Sushi Ryusuke

The sushi restaurant Ginza Kyubey is famous not just for its unparalleled quality of its sushi, but also for the skilled chefs that pass through its doors; entering first as disciples, and leaving as some of Tokyo's most renowned chefs. Chef Yamane Ryusuke is one such example. One of the most prolific of Kyubey’s graduates, he left to start his own restaurant — Sushi Ryusuke — in the highly competitive Ginza sushi scene, not far from Kyubey, in a seeming homage to the restaurant that trained him. He brings the best of Ginza Kyubey to his own seven-seat counter, employing his keenly-honed traditional Edomae technique to the finest ingredients, personally purchased fresh every morning from Toyosu Market, from suppliers who know him well from his stint at the legendary sushi institution. Purely red-vinegared rice is used for fish with richer, creamier flavors like maguro, sea urchin and conger eel, while rice dressed with a blend of red and white vinegar is reserved for lighter, white-fleshed fish. And yet the appeal of an omakase service with Chef Yamane lies also in his adventurousness. His signature dish, oddly, is a crab cream croquette, served as a mid-service small plate during lunch services and as a closing dish during dinner. Guests have described it as the perfect combination of crispy batter, seasonal crab’s gentle aroma and the subtle sweetness of onion. Sprinkled with seaweed salt from Hiroshima for a subtle umami, it’s a representation of Chef Yamane’s mastery of flavor, achievable only through years of training at one of Tokyo’s finest restaurants. Lunch services at Sushi Ryusuke in particular are especially popular. With a counter that only seats seven, the course is in extreme demand, with guests having to contend not just with local sushi enthusiasts, but also those from overseas — drawn by Chef Yamane’s own reputation, as well as that of the restaurant from whence he came.