Yuzu Omakase Hanoi Is Nothing Loud But It Lingers

Three years ago, a restaurant opened in Saigon that was hard to categorize. It served Japanese food, but it felt like performance art. It was serious about its craft, but it never took itself too seriously. It was exclusive and utterly unlike anything Vietnam had seen before. That restaurant was Yuzu Omakase Saigon. And now, the concept has arrived in the capital. Introducing Yuzu Omakase Hanoi.

Yuzu Omakase Saigon opened in 2022. And, when it did, it imperiously stared down at the crossroads of Thu Khoa Huan and Ly Tu Trong. From the street its enclosed space suggested something clandestine was going on within. 

In fact, inside, gold leaf drifted through the air like cherry blossoms, outlandish spoonfuls of caviar got heaped on the back of guests’ hands, freshly grated truffle fluttered down like snowflakes, and smoke billowed out from under stone cloches covering cuts of buttery fatty tuna, bright oceanic horse mackerel and creamy yellowtail.

Saigon’s dining scene hadn’t seen anything like it.   

Yuzu Omakase Hanoi Is Catching A Culinary Dream

Yuzu Omakase said they were ‘catching a culinary dream.’ It felt like it too – a dimly lit space, the spotlights on the chefs and the dishes coming from the kitchen beyond the intimate counter. It was part Jiro Dreams of Sushi, part Tampopo, mixed together and set inside Kill Bill’s House of Blue Leaves. And, at its peak, add in the frenzied feasting of Spirited Away.

At that time, in early 2024, it set a blueprint for opulent, otherworldly sushi-yas serving omakase set-menus to follow. 

Even the name Yuzu – co-signing the trendy Japanese citrus that’s conquered high-end menus worldwide – promised something both familiar, exotic, and utterly irresistible.

Feeling Left Out? 

You could forgive the capital for feeling left out. 

Yuzu would have fit right in not far from Hanoi’s Hoan Kiem quarter – a place that’s moneyed but modest, opulent but adverse to attention. And now it has, with the opening of Yuzu Hanoi.

Vietnam’s capital has a deep sense of poetry too – the tree lined streets, the lingering over coffee in arty cafes – so the set menus, based, as they are in Saigon on a shimmering symphony of seafood start with ‘The Rhythm,’ the backbeat behind all the sets, served at lunch, before evolving into the ever-more luxurious menus: ‘The Moment,’ ‘The Journey’ and finally, the signature offering this season, ‘The One.’ So, it all makes sense.

Sensitive To Yuzu Omakase Hanoi’s New Destination

But this isn’t a carbon copy of its Saigon sibling. The Yuzu Omakase team were sensitive to the desires of their new destination – not dissimilar to how they carefully seeded the Yuzu concept, originally from Bangkok, into Vietnam’s sweltering southern metropolis of Saigon. 

“Hanoi has a rhythm,” Kendall muses. And so the space here, intentionally, “feels more intimate, more reflective.” It’s an omakase restaurant in Hanoi designed for meaningful lunches, quiet celebrations, and slow, intentional moments that go way beyond what’s on the plate. “It’s a quiet statement,” he adds after some deliberation.

The concept might be easy to conjure up, but realizing it meant deploying clean lines and soft curves, layered with handcrafted Dó paper, and filled with Bát Tràng ceramics, and Sông Hồng-inspired art.

Fire Sizzles. Bubbles Pop. Gold Leaf Glitters.

Still, for all its adjustments, just as in Saigon, here, at Yuzu Omakase Hanoi, fire sizzles. Bubbles pop. Gold glitter mists through the air like something out of a dream sequence. 

There’s movement, energy, but never chaos — it’s akin to choreography. “Other omakase spots may lean quiet and traditional,” Kendall explains. “However, we believe surprise is part of the story.”

In fact, then, the set-menus feel even more at home in Hanoi than Ho Chi Minh City. The capital’s a place where cinematic evenings in the old streets are full of the nostalgic emotions infused with artiness and enlivened with some early-evening summer breeze. The cultured warren-like alleys of the old quarter opening onto more modern, restaurant-lined byways around Hai Ba Trung, where a new cohort of guests in the north get to experience Yuzu Omakase. 

Fittingly, Thai Phien Street sits quietly yet confidently in the heart of the capital. It’s surrounded by heritage homes, embassies, and a community of tastemakers and decision-makers. 

“It’s where the old soul of the city picks up a new pace,” Kendall, Yuzu’s Senior Brand Manager and Partnership Manager smiles. “That balance — somewhere between tradition and modernity, calmness and creativity — is also what defines Yuzu.

A Journey That Promises Mastery, Memory And The Art Of Craft

The trip over to Yuzu Omakase Hanoi is reflected in ‘The Journey’ menu – a course that promises, like Hanoi’s old streets offer, mastery, memory and the art of craft. There are textures and theatrics. And like the capital’s arty, inward-looking residents, ‘The Journey’ is Yuzu’s most introspective summer offering. 

This menu is crafted with deep intention and precision, transforming meticulous preparation into edible poetry. From the rich and warming Zuwkakani Nabe, to dramatic Wagyu Musuji plated atop a stone evoking Mount Fuji, and the luxurious Bafun Uni Toast garnished with premium uni, truffle, and shimmering gold — every course reveals mastery and thoughtful composition.

The menu’s rich and warming Zuwkakani Nabe – a Japanese hot pot dish featuring snow crab, known for its delicate and sweet flavor — delivers waves of oceanic depth, where sweet crab mingles with delicate dashi in a broth that coats the palate like liquid silk. 

The dramatic Wagyu Musuji, plated atop a stone tablet modelled on Mount Fuji, melts into buttery richness – the way only A5 Wagyu can – that dissolves on the tongue, its marbled fat rendering into pure umami luxury. 

The menu’s Bafun Uni Toast becomes a study in textural contrasts — the creamy, briny sweetness of uni spreading across crisp toast, while earthy truffle adds forest-floor complexity to which some shimmering gold provides the final flourish of decadence. 

It’s a journey that, aside from the flavors, is filled with beautiful moments, over an evening (or lunch) in which: “design meets hospitality and culture meets experience.”

This Is Something You Can’t Script 

The counter becomes the stage — there’s no separation between kitchen and experience. And so Kendall recommends sitting in the main room, right in the heart of it all. “There’s something special about being surrounded by the collective energy of other guests—the gasps when the toro arrives, the laughter after a sake pour. It’s like having a front-row seat to a private performance, except everyone’s in on it.”

Being in Yuzu Omakase’s private dining room offers its own take on the experience. “There, the way the mood shifts with each course — it’s contagious. And it adds something you can’t script.”

Take Your Time At Yuzu Omakase Hanoi

There’s a saying: “Hà Nội không vội được đâu.” It means in Hanoi, you take your time. And that mindset shapes everything about Yuzu Hanoi, from the pacing of courses to the way they built the space itself.

“Meals aren’t just for fueling up. They’re meant to be enjoyed slowly, with intention, conversation, and presence,” Kendall reminds us.  

Then, it’s over and you’re back out into Hanoi’s storied streets. Maybe with the hauntingly beautiful piano from ‘One Summer’s Day’ from Spirited Away reverberating in your head, like the sensory experience that just unfolded at Yuzu Omakase Hanoi. “It’s gentle, nostalgic, and emotionally layered — just like the experience we create. Nothing loud, but it lingers,” Kendall smiles finally.