There aren’t a lot of people who can foot the $350-plus cost of dining at Sorekara, arguably the finest of fine dining locales in this city, but there a lot of people who can savor a taste of that Michelin golden child at Okonomi inside Mills Market. Chef William Shen has long-established relationships with local fishermen in Japan and is able to procure ingredients that few, if any, others in the city can. Rare and limited selections, often reserved for the Japanese domestic market and not intended to touch the lips of foreigners, regularly grace the menu at Sorekara, but those same cuts make their way onto Okonomi’s menu as well.
The 10-seat counter offers its à la carte selection of sushi along with a semblance of serenity amid the food hub’s, umm, hubbubbery. But because Okonomi, which means “as you like it” in Japanese, doesn’t accept reservations, you might find yourself surrounded by the confluence of scents and people and conversations as you wait to be called. When you are seated, just select from the menu of 24 pieces of (mainly) nigiri, like buttery shima aji, or striped jack ($6), that Shen has shipped directly from a fisherman in Tokushima.
Another important ingredient Shen has managed to secure is the service of Kevin Abanilla. The skilled former chef de cuisine at Soseki is an all-around chill guy, right down to his fingertips — which, of course, helps when crafting sushi. Abanilla has also staged at such starry venues as Frantzen, The French Laundry, Somni and Enclos, but says he enjoys working at this “sushi-lovers’ sushi bar” and taking guests back to the time before omakase — when sushi was fast food and offered great variety, not just the usual cuts. Like isaki, or threeline grunt ($7), shipped from Kagoshima, which they pre-grill over binchotan, then heat-lamp and give a feathered cut before brushing it with nikiri soy and dotting with wasabi. Or oily, silvery-blue-skinned gizzard shad ($7) flown in from Kumamoto. On one visit, Shen cut diagonal slits into that skin; on my second visit, Abanilla went with lengthwise cuts. Two different styles, both with the same purpose — to tenderize and make the flesh malleable, for better flavor absorption and visual appeal.
But the art of scoring fish, or kakushi bocho, was really demonstrated when Abanilla gracefully cut 60 or more little slits into a piece of iwashi, or Hokkaido sardine ($7), accented with grated ginger and sweet soy. Beautiful and bold. Even bolder was a fish I’ve never had before — mehikari, or greeneye fish ($7), from Fukushima.The good thing about this 24-item menu with a six-item seasonal bill of fare is the variety of flavors, intensities and textures it brings. Half the fun is trying something new, popping it into your mouth and ordering it again. Or never again. One that falls into the former category is the kamasu, or barracuda ($8) from Nagasaki. The skin is scalded, the fish is flash-grilled for flavor, and it happened to be mine (and Abanilla’s) favorite.
A bolder item like aji, or horse mackerel ($7) from Yamaguchi, is salt-cured for a few minutes and served with ginger and chives. “Aji coming into season now,” Abanilla says, “so the fat is getting really nice.” Nearly all the prized cuts, be it baby sea bream ($7), sea trout ($5), Japanese whiting ($6) or black fin sea bass ($8), are minimally dressed to allow the true flavor of each fish to shine. One item that gets a bit of work is anago, or conger eel ($8). Abanilla simmers the eel in a sauce he’s been nurturing for four years like a mother sauce. “Every time I cook eel, we add a little more sake and hon mirin to it. Then we reduce some down to a syrup. All the sweetness comes from the reduction. No sugar is added.”
And I’d be remiss not mentioning the rice, which is a blend of Uonoma and Hokkaido koshihikari varieties giving, as Abanilla says, “the right fluffiness, texture and ‘grip.’” I should also mention that Okonomi requires guests to order two items at a time unless, of course, you want to eat just one bite then leave. But even if you do, I’d highly suggest ending with the Jidori egg pudding ($7), a concoction devised by Sorekara pastry chef Francesco Benedetto that’s born from a ménage à trois of French crème brûlée, Spanish flan and Japanese pudding.
Really, this city is very fortunate to have some top-notch sushi counter experiences — Norigami and Edoboy are a couple that immediately come to mind. And while they’re both fine in their own right, Okonomi is in a league of its own because of the fish it offers. Shen tells me that he’s even got a fisherman in Long Island catching skipjack tuna for him while practicing ikejime — the Japanese method of humanely killing the fish. On top of that, Shen has even brought on chef Stone Lin from Michelin-starred (and now-shuttered) Natsu to help out on weekends. But no matter who the chef is, rest assured that the customers, and those rarefied cuts of fish, are in good hands.
Okonomi, 1110 E. Colonial Drive, okonomifl.com.
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This article appears in June 10-16, 2026.
