Midtown Manhattan is getting a new reason to roll with it. Sakasama, a Japanese handroll and sake bar from the team behind Tam Mai Thai, Ramen Momoko and Kamisama, opens October 13 at 344 West 46th Street, serving up premium seafood without the usual sushi-counter formality.
Led by owner Teng Huang and executive chef Georgie Castillo, an alum of Atoboy and Michelin-starred Le Coucou, Sakasama puts the art of temaki front and center. The concept is simple: excellent seafood, carefully prepared rice and crisp nori, served with enough personality to make dinner feel like an experience rather than an edible performance review.
Guests can choose between a 20-seat sushi counter, where handrolls are passed directly from chef to diner one at a time, and 12 table seats offering open-style temaki served together. The distinction matters: nobody wants their perfectly crisp seaweed turning into a soggy souvenir while they finish a cocktail.
The menu features three signature sets. Mitsu ($22) includes salmon, scallop and yellowtail, while Ura ($34) adds crab, eel and toro to the mix. The namesake Sakasama set ($40) brings salmon, scallop, crab, bluefin tuna and lobster to the party.
For those who believe a little luxury belongs on toast, Japanese milk bread comes topped with uni ($24), ikura ($16) or Kaviari caviar ($52). The Toast Trio ($78) delivers all three, because sometimes choosing just one indulgence is overrated.
Beyond handrolls, Castillo’s opening menu includes tuna tataki, salmon sashimi with truffle lemon vinaigrette, and cured, torched mackerel. Eel and A5 Wagyu are also torched to order, adding a little theater to the seafood proceedings.
Sakasama opens October 13 at 344 West 46th Street, serving dinner daily from 5 to 10 p.m. Reservations are available through Resy, with walk-ins welcome.
In a neighborhood where dinner often competes with curtain calls and tight schedules, Sakasama offers a compelling alternative: high-quality Japanese dining that’s interactive, relaxed and decidedly easy to roll with.
(Photo Credit: Dan Ahn)
