Sozai

The reviews made me skeptical of the restaurant before dining in for omakase, but I had the complete opposite experience of the negative reviews. The restaurant was busy on the night we went in, and unlike what the reviews stated (that it was so quiet you could hear a pin drop), there was music playing and people were chatting. Maybe they made these changes after seeing the reviews about the noise though. Although I am sympathetic about the reviews where people were charged a hefty fee for cancelling their reservation, the policy made sense to me at the restaurant because of the purposeful sourcing of the food for each customer.The chefs and servers were kind, welcoming, and attentive, and taught us about the food and sake we were being served. The meal was incredibly delicious--everything was so intentional. The sashimi was fresh and the dishes were flavorful and took us out of our comfort zone. I'm quite confused by the reviews saying the meal lacked flavor, I did not feel that way at all.The restaurant was recommended by a coworker who had lived in Japan short-term, saying that it was the most similar to what he had had there--even better than omakase he has had on both US coasts. I've never had omakase before, but I've had sushi on the east coast and I would say it is very comparable. It's definitely the best nigiri and sashimi I've had in the Midwest. I would absolutely recommend Sozai! It's worth the price.

Wow! What a memorable and phenomenal experience! My best friend and I made reservations for Omakase and it was such a pleasure to sit at the sushi bar and watch Aaron work his magic. Everything was delicious and perfect. Such a great variety of items and flavors.The teas are delicious too. I had hot and iced tea.I love the vibe here. Unassuming and relaxed. It's quiet. You can definitely have a great conversation and feel like you have privacy. Everyone here is focused on the food. Everything is high quality and the attention to detail is lovely.The service is amazing. Very attentive and friendly people. My water glass was never empty. Aaron was very kind and so nice to talk to.

Sozai was a great experience. We selected the more adventurous Nami option (Omakase style). Chef Mike was fantastic and did a series of sake pairings for us too. The fish was unbelievably fresh and delicious, and the preparation and presentation were lovely. Chef Mike explained everything to us and asked if we had any allergies. He also ran through the menu at the beginning of the meal in case there was anything we didn't feel adventurous enough to try. The lightly fried prawn head was the strangest thing (at least to us westerners), but it was delicious, shell and all. The sake pairings were fabulous and his tea pairings were also spot-on.Sozai is not inexpensive, but for the quality and quantity of food, as well as the relaxed pace of the chef, it was well worth the price. We left full and happy. Sozai is also worth the wait to secure a reservation. Can't wait to go back!

A friend and I made reservations to go for dinner at 6:15pm on Thursday evening. The inside is simple and spacious with only seats for about 30 people between the omakase sushi bar and the tables for four. The sushi was delicious and fresh and really affordable for how good it was. The location is kind of middle of nowhere in Clawson. There is a small parking lot in front.

At the beginning of omakase course, Chef Sato told us that we will be served the whole course with invasive species. I had to laugh out loud with anxiety. Either this meal will be brilliant or I will be paying $200 per person for cheap bottom crawler that no one wants?I think what he meant was the whole course is focused on sustainable fishing. The course was filled with hard to find very pricey ingredients (Matsudake mushroom, abalone, caviar, sea urchin from Hotkaido.. etc) that you cannot get anywhere else in Michigan. I think his key to success is spending a lot of time for sourcing the best ingredients.If you rarely get out of Michigan but you have very high expectations of Japanese food, it is worth visiting. It was very entertaining interacting with chef Sato. By the way, he won the James Beard Award this year.I have had several omakase dinners before. I am not going to say it was the best one but it was very unique experience.

Fresh food Japanese experience being prepared at an elevated level. Recommended for the true connoisseur of Japanese food as the elevated aspects of their dishes may be lost on novices or first timers. JmhoGo here and enjoy.

Sozai has been on my got-to-try list for a while. We had an anniversary coming up, so an Omekase experience sounded perfect. We were so amazed with the food and service! We sat at the sushi bar, which I highly recommend - so you can watch each dish being prepared. Each course comes out beautifully arrayed and described, you can't help but be impressed with the mastery of the chefs. I really enjoyed everything, but especially loved the creativity of the chef with the sustainable dishes they prepare. Reservations are recommended on weekends, but there is some walk in availability midweek. We can't wait to go back!

Such a great experience sitting at the sushi bar! We did the minato which was their most basic omakase option. My favorite dishes were the assortment of nigiri, the 3 day miso salmon, and the black cod Mia soup. We also did the sake pairing which was a lot of fun. The chef we had was very informed on the different sakes and helped explain everything. The place has very chill vibes and is a great spot for a date night or special occasion.

We have high expectations of this restaurant before we go. However, very disappointed at the end. Absolutely no interaction with the three cooks at the sushi bar. No smile from anyone in the restaurant, it felt like they are all angry at us. At the end of the meal, one of the cook left the bill in front of us with not a single word out of his mouth. No thank you or good bye from anyone. The food is not even good, just very average Japanese food.

From the outside Sozai is an unassuming sushi spot tucked into a strip mall in Clawson. The restaurant is known for its high quality fish, traditional Japanese and omakase. To be honest, if you are looking for a restaurant with trendy/sexy vibes this is not the place. Since we sat at a regular table we were only allowed to order from the regular menu. If you opt for the omakase you need to sit at the sushi bar. To be honest we were pretty disappointed with the overall service. All of the dishes were basically "plopped" down in front of us with no explanation. Also when we asked to sample a type of wine before committing to a full glass, the waitress quickly shut us down. Despite the atmosphere and service, the food was definitely impressive. We started the meal with their vegetable offerings; the sunomono, Kaiso and pickled veggies. All of the starting plates were flavourful and well balanced. If you are looking to try a legit seaweed salad you should try their kaiso; it is a far cry from what you would find at a grocery store sushi bar. We then had the spicy albacore tataki and tuna with natto. The tuna with natto is a very traditional Japanese dish of seared tuna served cold over fermented soy beans. The soy beans have a unique sticky texture but add a totally unique flavour to the rich fish. Finally we had three rolls; the bowler roller, dark crystal and southern. All sushi rolls were delicious but hands down our favourite was the southern. This roll incorporates Sozai's own creation of bbq eel where they substitute catfish in place of the eel. All rolls were a perfect balance of flavours and textures and the ingredients ultra fresh. There is definitely a reason why sozai has been awarded many accolades for their delicious food; I look forward to returning and doing the omakase. Hopefully the service will be better wheb we are at sitting at the sushi bar.