Sushi by Bou Times Square

I've had the pleasure of sitting for many Omakase experiences but this one is in the top two. I discovered this place walking down the street while shopping for some earrings and the diamond District. The outside looked a little funky, so I decided to look up the spot and see what it was all about. After checking out the stellar reviews, I decided to make a reservation for one to treat myself for my birthday.Made a same day reservation, paid my deposit and I was in there! Got there a little early and was immediately drawn in by the 90's and early 2000's hip-hop coming through the speakers outside. Once inside from the frigid NYC air, I was greeted by "The Jasons", took off my jacket and had a seat. Jason #1 came behind the bar so I asked him to make me a drink, Mixologist's choice. He made me an incredible rum based drink with passionfruit and a special liqueur. So good, i ordered another (maybe two).The 7 pm seating was taking a little longer than anticipated so I was offered a welcome shot of house made sake and chatted up Jason #1 about how much my city has changed. Song after song was a hit and took me back to my Bronx days. Once sat, I was taken care of by the amazing Obrey, the Omakase Chef, and we chatted the whole night in Spanglish. I did the 12-course Omakase and here are a few standouts:Salmon roe was so sweet and briny (ended up ordering an extra) Chopped tuna - seriously wow (yup, extra of this one too)The scallop was so soft and tender and the wasabi is strong but not overpowering The toro will blow your mind. The truffle shavings are the perfect touch. (Yup- twice on this one too)Bbq eel - was warm almost hot, sweet and savory- just wowwI cannot say enough good things about this dinner. Delish, good convo, company, music was BANGIN!' (Thanks Jason G.) and I left there feeling full and lighthearted. I def plan to go to the one in DC to scope out the scene and hopefully order the uni next!

Really solid sushi with a nice and unique vibe and space!You walk down the stairs and you walk into a small room with 10 or so seats at the sushi counter. Staff was very welcoming upon arrival and throughout our lunch. Not sure if it was an off day, but we were the only two people there during most of our lunch. We ordered the 12 piece omakase which was a nice variety of well prepare nigiri and an extra piece and handroll. If you're a big eater or are extremely hungry, I'm pretty sure the 12 pieces will not be filling enough.Overall great experience overall. I wonder how loud that room would be if it were to be fully booked with some alcohol - could be nosy. But I would recommend.

This place was kind of hard to find. It said it was at the sanctuary hotel, but it was actually to the left of the hotel when facing the door and you go down some stairs into this alleyway and it's there. Really tiny and cozy spot with about 9 seatings total.We used a code online and got 12 piece omakase for $55. It is extremely quick - the service was 30 minutes. My friend and I got an extra piece of the maguro bc it was so good! Overall the fish was delicious: my favorites were the surf n turf, maguro, and toro. The staff was so nice as well they gave us sake for free!

I went they're on a whim being that it was close to whets I needed to stay. I will have to admit the website link was for some vegetarian restaurant? So I wasn't able to book reservations. I ended up walking there in hopes of them squeezing me in last minute. I got lucky and was able to score a seat. My favorite pieces the first night was chu toro and Surprisingly albacore. The albacore was perfectly seared and super tenderOne of the best I've actually had... unfortunately, i returned the next night and albacore was completely different. The menu was omakase nigiri in which is a total of 10 pieces that gradually increases in fattiness and flavor. Once you've completed all 10 pieces within the 30 minute window, you can add additional nigiris. I added the big mac! One big bite of layered nigiri: (starting from bottom) seared Wagyu, hotate, chu toro and finally uni.Although I was hoping for the same albacore bite I was very content. Pricing for all 10 pieces were great. So go! Enjoy a low key vibe that's unpretentious and an intimate space for you and person lucky enough to join you. Make conversations with the chef and savor the bite!

Eh, this place is probably the cheapest omakase I've been to and they really showed that they are the affordable option. It was a little hard to find the restaurant and it's definitely the smallest omakase restaurant I've been to. This place has a bit of a hip decoration and not the "classic" omakase vibes.We came couple minutes late but they got started right away, and the two seats next to us came really late and their pieces were just stacking up on their places.. The pieces were just okay and nothing "wowed" me or seemed that fresh? There was nothing fancy that really went on with any of them either. I felt like they torched a little too much (both sides of the wagyu, etc) where I had to chew a lot and it didn't really melt in my mouth or had a savory taste either.. I think the pieces that were not torched/had the least amount of special sauce were my favorites... Service was also just okay as we had to go up near the exit to pay, and the server had a hard time figuring out the machine to use the card/tap to pay and didn't even give me a pen that worked for me to write the tip and the total. They seem a bit strict about timing because the next set of customers were just waiting behind us as we were trying to finish our drinks.. I've been to the Philly location which was way better, and this probably was my least favorite omakase experience..

