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The Guide · Omakase

Best Omakase in Columbus (2026)

Eleven restaurants across Columbus. Compare neighborhoods, price tiers and what to order, then read the full reviews.

Ruth Ackermann
By Ruth Ackermann Food Editor, Top of Columbus · Updated October 2026 · How the score is built
Best Omakase in Columbus (2026)
THE COLUMBUS DINING GUIDES 11 restaurants
Compare all 11 restaurantsNeighborhood · price · score · first order
In the same order as the guide. Scores are out of 10; dollar symbols show the listed price tier.
RestaurantNeighborhoodPriceScoreWhat to order
01 Akai HanaColumbus$$8.2Sushi
02 Tensuke RamenColumbus$$7.7Ramen
03 SUSHI ENColumbus$$Sushi
04 Moshi Sushi BarColumbus$$Chicken katsudon
05 BD's Mongolian GrillColumbus$$Fried rice
06 OSAKA TON KATSUColumbusTonkatsu
07 Takumi Sushi A.Y.C.EColumbusNigiri
08 Hibachi ExpressColumbus$Hibachi fried rice with egg
09 Kooma Sushi Restaurant | JapaneseColumbus$$Sukra Roll
10 Teriyaki Express | JapaneseColumbusHibachi chicken
11 Mr. Hibachi DowntownColumbusHibachi steak

11 restaurants · In guide order

1 Akai Hana Yelp

Akai Hana

Japanese · Columbus · $$ · № 19 on the List
Insider Score8.2

Set inside the Japan Marketplace on Bethel Road, Akai Hana runs a straightforward nigiri and maki program that holds up against the plaza's other counters. The room reads as upscale for the corridor, and families get the same attention as solo diners at the bar. It is a dependable stop for anyone working through the Bethel Road cluster, not a destination on its own.

What to orderSushiNigiriMaki Call Directions
Full review & visiting detailsRead the full review & visiting details

Steady nigiri work in the Japan Marketplace

Sushi

Start with the sushi selection to see how this Bethel Road room handles the raw case, cut for cut.

Nigiri

Order the nigiri to judge the fish straight, rice temperature and seasoning doing all the talking.

Maki

Get a maki roll for the table, the format that turns raw fish into shareable rounds for a group.

Akai Hana sits inside the Japan Marketplace, part of the Bethel Road and Sawmill corridor that carries the metro's East Asian depth on the northwest side, and it reads as a proper sushi room rather than a food court add-on. The signature line runs standard and well: nigiri and maki built for people who order sushi often enough to notice when the rice temperature and the cut are off. Nigiri gets called out specifically in the record as the strength, the kind of order that separates a sushi counter with a real hand on the fish from one coasting on rolls. The maki side covers the group order, the table with kids, the friend who wants something cooked or wrapped rather than raw, and the room handles that mix without treating it as a compromise.

Service comes up again and again as a differentiator: water and a kids cup arriving without being asked, a greeting that sets the tone before the first plate lands. That kind of front of house polish matters in a plaza setting, where the room has to prove itself against the assumption that a shopping center address means a lesser kitchen. Akai Hana does the opposite. The dining room itself gets described as handsome, a step up from the counter-and-stools model, which fits the moderate pricing: this is a sushi dinner that can carry a family occasion or a date without feeling like an event.

The Japan Marketplace setting also means there is context around it, a reason to treat the visit as more than a stop for takeout. For the Bethel Road corridor, which holds Chinese, Korean, and Japanese kitchens within a few turns of each other, Akai Hana holds its own as the nigiri specialist, the room locals return to when the order needs to be right and the table includes people who do not all want the same thing.

Map showing Akai Hana© OpenStreetMap
HoursMon - Thu: 5:00 PM - 9:00 PMFri - Sat: 4:00 PM - 9:00 PMSun: 4:00 PM - 8:00 PM
Address1173 Old Henderson Rd
Columbus, OH, 43220
Insider tip

Order the nigiri first and let it set the standard before moving to maki. The room seats families comfortably, so a mixed order for a table with different comfort levels works without slowing service down.

2 Tensuke Ramen Yelp

Tensuke Ramen

Japanese · Columbus · $$ · № 30 on the List
Insider Score7.7

Tensuke Ramen's noodle bowls and gyoza carry the room, and the eel rice plate is fine without being a value play at its price point. Service can lag when the counter gets busy, buzzers included, so this reads as a solid weeknight noodle stop inside the Tensuke Market complex rather than a sushi destination.

What to orderRamenGyozaEel rice Call Directions
Full review & visiting detailsRead the full review & visiting details

The Bethel Road Ramen Counter Worth Knowing

Ramen

Order the ramen for the broth first and pick from the range of styles the counter runs, from the market that anchors this Bethel Road plaza.

