Sushi of Gari on the UES received a single Michelin star in 2006 and 2009. When I first visited in 2017, its Omakase menu featured an array of creatively flavored nigiri at a reasonable price. It felt as if Gari is pushing the boundary of what nigiri could be. Some pieces of nigiri definitely made a lasting impression, and unfortunately, others fell short. This inconsistency was perhaps that’s why it didn’t retain its star. Fortunately, all the nigiri can be ordered a la carte, meaning I can create my own tasting menu from the pieces that I personally enjoyed the most.

Here is a customized tasting menu, consisting of my favorite pieces. There may be too few pieces of nigiri here to fill a hungry belly, so I’d suggest supplementing it with an order of tempura of another item from the regular menu.

  • Appetizer – select some lighter tasting fish, or a menu item.
  • Toasted Snowcrab and Uni
  • Salmon Kombu
  • Yaki Salmon
  • Uni (plain), or Yaki Uni
  • Hirame Truffle (Request the restaurant to send this out later, separately from the rest of the order. Temperature has a much greater effect on this particular nigiri than others, and it should be eaten right when its served.)
  • Yaki Toro (Seared Fatty Tuna, Garlic Ginger Sauce)
  • Tamagoyaki (Egg Nigiri)

The full signature menu can be found on their website. The UES location serves all items on the signature menu, while other locations may only serve some of the items.