It feels like you’re checking into a hotel. You approach the reception desk, give your name and after the receptionist clears you to take the elevator upstairs, are given a room key. The door of your destination, room 1001, is slightly open but it’s clear that it’s not your typical hotel room–there’s a slight, salty aroma of fish emanating from it. It is, in fact, a sushi bar, Sushi by Bou Suite 1001, the latest in sushi chef David Bouhadana and hospitality experts Michael Sinensky and Erika London’s growing empire of sushi spots secreted in out of the way spaces. This one in New York’s Hotel 3232 is meant to recreate the experience of the quintessential, tiny, hole in the wall sushi bars throughout Tokyo. It opened four weeks ago and its four seats sell out every night.
Bouhadana started his sushi career in Boca Raton, of all places, but refined it among the masters in Japan where he lived for three years and then in elite U.S. sushi restaurants Morimoto and Sushi on Jones. He’s accustomed, then, to the surprise when guests see a non-Japanese chef behind the counter, in this case located where the bed used to be pre-transformation of the room. He moves fast and with that Japanese-honed precision, turning out a 60 minute, 17 course omakase. “We specialize in fast omakases,” he says. (At the group’s other locations in New York’s Flatiron District and Times Square, they deliver 12 course omakases in 30 minutes.)
His fish flies in from Tokyo’s Tsukiji Market and it is sparkling fresh: single pieces of jackfish, golden eye snapper, flash flamed toro, scallops with charcoal salt, medium fat bluefin tuna, hay smoked skipjack with ginger, etc. assembled in front of you and each absolutely luscious. To accompany the fish, there’s a cocktail and sake list, as well as $30 three ounce pours from the auto dispenser Mr. Sake. (And for those who take the room minibar options seriously, there are also choices such as a sewing kit and shower cap.)
Given the time constraints, diners have to arrive just before their allotted time slots; there are six seatings every hour on the hour starting at 5. Those who arrive earlier or want to stay later can hang out in the small lounge near the sushi bar or as soon as it’s weatherproofed, possibly by next week, an outdoor terrace with Empire State Building views.
Next month, Bouhadana’s high speed hotel room omakase is also scheduled to land in another U.S. city. The Miami Beach mansion of the late designer Gianni Versace which has been a succession of hotels and private clubs since his death is a hotel again, The Villa Casa Casuarina. When the chef went to look at it, one suite had a soaring cathedral ceiling and under it, a four seat whiskey bar. “It was perfect,” he said. And they didn’t even have to move the bed. It’s scheduled to open February 5th.
