"Offbeat touches make this SoMa omakase spot ($250, or $150 at lunch) stand out. So don’t be alarmed when a sashimi course is served atop a ceramic fedora for seemingly no reason, or when the buttery scallops land in front of you inside of a glass clamshell. For a place that appears to be so much about style, though, the 18 courses of nigiri, small dishes, and dessert are quite excellent. Especially the shokupan, a grilled slice of milk bread crowned with fatty tuna and an eye-widening amount of caviar. Soak in the stage-like bar that gleams, the fridge displaying cuts of aged fish, and towering flower arrangements as you watch all the other diners eat their fish off fake hats. Cost: $150 per person (lunch) and $250 per person (dinner). " - julia chen 1, lani conway
