Yoshii: Seven-Seat Japanese Omakase Counter

Yoshii (吉い) is a seven-seat counter in Nagoya where chef Yoshii cooks every dish to order and plates it with almost no adornment. The point is flavour, not presentation. Reviewers repeatedly say these plain-looking plates taste like nothing a copy could manage. Signatures include seasonal harumaki (spring rolls), such as water eggplant with salted kelp or leek with a konowata sea-cucumber sauce. In winter there is kobako-gani, female snow crab piled with its own roe. On some days a wild duck from Niigata is plucked and butchered at the counter, then roasted. The restaurant has won a Tabelog Award medal every year since 2019.

Nearly every review names something here as the best of its kind. Repeat favourites include:

• Shirako ponzu (cod milt), so soft one reviewer called it drinkable
• Lightly seared hamo (pike conger)
• The dashi in the soups
• Fig with sesame dressing
• Clay-pot rice with side dishes, where many guests take seconds
• Kuromitsu kanten, a black-sugar jelly that ends almost every meal

Criticism is minor. The food is deliberately unphotogenic, and one regular warns that first-timers may wonder what the fuss is about. Pacing was once slow, with up to 30 minutes between courses, though reviewers say it is quicker now. The room is quiet, the chef says little, and there is a faint tension at the counter.

There is a single dinner omakase and no lunch service. The listing gives an average spend of ¥15,000–19,999, while spending based on reviews runs ¥20,000–29,999. One reviewer in December 2025 paid around ¥32,000 for the menu with drinks. Individual dish prices are not documented, since nothing is ordered à la carte. Reviewers rate value at the very top, noting generous portions and saying satisfaction exceeds the bill.

• Booking: introduction only. The restaurant accepts no new reservations, and regulars report waits of 1–1.5 years. Walk-ins are not possible. Realistically you need an invitation from a regular.
• Getting there: about 10 minutes on foot from Shin-sakaemachi Station, Exit 2, or roughly 10 minutes by taxi from Nagoya Station. The location is tucked away.
• Payment: cash only. Credit cards, electronic money and QR code payments are not accepted.
• Seating: 7 counter seats and no private rooms. The whole restaurant can be booked for private use. All diners start together, and the meal takes about 2.5 hours.
• Children: welcome.
• Smoking and parking: entirely non-smoking, with no parking.
• Language and menu: omakase only. Reviews mention no English menu. Drinks are sake, shochu and wine.