within hours. We seat at 6 PM. The meal lasts approximately two hours. We ask that you arrive on time and that you trust the chef. That is all we ask.