Okay, so let me preface this with saying that I went to Shore Leave for dinner beforehand to get a feel for the place before eating at No Relation.
So to give a little context - No Relation is a reservation-only sushi counter that’s hidden in the back of Shore Leave. I’ll let you read their own description of themselves below
Tucked away down a narrow hallway at the back of Shore Leave, No Relation is a nine-seat, secret sushi restaurant nestled within the newly opened neighborhood tiki bar from the team at Bar Mezzana. Chef Colin Lynch leads the inventive omakase menu, where Japanese technique and his creative interpretation of a sushi-ya are presented each evening over approximately 14 courses.
Essentially, the way it works is you have to buy tickets for the night you want to go, there’s 2-seatings a night and all you have to worry about when you get there is what to drink, if anything and tip!
For those that haven’t ordered.eaten.fallen in love with Omakase before, it’s essentially entrusting your meal with the chef and it translates to “I’ll leave it up to you” or entrust in Japanese. Us Westerners have adopted it to mean a tasting menu at sushi restaurants but on my trip to Japan you can pretty much get Omakase & Kaiseki dining at a multitude of different type of restaurants.
You’re paying for the chefs knowledge and respect for both the ingredients (seasonality, care, preparation etc.) and for you (gauging your reaction to certain dishes). They are in charge of creating the menu using the finest ingredients available to them, and traditionally they should be gauging your reaction and adjusting the menu, presentation, portion for each person they’re serving.
Another thing to note is that often times, it’s standard to keep eating until you’re almost uncomfortably full, only then will you receive the bill.
Now onto the food - I’ll leave the menu here so you can follow along!
Korean Fluke
house ume & shiso
I’m not a huge fan of raw fluke, but this pairing was light and refreshing. Definitely a great way to start the meal.
Kinmedai
lemon oil & sansho salt
The acidity of the lemon oil definitely helped balance the fish. I first was exposed to this in Japan a couple years ago.
KONBU CURED SEA BREAM
lime & cherry blossom
The kombu helped give this fish an added layer of umami that I was searching for. If I’m being completely honest, I wasn’t a huge fan of the cherry blossom but understand the need to balance it out.
YELLOWTAIL
yuzu kosho & yuzu togarashi
Also known as Hamachi. This was a familiar fish to me, and I’m sure it is to you if you like sushi. The Yuzu helped brighten this fish up, and the togarashi wasn’t overpowering either. Definitely would eat again.
Ocean Trout
flavors of thailand
The flavors of coconut definitely helped balance this fish out, and it actually ended up being one of my favorites!
Shima Aji
aji amarillo, maui onion, uni
Okay so this is one of my favorite fishes, and I ate it without taking a picture - oops. This is also called Jack Mackerel, it’s closely related to Aji, but it’s a bit lighter in flavor, still fatty - just like I’m tryna make my bank account.
KAMASU
ginger, myoga, scallion
This is a fun one - also known as Barracuda. It’s a bit of an oily fish, which makes sense as to why it follows mackerel, but definitely a bit o the lighter side and the ginger and scallion were an excellent pairing. 10/10 would eat again.
SAYORI
jalapeno, fried garlic
This is a pretty fatty fish as well, which I’m all about tbh. The jalepeno was a welcomed kick in the tongue that I was looking for, but I could’ve done without the fried garlic and maybe a foam or something to cool on the heat? Am I a chef yet or…..
Aji Sashimi
cucumber, sesame , dashi
The cucumber was a really nice refreshing bite, and the dashi helped pull in all the fatty essence of the fish - so that we could move on to the next set. Well done.
AKAMI ZUKE
japanese mustard, candied ginger
So this or Akami, is part of the tuna that is less fatty, but still flavorful because they soak it in soy sauce aka zuke. I’m not a fan of mustard but understand the need for it here.
Tuna goes up in price the more fat there is typically and trust me, it’s worth it.
CHUTORO
lemon chili puree, fried shallot
Chutoro is essentially where you wanna be in terms of tuna. It’s not quite the fattiest part of the fish but it’s still in the belly region and has complexities that mirror salmon’s inherent fattiness. (there’s still one more level of fat, often called o-toro)
And I’m just gunna say it, I didn’t eat the fried shallots, it didn’t need it.
TUNA TARTARE HANDROLL
uni, shiso
A very straightforward exectution. I thought the uni did a great job of adding a unique flavor and umani element. The shiso was also a great add - not sure if they used uni from hokkaido though.
NEW ENGLAD MISO CLAM SOUP
bacon, plankton oil
Bruh…plankton oil - such a great way to finish this dish. I wish I could have taken a bottle home with me. This soup was surprising light, and the amount of clam that was in it was great!
Overall I don’t think I would give it another go, unless the menu was a lot different than what I had the last time. Reason being is because I honestly thought there was too much wasabi on some of the pieces for my liking, the rice didn’t bother me as much as some folks though. They use a different style when preparing the rice, so I was excited to try it - they flavor it was junta vinegar. When I went they had only been serving people for a little under a month I believe so I’m sure they have their stuff down pat by now.