Omakase Is the Show at Intimate Taylor's Sushi Suite in Westhampton Beach

What happens when you cross a world-class sushi chef with a beloved small-town café and throw in some out-of-the-box thinking intentionally designed to break the traditional dining paradigm? You get Taylor’s Sushi Suite, an eight-person bar serving a timed omakase that functions out of an upstairs room in Sydney’s “Taylor” Made Cuisine in Westhampton Beach.

The only way to eat at Taylor’s Sushi Suite is to make a reservation. You’ll be texted a riddle to solve that unlocks a passcode used to enter the side entrance of the building. But the speakeasy vibe pretty much ends there, as the dining room has a bright, cheerful seaside theme and a professional staff entirely dedicated to the eight guests at the bar for each 90-minute session. Guests may or may not know each other, but likely soon will, given the intimate, communal setting.

Curating, preparing and serving this traditional Japanese meal is Chef Cheon Ho Han, known as “Chef Hancho,” who previously worked for the Sushi Suite concept in New York City and now lives in Hampton Bays. Hancho hand-delivers to dish the 12-course omakase.

While there are chopsticks for a refreshing sea bream sashimi, Hancho prefers that you eat the rest of the meal with your fingers to avoid cross-contaminating tastes. The bar provides a dainty finger-washing bowl for use after picking up each little bit of magic and savoring its mesmerizing simplicity. Omakase is often translated as “I’ll leave it up to you,” and you will be happy you did.

Behind the concept for Sushi Suite is Michael Sinensky, a Westhampton resident and the founder of Simple Venue, a restaurant group that specializes in turning underutilized or underperforming spaces into fine non-traditional food and beverage concepts, all with an eye toward disrupting the industry. His company is focused on finding creative ways to alleviate financial burdens that, for many restaurants, become overwhelming in the face of small, or non-existent, profit margins.

Sinensky says Simple Venue operates as more of a partner and consultant with a space-owner than as a lease-holder, and that this model frees his 250-person company to create “fun, crazy” experiences across the country.

“The regular restaurant model of leasing and renting is the reason why most places close down so quickly,” he says. “With this approach, it makes it way more efficient to run this kind of business … These micro-concepts provide people with a much better dining experience than a traditional restaurant that is filling as many seats as possible and trying to turn as many covers as possible.” Sinensky adds, “This is more like a show.”

And the main attraction at Sushi Suite is the Korean-born Hancho, who’s laser-focused on his meticulous work in this menu-less, free-form environment. But in no time at all there will appear a new wonder on your plate that a pair of chopsticks would only taint. Expect a mix of nigiri, sushi and sashimi, and specific pieces might look like ocean trout with pepper yuzu sauce, or a seared piece of Wagyu topped with caviar and black truffle that seems to not so much please the palate as to make it sing with joy.

The menu changes daily and is sourced from traditional Japanese fish markets.

Part of the omakase experience is to watch, up close and personal, the techniques used by a skilled sushi chef, including knife skills, rice shaping and precise blow torch application that all contribute to what is a feast for the senses.

Sushi Suite has locations already in Chicago and in New York City, where the restaurant operates out of a hotel room at Hotel 3232 in Nomad. “It’s the first hotel room ever in the world turned into a restaurant,” Sinensky says.

The inspiration for many of Sinensky’s food and beverage concepts was a trip he took to Japan six years ago. “We saw the coolest concepts and the coolest brands were not on the ground floor because of space restraints in these cities … so they build up instead of out. The coolest places were on the fifth floor, or the 1oth floor.”

Taylor’s Sushi Suite plans to be open year-round, but Simple Venue is also bringing a temporary residency concept — Sushi by Bou — further east to Southampton. The pop-up will be using space in NAIA at the Capri Hotel and open on Tuesday, July 4.

Taylor’s Sushi Suite is located at 32 Mill Road, Westhampton Beach. Learn more at sushibybou.com/locations/new-york/taylors-sushi-suite