First of all, I loved my first experience at Sushi by Bou at the NOMAD location, so immediately had to come back when I saw they had a BOGO offer. I made reservations for a weeknight at 8pm. Because the omakase is timed, be sure to arrive early or on time as they already started the first round when we arrived 2 minutes after 8pm.Even though we were slightly late, we caught up as they were placing each nigiri after each other. Our entire meal was only 30 minutes, which felt a bit rushed when dining with someone else. My previous experience was an hour, so that felt better paced. I'm not really sure when it's half an hour and when it's one hour. If you do a 30 minute dining, I'd suggest just coming by yourself for a quick meal.Overall, the speed of this experience just kind of threw me off. But the omakase itself is delicious and such a great value for $70, which include uni. I definitely prefer the NOMAD location because you get a free sake with Yelp check-in too.

Swanky and a bit unrefined, Sushi by Bou is an omakase experience on the more affordable side. With a modern ambiance and a table that sits only 8, the environment is casual and hip. Taste: 4.5/5Ambiance: 4.5/5Service: 3.5/5 - (nothing wrong just standard, and not the typical intimacy/interaction you'd expect from an omakase sushi chef)Value for money: 4/5We had the 12 piece Omakase (in no particular order below)1) albacore - quite good!2) akami - lean tuna - okay3) Eel - can't ever go wrong here4) toro - come on, it's toro, it's gotta be good5) Miso cod - this was very good6) Salmon - with yuzu pepper sauce7) Scallop - can't go wrong here8) Chopped tuna - pretty good!9) Salmon Roe - wrapped okay10) Shrimp - nice and sweet11) Wagyu Uni - there was a crunch in my meat, which I figured was cartilage, was not bad though12) Yellowtail - not badWe also added a "Big Mac" to our order which is a combination of torched wagyu, scallop and Uni on top. The only complaint is would be that the water glass smelled a bit funky and it felt like the sushi was doused in the sauce when brushed over. But overall, a great spot!

We love sushi and regularly visit our favorite sushi restaurants near home, but we've never tried Omakase-style dining, where you eat what the chef serves you (not order from a menu). So, when visiting NYC with friends recently (who also enjoy sushi and, like us, have never tried Omakase), we decided to try Sushi by Bou. It was an awesome experience! Normally, I am not a big fan of chain restaurants. You'll never find me in an Applebee's, etc. However, in my experience, there are a handful of small chains that haven't gone totally corporate. They let each location's head chef "do their thing" (while staying in the chain's theme). That works for me in some cases, and I'm adding Sushi by Bou to my short list of smaller chains that qualify for a return visit. Finding the Times Square location was interesting. They occupy a small portion of a classic NYC restaurant basement, with steep stairs descending from a hole in the sidewalk (normally covered by a large metal plate). In this case, the metal plate is gone, and a makeshift wooden fence and gate adorn the hole in the sidewalk. Once inside the small space, you'll find it nicely decorated and optimized for the Omakase-style dining experience. Two Sushi chefs are behind the Sushi bar, each serving four guests at each seating. You watch them prepare each course and are served it with an explanation of the ingredients. We were served twelve courses that night, and you can order additional courses if you're still hungry -- or just want to try more of one of the things you were served. We thoroughly enjoyed the Omakase experience and liked this particular restaurant very much! In fact, we and our friends decided to make meeting up in NYC an annual affair, complete with a return visit to Sushi by Bou.

At dinner, however it shouldn't have 30 minutes to eat. My friend and I got 12 courses omakase so we looked to make a reservation and all Sushi by Boa in NYC were booked up except for this location. I wanted to go to another location and the location I want the course is 12 courses 60 minutes. So when I saw Times Square was available, I thought it was the same, but I found out later when they rush us to finish the meal. I feel I was at the lunch time. For the price vs food, I'm not impressed at all. Chef keep adding sushi to my dish without waiting for me to finish. I don't know if that is normal. What kind of Omakase experience is it? I went to Sushi by Bou in another location before and nothing like this. I wanted to surprise my friend but she wasn't crazy about the overall either. Day by day, they are getting too commercial, I wish they can keep the quality and service like they used to.

An intimate omakase experience! We enjoyed the meal very much and note that the quality was excellent. My favorites were pretty much all but the wagyuni and toro .. as well as the shrimp were just memorable. It's $65 and it will fill you up. We came at an off time like 2pm on a Sunday so it was just my husband and I. The employees were super nice especially the sushi chef. The entrance leads you to an underground and the space is small but is well decorated. Highly recommend!