Gyoza

Get the gyoza as the side that rounds out any ramen order, pan-seared and built for sharing across the table.

Eel rice

Try the eel mini rice for a smaller plate built around grilled eel over rice, a good compact order if the goal is fast and casual.

Tensuke Ramen sits inside the Bethel Road and Sawmill corridor that carries most of the northwest side's Japanese depth, and it earns its keep as the ramen counter, not the market itself. The bowl selection is the reason to come back. Regulars work through the menu on repeat visits, which says more about the range of broths and toppings than any single order could. Gyoza rounds out the table as the standard side, ordered alongside the noodles rather than instead of them. The eel rice, served in a smaller format, draws a mixed verdict: the eel itself reads as well handled, but the portion-to-price ratio is where some diners push back, especially against the mini size at a moderately priced menu.

That tension, solid cooking against a fair number of eyebrows raised over value, is the honest picture of the room. Service has been inconsistent on the operational side. At least one account describes a wait that ran to 40 minutes tied to a buzzer system that failed to alert either the diner or the counter, which points to a room that can get stretched thin at volume rather than a kitchen with a fundamental problem. That is worth knowing going in, because everything else about the place points toward speed: this is built as a quick casual stop, not a sit-down destination. For the corridor, Tensuke fills a specific role.

Tensuke Market anchors the broader Japanese grocery and counter scene on this stretch, and the ramen counter is the fast-casual complement to it, a place to eat well between errands rather than linger over courses. The price sits in the moderate range, appropriate for a noodle shop rather than a tasting room, and the room reads as a local favorite precisely because it delivers on the ramen selection even when the smaller plates or the pacing come up short. Go for the noodles first.

Map showing Tensuke Ramen© OpenStreetMap
HoursMon - Thu: 4:00 PM - 8:00 PMFri - Sun: 11:00 AM - 2:30 PM, 4:00 PM - 8:00 PM
Address1155 Old Henderson Rd
Columbus, OH, 43220
Insider tip

Order ramen as the anchor and treat gyoza as the side to split. If the eel rice interests, go in knowing the mini portion runs small for the price, and ask about wait times before committing on a busy night since the buzzer system has been known to miss a table.

3 SUSHI EN Yelp

SUSHI EN

Japanese · Columbus · $$

Sushi En's rice bowls, particularly the chicken bowl with vegetables, get more consistent praise than its sushi does, though the maki selection is broad enough for a family dinner. Fast service and a clean room make it a longtime neighborhood stop; prices have crept up, but the format still works for a casual weeknight.

What to orderSushiChicken bowlRice bowls Call Directions Scored from the full review record 1051 Gemini Pl, Columbus, OH 43240 · (614) 430-9887
4 Moshi Sushi Bar Yelp

Moshi Sushi Bar

Japanese · Columbus · $$

The chicken katsudon at Moshi Sushi Bar draws people back more reliably than its sushi does, and the dinner platter format, a choice of bulgogi paired with a California, spicy tuna, or eel roll, sums up the room's real strength: Japanese comfort food with sushi as a side note. Worth seeking out for the katsudon alone.

What to orderChicken katsudonCalifornia rollBeef bulgolgi Call Directions Scored from the full review record 2152 E Main St, Bexley, OH 43209 · (614) 732-0641
5 BD's Mongolian Grill Yelp

BD's Mongolian Grill

Mongolian · Columbus · $$

BD's Mongolian Grill is a build-your-own stir-fry counter near Easton, not a sushi room, but it earns its place on any Japanese-and-Asian dining list for volume and customization: fresh vegetables, a full sauce lineup, and fried rice as an add-on. Weekend nights get crowded, and service has been inconsistent when the floor is short-staffed.

What to orderFried riceStir-fried noodlesMongolian beef Call Directions Scored from the full review record 3977 Worth Ave, Columbus, OH 43219 · (614) 471-1000
6 OSAKA TON KATSU Yelp

OSAKA TON KATSU

Japanese · Columbus

Osaka Ton Katsu fries its cutlets to order, and the crust holds a genuine crunch that separates it from steam-table versions elsewhere. The set format, tonkatsu with miso soup and pickled vegetables, gives the small counter room real structure. It is tight quarters, but the kitchen's frying technique is the reason to go.

What to orderTonkatsuMiso soupPickled vegetables Call Directions Scored from the full review record 194 S High St, Columbus, OH 43215 · (614) 456-7709
7 Takumi Sushi A.Y.C.E Yelp

Takumi Sushi A.Y.C.E

Japanese · Columbus

Takumi Sushi runs an all-you-can-eat nigiri and sashimi format in a Sawmill Road strip mall, a genuine rarity for the corridor. The room is clean and the value proposition real for group dining, though reservations matter on weekends and the per-person price sits higher than the neighboring counters. Regulars get remembered here, a sign of a kitchen that has built loyalty.

