Michelin-starred restaurant Omakase Table will open at Buckhead Landing on March 12, while its original home on West Marietta Street will transform into something new in April.
Chef Leonard Yu plans to replace his Westside Atlanta restaurant with an entry-level omakase spot called Neko, which translates to “cat” in Japanese. Neko will offer fewer courses than Omakase Table at a lower price point. (Think $150-$180 per person for 10-12 courses.)
“At Omakase Table, we do about six to seven otsumami (small plates), 10 to 11 nigiri (plain sushi on white rice), a hand roll, and dessert,” general manager Jypzi Suepongsa said. “Neko will do maybe two to three small plates, seven nigiri, then desserts.”
Yu noted that the high price point for an omakase experience can intimidate potential customers, especially people new to the chef-driven, multi-course meal. “I want to make it more approachable,” he said.
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With a reduced menu, the omakase at Neko will also be shorter. Diners can expect to shave an hour off the meal. However, Yu hasn’t determined the number of omakase seatings he’ll allow at Neko each night. “I don’t want people to get rushed out,” he said.
Neko isn’t Yu’s first foray into a separate omakase experience.
In December, he opened Ryokou, an intimate, less expensive omakase restaurant led by chef Paul Gutting at Adair Park’s Abrams Fixtures development. Located next door to private wine club The Vine Club, Ryokou seats 10 customers and offers an eight-course meal featuring more cooked dishes and a dash of Southern inspiration from Gutting’s Savannah upbringing.
Omakase Table will close on West Marietta Street after service on March 2, ahead of its relocation to Buckhead. Neko replaces it a month later.
Over in Buckhead, the new location for Omakase Table will offer much more space, allowing for the potential to stagger seatings and host more private events. While the original Omakase Table location seats 16, the Buckhead location will seat 18 guests in two separate rooms.
In addition to Yu’s 20-course omakase at $295 per person, Buckhead will feature a 10-seat cocktail bar. Cocktail pairings with an omakase experience begin sometime in April or May.
“We’re looking at about four different cocktails pairing with our small plates,” Suepongsa said.
For Yu, opening in Buckhead sees Omakase Table coming full circle. He founded Omakase Table as a pop-up before the pandemic, first hosted nearby at Silom Thai & Sushi on Lenox Road. Three years later, Yu opened a permanent location of Omakase Table on West Marietta Street, with the restaurant receiving its first Michelin star in 2024.
Omakase Table, 3300 Piedmont Road, Buckhead. Open Wednesday – Sunday, 5:00 to 8:30 p.m.
Neko, 788 West Marietta St. Opening in April.