Ebisu Sushi Kenshin

Restaurant Details

Even just a few months after opening, Ebisu Sushi Kenshi is already delivering on what many places promise.

Sequestered in a back alley of the vibrant Ebisu neighborhood, this six-seat restaurant, which opened in 2024, prompts a parade of pristine sushi in its purest form paired with best-hits champagne and wine. The chemistry is formulated by the chef-owner, who is both the sommelier and the sushi master behind the cypress counter.

The omakase menu, shaped by the season’s temperament and the chef’s intuition, unfolds in the evening. Each nigiri is lightly lacquered with soy and nestled atop a morsel of warm, loosely packed Koshihikari rice from Niigata Prefecture. Only rice vinegar is used for the shari, without sugar. Red sea bream, thickly cut and delicately prepared, arrives first, followed by the luscious, marbled chutoro (medium fatty tuna), sliced, lightly brushed with wasabi and set atop temperature-perfect rice. For real seafood ballers, the menu expands on those maritime beauts with a stomach-swelling array of delicate starters.

Diners opting for the drink pairing will have their dishes accompanied by different wine drops. The seasonal starter, hassun is paired with champagne, bonito sashimi with Beajolais Gamay and horse mackerel sushi with the piquant notes of Portugal’s Albarino. The sweetness of tilefish matches the honeyed character of a white Viognier and young sweetfish (ayu) tempura with the more local, crisp drops of Yamanashi wine.

Dining here feels like a private, intimate culinary dialogue between the chef, who also speaks English, and the guest. With great sushi and exceptional wine, Ebisu Sushi Kenshi might just be this micro-neighborhood’s best-kept secret in plain sight.