Shota Omakase – the manga-inspired sushi counter of Williamsburg

On a quiet stretch of South 3rd Street, a few minutes from the East River in Williamsburg, Shota Omakase sets sixteen seats around a single wraparound counter of white oak, where chef-owner Cheng Lin performs the Edomae ritual that once gripped him as a reader of comic books. The restaurant takes its name and its origin story from Shota No Sushi, a manga about a young sushi apprentice's pursuit of mastery that convinced Lin he would one day open a room of his own. A veteran of Sushi Seki, Blue Ribbon Sushi and ITO Tribeca, Lin opened Shota in September 2023, a sixteen-seat room built entirely around his own reading of the Edomae tradition. Within a year, the MICHELIN Guide had awarded the room One Star, recognising the discipline behind its nightly, ever-changing procession of nigiri. It holds one MICHELIN Star.

01The room and the setting

Find it just off the G train, among the loft conversions of industrial Williamsburg and within walking distance of the lawns of Domino Park. Inside, the room is deliberately spare: a wraparound counter in pale oak with grey cushioned stools, and a minimalist décor with subtle Japanese touches that keeps the attention on the chef's hands rather than the walls.

The mood here runs looser than the hush of a Manhattan sushi-ya. Easy banter between Lin and his small team fills the room, and diners are treated less as spectators than as participants in the evening's unfolding menu.

02The chef

Cheng Lin has spent close to three decades behind sushi counters, first finding his footing in Japanese kitchens from 1997 before moving through some of Manhattan's most demanding rooms, among them Sushi Seki, Blue Ribbon Sushi and ITO Tribeca. The push to open a restaurant of his own traces back to a manga he read as a young cook, Shota No Sushi, whose hero's single-minded devotion to the craft stayed with him; as Lin has put it, "After I read that book, opening my own omakase restaurant was always on my mind."

Insider tip

Book well ahead; no printed menu; the Gentei Omakase upgrade can be reserved separately online.

Within a year of opening, that devotion earned Shota a MICHELIN Star, one of only two new sushi counters in New York City to be newly decorated in the 2024 selection, alongside Bar Miller in the East Village.

03The cooking

Service runs through roughly eighteen courses that shift with the day's market, built on Edomae principles of marinating, curing and ageing rather than raw simplicity alone. Fish and seaweed arrive through relationships at Tokyo's Toyosu Market, with a priority on catches taken using the slow ike-jime and shinkei-jime methods that keep the flesh at its best.

At Shota, though, the rice carries as much weight as the fish. Lin imports Inochi No Ichi rice from a small grower in Gero City, in Gifu, and seasons it with akazu, a red vinegar aged three to five years that lends the grains a deep, savoury edge; the rice itself is refreshed repeatedly through the meal to keep its temperature and seasoning exact.

04What to order

There is no printed menu, only Lin's reading of the day's catch, but recent sittings have featured dishes such as smoked soy-marinated king salmon with kombu salt and fresh wasabi, and salmon roe cured overnight in dashi and soy. Expect bluefin tuna that Lin sources within roughly ten kilometres of southern Japan's coast, dressed in a ponzu he ages for three months before it ever reaches a plate.

For a longer sitting, the restaurant also runs a Gentei Omakase, a nineteen-course upgrade built around rarer seasonal fish and premium cuts; one stand-out course pairs Osetra caviar with cod set over the same prized Inochi No Ichi rice.

05Wine and drinks

Beverage pairings run alongside the courses, and a special bookable experience layers in a complimentary pour of sake, an off-menu seasonal dish, and a personal note from Lin — a sign of how closely the counter still guards its intimacy even as its reputation has grown well beyond Brooklyn.

06The neighbourhood

Lin has been candid about why he chose Williamsburg over Manhattan: "We are giving people a reason to stay in Williamsburg and enjoy very good sushi." The restaurant was conceived as the neighbourhood's first premium omakase room, a short walk from the East River and the open green of Domino Park, in a stretch of Brooklyn more associated with warehouses than tasting counters.

Seats are limited and the room's profile has only risen since its star; booking well ahead of a visit is advised.

For a weekend. For a lifetime.