Koyu, a 12-seat omakase counter beneath Okaru at 1401 Old Northern Boulevard in Roslyn, opens on Thursday, November 5. Reservations are now open, exclusively on OpenTable, up to 30 days in advance.

Koyu is the second restaurant from Northern & Main Hospitality Group, the partnership between chef and partner Marc Spitzer and partner Noam Shemel. Spitzer spent more than 20 years shaping BONDST in Manhattan before the group opened Okaru in the same building on Old Northern Boulevard. The name Koyu (交遊) refers to the bonds that form around a single counter.

Executive sushi chef Bryan Yee in a white chef's jacket behind the pale wooden counter at Koyu
Executive sushi chef Bryan Yee at the Koyu counter. Photo: Jovani Demetrie.

The chef at the counter

The counter is led by executive sushi chef Bryan Yee, a longtime sushi chef at BONDST whose career includes training at O Ya, Zuma and Tao. The menu runs at least 18 courses and rotates up to nightly at the chef's discretion. It pairs fish flown in from Japan with locally sourced ingredients, moving between traditional Edomae-style sushi and modern interpretations with Long Island touches.

Omakase means the chef chooses. There is no menu to order from: guests sit at the counter and the courses arrive one at a time, built around what came in that day.

Seatings, price and booking

Koyu seats 12 around one counter in a room below the main restaurant. There are two seatings a night, at 5:30 and 8:30 p.m., Thursday through Saturday to begin.

  • Price: $215 a person, plus tax and gratuity.
  • Booking: OpenTable only, up to 30 days ahead.
  • Private seatings: for up to 12 to 14 guests, on request.
  • Dietary needs: the menu can be made fully gluten free, and most allergies can be accommodated with advance notice. Substitutions are not offered, since the menu changes at the chef's discretion.
The Koyu dining room seen through a doorway, with cream upholstered stools along a dark counter beneath pendant lights
The room beneath Okaru. Photo: Jovani Demetrie.

Upstairs at Okaru

Okaru, the group's first restaurant, fills the two-story building above with a sushi bar, a chef's table, private and semi-private dining rooms and a patio. Koyu has its own name and its own reservations, with a single counter as the whole room.

What comes next

Koyu says guest chef counter takeovers and special events will be announced in the months ahead. Opening night is Thursday, November 5, and the first seatings are at 5:30 and 8:30 p.m. Details are at koyu-omakase.com and on Instagram at @koyu_omakase.

Photography by Jovani Demetrie, courtesy of Koyu.

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