What to orderNigiriSashimiMaki rolls Call Directions Scored from the full review record 7370 Sawmill Rd, Columbus, OH 43235 · (614) 935-8000
8 Hibachi Express Yelp

Hibachi Express

Japanese · Columbus · $

Hibachi Express keeps a counter-service hibachi program moving fast, with fried rice and egg as the backbone of the plate and grilled proteins turned quickly. The crab rangoon disappoints on filling, but the core hibachi order is consistent enough to be a genuine go-to for a quick dinner rather than an occasion meal.

What to orderHibachi fried rice with eggCrab rangoonGrilled protein Call Directions Scored from the full review record 1587 Holt Rd, Columbus, OH 43228 · (614) 465-7499
9 Kooma Sushi Restaurant | Japanese Yelp

Kooma Sushi Restaurant | Japanese

Japanese · Columbus · $$

Kooma's Sukra Roll stands out for fresh salmon, and the portions run generous for the price point, four rolls comfortably feeding a table. Service quality swings with staffing levels, since the floor sometimes runs with only two servers on busy nights, but the sushi itself has held up across repeat visits.

What to orderSukra RollNigiriMaki Call Directions Scored from the full review record 37 Vine St, Columbus, OH 43215 · (614) 224-3239
10 Teriyaki Express | Japanese Yelp

Teriyaki Express | Japanese

Japanese · Columbus

Teriyaki Express trades on value, a hibachi chicken plate priced well below the traditional hibachi-house rate, and that is the honest case for going. Vegetables run soggy and the kitchen's execution on fried items is inconsistent, with at least one report of badly burnt orange chicken, so this is a budget option, not a craft one.

What to orderHibachi chickenTeriyaki chickenGyoza Call Directions Scored from the full review record 1490 E Livingston Ave, Columbus, OH 43205 · (614) 826-8006
11 Mr. Hibachi Downtown Yelp

Mr. Hibachi Downtown

Japanese · Columbus

Mr. Hibachi Downtown built its reputation on fair pricing and generous entree portions, steak and scallops chief among them, though appetizer wing counts run stingy. Quality on the steak has reportedly slipped from its earlier standard, cooked past the requested temperature on at least one recent visit, so this reads as a decent value pick rather than a top-tier hibachi room.

What to orderHibachi steakScallopsChicken wings Call Directions Scored from the full review record 250 N 3rd St, Columbus, OH 43215 · (614) 327-0568
What to know before choosing a restaurant

The top picks: Akai Hana, Tensuke Ramen, and SUSHI EN, with all 11 rooms ranked below.

Columbus does not have a chef's-counter omakase scene to rival the coasts, and this list is honest about that. What it has is a working roster of nigiri counters and hibachi rooms from Sawmill Road to Easton, graded here on rice temperature, fish handling, and whether the kitchen treats sushi as craft or filler.

Frequently asked

What is the best omakase near me in Columbus right now?
Columbus does not have a true chef's-counter omakase scene the way larger coastal cities do. What the city has instead is a strong bench of nigiri and hibachi counters scattered from Bethel Road and Sawmill Road to Easton; this guide ranks those rooms by the Insider Score, which weighs the full review record rather than any single visit.
Do any of these restaurants pay to be listed on Top of Columbus?
No restaurant pays for placement or for a better position on this list. Every entry is ranked by its Insider Score, which is generated from the review record, and the ranking is not for sale.
Is Takumi Sushi A.Y.C.E actually all you can eat?
Yes, Takumi Sushi runs an all-you-can-eat nigiri and sashimi format, a genuine rarity in the Columbus market. It sits in a Sawmill Road strip mall, runs at a higher per-person price than most casual counters on this list, and reservations are worth making on weekends.
Where is the best tonkatsu in the Columbus area?
Osaka Ton Katsu fries its cutlets to order and holds a real crunch that distinguishes it from steam-table versions found elsewhere. The counter is small, but the frying technique and the set format, cutlet with miso soup and pickled vegetables, make it the strongest tonkatsu option on this list.
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The data first, then the verdict

We start with the review record, not a press release. Every room here is a real kitchen with a strong rating across a meaningful number of reviews, ranked on our 10-point Insider Score. We weight consistency over time and the rooms locals return to, not the ones tourists pass through once. The list updates as the data does. How we work →

About the writer
Ruth Ackermann
Food Editor, Top of Columbus

Ruth Ackermann is the Food Editor at Top of Columbus. Raised in Merion Village in a family from the old German south side, she worked pastry and the line in two Short North kitchens before moving to the notebook. She covers the institutions, the chef-driven rooms, and every dining room where the occasion matters.

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