Even as I start my roundups of best dining experiences for 2024, we have a late entry into the game: HARU Omakase!
HARU Omakase is brought to us by Jeff Tsao, the owner of Fukuryu Ramen. (Read my 2019 profile of him in Columbus Monthly!). Jeff and his wife Yenny, both founding partners in the business, took the Fukuryu location off Polaris Parkway and converted it into a modern omakase experience with chef Yudi Makassau at the helm.
“Omakase” is a Japanese term that essentially means, “I’ll leave it up to you.” Like a tasting menu, you’re letting the chef come up with the menu for you. It’s parsed out into five “tours,” or courses: a salad, three entrees, and a dessert, all with a heavy seafood focus (except the dessert, that is).
There are six reservable spot at the omakase bar, where you get a front row seat, although there’s a full dining room where guests can order the omakase and a la carte items.
They very generously invited us in to sit at the omakase bar, and it was a delightful experience getting to see the four chefs work precisely together and to interact with them as they crafted the meal.
In addition to Chef Makassau, the three chefs brought a variety of experiences.
One of the youngest, they said, was still in high school but was heading to the Culinary Institute of America soon!
HARU features a full beverage menu that includes wine, sake, cocktails, Japanese whiskey and beer, and matcha.
One of the recommendations we received – and I highly suggest it as well – is the sake pairings. HARU features four-course pairings of both the sake and wines, designed to complement the first four stops on the omakase tour.
I’m not that well versed in sake, but I appreciated the flavor of each one, and how each stop varied so widely from the next, flowing from yuzu-tinted versions to unfiltered ones, all hitting flavor profiles that range from citrusy to floral to almost savory.
Chef Makassau said the menu will rotate about every six weeks, but will always work in traditional Japanese techniques with international inspiration.
Chef himself hails from Indonesia, and he spoke of his travels in Latin America. So our first tour, for instance, the salad tour, featured amberjack in a yuzu chipotle sauce.
The second tour featured a trio of bites: scallops, striped bass, and flounder.
The third tour explored Spanish mackerel, golden eye snapper, and king salmon.
The fourth tour featured a handroll made with yellowtail (on the right), bluefin tuna, and eel. The eel was one of my favorite bites of the evening; it was lightly torched to produce these nice, crispy edges.
The final tour was a luscious matcha creme brulee.
The omakase menu is $89 per person, with sake pairings adding another $45 per person.
In addition to the omakase, guests can order premium bites of A5 waygu, fatty tuna, sea urchin, caviar, and other small plates.
We’d highly recommend a visit to HARU, especially for the omakase bar. The whole team was wonderfully hospitable, and it’s fascinating to watch the culinary team at work.
HARU Omakase is currently open Thursday-Saturday from 5-9 p.m. Reservations are recommended, and are required for the omakase bar.
HARU Omakase
2027 Polaris Pkwy.
Columbus, OH 43240
(614) 696-9882
Web: haruomakase.com
FB: HARU Omakase
IG: @haru.omakase
