Article By: Zak Lodhi
Inside the Shinbay Omakase Room Experience
There are meals, and then there are experiences that feel closer to art. Omakase, for those of you familiar with it, transcends from a meal into a ritual of trust between chef and guest, where each course arrives as both surprise and revelation. In Scottsdale, nowhere embodies this elevated journey more fully than Shinbay, a temple of Japanese refinement where every bite is crafted with precision and quiet drama.
At the heart of this performance is Chef Tanaka Ken. With over 30 years in the field, he’s led kitchens in Japan, helmed Kaiseki, and built revered names like Atari Omakase Sushi. And now at Shinbay, every morsel testifies to that experience, the precise seasoning of the shari (rice), the grain and body of each fish, the balance between sea and rice, skin and fat, heat and cool. Omakase becomes so much more than a meal. The word translates to “I leave it up to you.” At Omakase, you surrender choice to the chef, allowing them to curate a multi-course journey with only the freshest, peak ingredients. Every texture, temperature, pace, and flavor is decided in the moment. The experience becomes interactive: the chef is not merely a cook, but a reader of diners, to determine what comes next.
It’s intimate, it’s demanding, and when done right, it elevates both food and guest.
Shinbay embraces every hallmark of this elevated experience. The tasting menu unfolds across first light courses, silken sashimi, a gentle amuse of seasonal vegetables, then builds toward richer flavors. It culminates in an 8-to-10-piece flight of nigiri, each slice of fish chosen and cut with deliberate restraint, each grain of rice shaped with craft so that it briefly transforms under pressure and over time.
Meanwhile, Shinbay itself is every bit as inviting as this experience demands. The lighting dimmed just so; the sushi counter, which places you face-to-face with the chef, the weight of each dish in your hand, contributes to a crescendo of senses. The seafood is peerless: flown in fresh for you to savor every bite.
Dining at Shinbay becomes something rare: an evening of surrender. Of letting go of menus, of letting your palate trust the person behind the counter. Of witnessing discipline and artistry in action. For lovers of sushi, this is luxury realized.
To sit at Shinbay’s counter is to witness a dialogue between sea and season, craft and guest.
Each piece of nigiri, each brush of sauce, is part of a story told slowly and with care. In a city with no shortage of fine dining, Shinbay still offers something singular: an omakase that is both intimate and transcendent, reminding us that true luxury lies in details too delicate to imitate.
Address: 3720 North Scottsdale Road #201 Scottsdale, AZ 85251
Website: shin-bay.com
Phone Number: 480 .361 .1021
