Shinbay

The only strictly Omakase Restaurant in all of Arizona. It's a top five restaurant in the Phoenix Metropolitan area. Shinbay is open Wednesday thru Sunday for two dinner seatings only, 5:45pm and 8pm with dinners lasting around 2 hours.Located in a modern building with a high-end Korean BBQ restaurant next door, Shinbay is the pride of Chef Tanaka, Assistant Chef Taka, and Host / Curator / Server Derrick. The modern 10 seat restaurant is set in desert tones of tan, brown, and gray with counter style seating only. August is typically slow season for tourism, fine dining, outdoor sports, due to the 110 degree plus temperatures. The window for outdoor activity is very early in the morning or late afternoons unless you just want to lounge around at a pool or walk a shopping center.My son turned 31 and we decided to visit him and splurge on an Omakase dinner experience, he made a Wednesday reservation for 5:45pm and we found out we were the only diners for the two seatings. Our own private Omakase dining experience during the slow season. We found out that February is already booked up and typically reservations pick up when it gets cooler, Barrett Jackson Auto is in town, Spring Training with many players, coaches and fans, are in town, etc... since August has neither, we were the lucky three who could converse with the three front end restaurant people.Shinbay has dry and sweet sakes, wine, beer, from affordable to I must be crazy rich. We went affordable with a beer and a 750ml bottle of Hakkaisan Snow Aged Sake (semi sweet).There were six courses: Starter, Sashimi, Warm Dish, Tsumami, Warm Dish, and Dessert with the Tsumami course consisting of 12 individually prepared and presented one at a time imported fish nigiri style. The chef picked up many of the fish in the morning at Phoenix Sky Harbor. The fish were nicely cut, seared on a few, put on a platter, or handed to you depending on how Chef Tanaka wanted you to experience the fish. So many species that you'll need to reference back to the IPAD menu at the counter.Most Memorable - the warm dish of A5 Wagyu prepared ShabuShabu style with an egg sauce and the Sashimi course. Least Memorable - the dessert of mochi and chocolates.Overall, a fine dining experience with excellent discussion with the three upfront staff, Chef Tanaka, Assistant Chef Taka and the polished & extremely knowledgeable Host / Server Derrick.

This evening me and B we blessed enough to experience the dining experience of the year. (Possibly decade for me) We were lucky enough to catch a 5:45 seating at Shinbay: Chef Ken Tanaka's latest triumpth. The nature of the experience is honestly kinda failed by the typical Yelp format; and it's a real "ya just had to be there" kinda moments. But take it from the both of us, you won't see a single cell phone screen from anyone, the room is consciousness is dramatically present, this is a daringly sharp taste journey that stays with your thoughts and conversations for hours and hours after you leave.This is place is not for the amateur food scene enthusiast... it's strictly for the elite and uncompromising. My recommendation go, at all costs if you're as passionate about this art as me... and only take someone who has the ability to appreciate it as much as you. You will never regret it

Awesome! Great food that is super fresh. Outstanding customer service! Ambiance is comfortable and clean.THANK YOU!

My husband and I ate at Shinbay over a month ago and I've delayed writing a review because I have struggled to find the words to accurately describe this divine experience. The chef has won three James Beard awards, rightfully so, and it doesn't even seem like it has phased him. We acknowledged it at the end of the meal and he simply shrugged his shoulders and looked down. He is just focused on his work and on creating the best pieces of sushi you've ever eaten. If you have $500-$1000 to spend, do yourself a favor and have dinner here. It's $500 for two, and about $100-$200 for sake, which you can open there and then take the bottle home with you. It's a great keepsake! Some things that were standouts for us: the tofu, the toro, the real wasabi, the toothfish, the Japanese mushrooms, and the snapper. Major shout-out to the GM, who welcomes each couple, seats you, and explains everything you're about to eat. We appreciated the context and knowledge that he shared, and how much he added to the experience! It was an honor to have dinner here. I've never had sushi of this caliber. It was an exquisite dining experience that I hope everyone gets to experience!

Came here for my anniversary dinner. Never been to a spot that only seated 6 ppl twice a night. It was definitely a cool unique experience.Had omakase 15 course meal (1 course was 4 sashimis, and I counted 7 pieces of nigiri individually). Everything was actually so delicious. And it was really cool getting to try both Santa Barbara uni and Hokkaido uni. I definitely prefer Santa Barbara as it was a little firmer and a lot less fishy (more sweet). Also cool to see them make/grate fresh wasabi - strong sharp flavor with a bit more earthy grassiness.It was a very lean team of three.The server was super knowledgeable on all the dishes and where it was sourced. He also made sure our glass was never empty and cleared out our plates as soon as we were finished. Felt very well serviced. Most things were shipped fresh from Japan or Spain. But they do change the menu daily so you'll get whatever is fresh for the day. The plating was also so beautiful and fun.An expensive but splendid celebratory experience for those special occasions. Worth the money for the experience and delicious bites.

Came here during my recent visit to Scottsdale to catch some spring training baseball. This omakase sushi experience provides the extreme end to a day of baseball games. Reservations are a must because there's only two seatings a night and limited seats. The restaurant has been around for awhile but the last six months under Chef Tanaka Ken, who creates exquisite and well-composed dishes. All the nigiri pieces are hand formed to perfection, with fresh fish flown in from around the globe. This is definitely a sophisticated and luxurious dining experience.

Absolutely amazing! By far our favorite omakase restaurant. Great service and ambiance. We recently went to Tokyo in February and tried several omakase restaurants but nothing as special as Chef Tanaka Ken. His dishes were so unique and tasty. Every bite was heavenly. We will definitely come back.

This place was awesome!We were here for a bachelor party celebration and we're able to book out the entire space which was so awesome!Derek was my point of contact for coordinating this experience, couldn't have been a more professional guy to work with. So if you need to get a private event going Derek is your guy!As for the rest of the team is great. Chef Shin's right hand man, I'm so sorry I forgot his name, but a super friendly guy and informative on explaining each course and individual pieces to us. Ms Jenny was very sweet in serving, and of course Chef Shin is the maestro behind the counter. The entire team is great!Place is sleek and minimal like many omakase spots in todays market, but it's always aesthetically pleasing in my opinion.I tried to get all the names of the courses and pieces down from the menu. But honestly, if you're an omakase fan, Sushi Shin is definitely worth a visit.Sleeper sake is the Japanese limoncello that they had! But save it for your "dessert wine", phenomenal.

I'm not sure why this place doesn't have 5 stars. From the beginning, everyone is extremely welcoming and accommodating. Kevin will welcome you as soon as you come in. The food was amazing. The experience was 1000/10 . Chef Ken was friendly and offered an omakase experience like no other. I loved that everyone serving and all of the other chefs were knowledgeable. We will definitely be returning again.

Wow! Amazing food and atmosphere. If you like sushi, Shinbay is a must . We came here for our son's 24th birthday and we'll definitely come back.The portion are small but surprisingly, I was stuffed by the end of the meal.