In 1977, Toshihiro Uezu opened this gloriously sceneless temple of toro, which has ignored New York's sushi fads from its perch on the second floor of an unremarkable Midtown building. In this building's tiny, dingy lobby is the rickety elevator that deposits you in Kurumazushi's plain, tranquil room, with a few tables and a small sushi bar. From behind the bar, Chef Uezu tends to high-rolling business types and contemplative cognoscenti with the same quiet intensity, distributing gemlike units of fish and rice, one by one. The menu lists bargain sushi and sashimi combinations and several appetizers, like usuzukuri, fluke cut into translucent rectangles and served with tart ponzu sauce. But the best way to experience Uezu's piscine mastery is to let him choose your meal. Soon after you say omakase, or chef's choice, he might nestle slices of unconscionably fatty tuna sashimi against a pile of seaweed, before moving on to the main event. His delicious warm rice is the platform for fish so pristine and unusual you'll think you're in Tokyo. Depending on the season and the chef's mood, you might sample crab roe, a cluster of many miniscule raw shrimp, and red snapper flown in from Japan. But even common seafood like tuna, yellowtail, and scallop are revelatory here. Unfortunately, there's the bill, which will inspire as many groans as the fish does oohs and aahs. — JJ Goode
I have been coming to Karuma for almost 3 years now and it never ceases to amaze me. This isn't your creative artsy roll/fusion establishment. The service and food are both impeccable. This is by far a favorite place of my wife and I. Toshihiro and Maria are wonderful hosts. We choose to do lunch there almost exclusively which I think is the best way to first experience Karuma. We find the lunch special very reasonable and satisfying. Aside from the first rate fish, the ginger and miso soup are the best I have ever had anywhere. The only complaint you will find about Karuma is the price. Doing omakase and/or ala cart, can easily run up a bill if you get carried away. For many of the business types that frequent Karuma this is no problem, but something to be aware of if you want the best sushi in the city for the budget aware. Do the sushi or sashimi lunch special first, safest way to go and you can take it from there. If you are a true sushiphile purist, then definitely try Karuma. Most likely you will be back again, and again...
I'm comparing this against the best sushi I've had in Sao Paulo (my hometown) which is home to a massive Japanese population. I would consider this place a tiny bit better than Sushi Papaya (excellent place in Sao Paulo) but at more than twice the cost. In terms of style and preparation, the chef's choices of fish were excellent. Every single piece of fish that I had was flavorful and amazingly fresh. There was real wasabi (not horse radish paste dyed green). Basically it was everything you'd ever want in a meal of sushi, except for the price tag. The service was excellent, empty plates and glasses were promptly removed, I knew from several small clues that the bill would be large, I just had no idea how large.
When we were presented with the bill, our eyes nearly popped out of our heads. $470 dollars, with no alcohol on the bill, only a few sodas and a green tea. I suppose the normal clientèle knows the prices, but they did not even make an attempt to alert us to the costly nature of the meal, especially when you do "chef's choice".