Sushi Seki – Chelsea
“We had the Omakase which is a chefs choice selection tasting menu and it was amazing!”
“My favorites are the spicy scallop roll, shrimp tempura roll, the beef negimaki and the soba.”
“Dinner
-2 pieces of uni
-sushi and sashimi combo
-chirashi bowl
Everything was delicious but we were still hungry afterwards.”
Sushi Seki – Chelsea
Takes Reservations: Yes
Take-out: Yes
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Bike Parking: Yes
Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
Good for Groups: Yes
Waiter Service: Yes
Caters: Yes
Price range.
$$$$ Price range Above $61
8 reviews
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We had a really good meal but I must say we went with pretty easy options; snow crab California rolls, shrimp tempura rolls which were both nice and fresh with a nice presentation. Then came some really good stuff … A beef negamaki which was delicious – not huge but very fairly priced under the entree section and my sister had the fish collar and even though I am not a huge fan of fish I had to agree it was pretty good (I guess that is great if you like fish). Then we finished off dinner with a spicy tuna tartar cocktail – I know it was a little backwards way to order but we saw it being prepared and couldn't resist!
My sister being an expert in whisky and tequila said they have a great selection of Japanese whisky – and a few she had never seen before. And a really nice selection of Tequila as well.
Since this is right next to one of our favorite movie theaters, Chelsea Bowtie I am sure we will be back!
Seki is a consistently top-notch sushi place which brews their own amazingly fresh soy sauce. the only reason they get 3 not 4 stars, is due to the fact that we ordered the omikase for 2 and the bill with two martinis was about $400. For that kind of money, go to sushi Gari. much better creations. However, the staff at seki are very accommodating and allowed us to send spicy scallop rolls back due to too much mayo. they replaced them with toro. very cool.
The host was extremely nice and accommodating as I made a last minute reservation and I'm glad I did. When I first sat down at 6:30 the place was empty and by the time I was done eating not one table was open. I like the atmosphere, it's a cute date spot. The food came out quickly and everything was good but definitely overpriced. They have a great wine and sake list. If the prices weren't as high I'd definitely go back soon but for what it was there are a ton of sushi places in this city that are equally as good for half the price.
Got a seat at the sushi bar with a friend. We had made a reservation and were seated immediately. We ordered a few carafes of sake and decided on the sushi and sashimi omakase. We also had the hamachi Kama. Usually a favorite Japanese dish of mine, it was a little overcooked. The sashimi was ok, nothing special. The sushi was where they shinned. We had 13-15 prices. Ended up being $150 each for omakase. I thought this was overpriced for what it was. At around $230 a person it was too expensive for the quality. I think a better deal if you go a la carte.
I've heard of Sushi Seki before, but this appears to be a pretty new branch of the restaurant, judging from the very nicely-done inside. With a good amount of seating, and even some private rooms with tatami mats, and textured wooden walls, Sushi Seki has the feel of a very modern, if slightly more dressed-up, feel of an austere modern-day sushi bar. We walked in around 7 PM on a Thursday, but it did fill up quite a bit after that – so probably best to make reservations, even though there is a decent amount of seating. Service is okay; if anything, my main complaint is that after being told the anago tempura wasn't available, the waiter decided to try and recite all the appetizers off the top of his head instead of simply giving us the menu. Aside from that – the omakase was served in a sensible, timely fashion.
As an alternative, we went with the ankimo, which had a very clean, creamy flavor as good ankimo does, with just a dash of soy sauce and a sparse sprinkle of scallions adding a dash of flavor. We then went into the sushi and sashimi omakase, which, overall, was quite good. The meal is done very much in a Gari-esque style, with every sushi piece, along with most of the sashimi, served with some kind of addition aside from the raw fish. I appreciate the ingenuity – and, in most places, it worked quite well – but it also meant that there was a noticeable dearth of standard sushi offerings – no maguro, no ikura, no uni, no eel (aside from a chopped-up unagi sushi offering with tempura crunch that was one of the weaker offerings). Additionally, for 4 plates, it came out to nearly $120 per person – a price that's steeper than many omakase courses, and with arguably less sushi and of lesser quality as well. For that price, getting a spicy scallop tempura hand roll at the end was a bummer – I would expect a negitoro almost as the default.
So what was done well? There were definitely pieces that were done well; in particular I liked the seared salmon sashimi, which had a nice smoky flavor but maintained the creamy butterness of the salmon. The seared toro sushi piece, marinaded in a light ginger sauce, was also delicious. You're not left wanting for toro – you also get two pieces of chu-toro sashimi (buttery but definitely not the freshest; the firmness of each bite and the slight extra chewiness gives it away), as well as sushi piece served with chopped-up toro on top. And given that scallops are usually a sushi that's not done very well in the US, I was very impressed with the version that was served to us – a smooth texture that was very fresh and enlightened with a hint of citrus. However, a couple pieces missed – in particular the eel noted above, but also the yellowtail with a slice of unseeded(!) jalapeno on top. The yellowtail was great, but the seeds in the jalapeno literally burned away the flavor, with the searing heat of the pepper staying on the tongue long after I had finished the bite of sushi. And while the scallop tempura roll (objectively) wasn't bad, anything with spicy mayo in it makes it difficult to really taste the fish.
I'd probably come again, as this is only a few minutes from my new place, and if you don't get the omakase, the prices appear to be much more reasonable and more in-line with getting good bang for your buck. Otherwise, I think this actually ends up being more expensive than Gari, and you get less variety and breadth of the sushi palate than you would there. Nonetheless, I'm still pleased to have come and discovered a very solid neighborhood sushi spot.
Okay Sushi Seki, in short, you blew it.
Your sushi was terrific as usual but your customer service is SEVERELY lacking. We made reservations. We arrived on time for our reservation and asked to sit at the Sushi bar. We were ushered to 2 seats that didn't give you a view of what the chefs were doing, which was fine as that was all that was available. Then 5 minutes after we sat down 2 better seats came available and we asked to be moved to them.
After a lot of back and forth between 2 waiters and a busboy, the hostess came over and said no, we couldn't have those seats because they were reserved for someone who specifically asked for them and they were arriving at 715 – 45 minutes from when I asked to be moved.
I asked her how does one go about reserving a specific seat? I didn't see that as an option on Yelp Seating or Open Table. She said a "regular customer" likes this seat therefore we can't have it.
ARE YOU FREAKING KIDDING ME? Umm we have been to this restaurant multiple times and may not be "regulars" but thanks for ensuring that we will not become regulars.
Our meal was fine and because we were seeing a show (we told them when we arrived) we were done with our meal at 710 – before the much anticipated regulars showed up.
Next time we get a sushi craving in Chelsea, we will pick a place the treats its "regular customers" and the schmucks who drop close to $200 on a meal on a somewhat regular basis, the same way.
This place is alright, we tried the omakase (at the table) and the fish were really fresh. However, the Uni did not taste so good, it wasn't as fresh as it could be. The best part of the omakase was the roll.
Overall, the omakase was a nice fusion of authentic japanese dish and a modern touch of spices.
We had a big party and they were really nice and accommodated us with a private room.
$17 for this?? (Not even including tip)
I don't think so.
Rolls (scallops roll and mushroom roll) are tiny. I bought two rolls to share for two. It barely satisfied my petite self.
Mushroom role is just rice and mushroom. Nothing interesting. Little flavor. Scallops are ok but texture is underwhelming. Wasabi is not fresh.
Is returning sushi a thing?