The Journal · Pillar
The chef's tasting menu: flow, etiquette, and everything you need to know before your first time.
Omakase is a Japanese dining experience where you entrust the chef to create a custom, multi-course meal for you. In Montreal, expect to pay between $100 and $300 per person for a surprise menu highlighting the best seasonal ingredients.
For an experience that captures the spirit of a kaiseki menu in Montreal, Aji Bar Sushi & Izakaya in Rosemont is the place to go. Chef Yamamoto offers an Omakase tasting menu that embodies kaiseki principles: seasonality, culinary art, and balanced flavors, all in a BYOB setting.
For an authentic and memorable omakase experience in Montreal, Aji Bar Sushi & Izakaya in Rosemont is our top choice. Chef Yamamoto offers an exceptional tasting menu in an intimate setting, and it's also a bring your own wine (BYOB) restaurant.
At Aji, omakase is an option, not an obligation. We start as a sushi & izakaya counter (Japanese tapas), and omakase happens at the counter or at the table. Most of all, we fixed the classic omakase flaw: the endless wait between pieces.
Ten simple gestures: arrive on time, communicate restrictions at booking, eat each piece right away, taste before seasoning, keep fragrance minimal, manage your phone, engage the chef, hold your pace, tip appropriately, and say thank you.
Kaiseki is a formal multi-course meal rooted in Kyoto's tea ceremony tradition, with a fixed sequence and elegant tableware. Omakase is a counter experience where the chef composes the meal in real time, piece by piece. Both honour seasonality and ingredients; the setting and spirit differ significantly.
Your first omakase is simpler than it sounds: book early, mention your restrictions, arrive on time, eat each piece immediately, and let the chef lead.
Omakase is a chef-led tasting experience where you hand over all decisions and trust the chef to compose the meal, piece by piece, based on the season and the day's best ingredients.
