Uka Omakase, the reservation-only sushi counter, is reportedly planning a second location. Details about the new space have not been established in the available material.
The expansion was reported by What Now New York, whose headline says Uka Omakase is to open a second location. The available material does not provide further details about the new space or an opening date.
What Is Known About the New Space
The available material does not establish the size or layout of the planned space. Uka's own site emphasizes intimacy, noting that “with limited seats per seating, intimacy is essential,” according to ukaomakase.com.
Uka frames its omakase as a chef-driven progression rather than a fixed menu, moving guests through courses that are “guided by the season and the chef's intuition,” with delicate sashimi, lightly torched bites, and rare cuts, the restaurant's website states. Every piece of fish, the site says, is “carefully aged, marinated, or prepared to highlight the natural umami of the fish,” a technique-forward approach that has become part of Uka's identity beyond just plating raw fish.
Rice From Five Prefectures, Fish Sourcing Left Unsettled
One detail Uka highlights prominently is its rice. The restaurant uses a proprietary blend sourced from five Japanese prefectures — Hokkaido, Yamagata, Fukui, Nagano and Miyazaki — according to the ukaomakase.com About page. The available material does not establish the restaurant's fish-sourcing practices.
Uka's chef's counter is designed to make that preparation visible, giving diners a close-up view as dishes are finished, per the restaurant's about page. It's a presentation style meant to turn each seating into something closer to a live demonstration than a standard sushi dinner.
Joining an Already Crowded Omakase Scene
West Chelsea isn't exactly starving for high-end sushi. BizBash has described Morimoto's West Chelsea location as featuring its own omakase bar, or chef's table, while SourAji runs what it calls its second New York home at 177 9th Ave., offering unlimited premium omakase in what it describes as the Chelsea gallery district, per SourAji's own site. The available material also describes ongoing restaurant activity in West Chelsea.
The available material here does not establish whether omakase expansion extends beyond this pocket of Manhattan.
For now, the available material does not provide an opening date or confirm how closely the new space will replicate the flagship's exact format. Anyone hoping to track any future buildout activity can consult relevant city records.
