Est. Tribeca · MMXXI
Eight seats.
One kitchen.
Zero compromise.
AKANE is a counter-first sushi restaurant on Franklin Street. Chef Kenji Watanabe serves eighteen courses in two and a half hours — precisely, quietly, every night.
茜
TOYOSU MORNING CATCH·HOKKAIDO UNI·AKAZU AGED RICE·BINCHOTAN CHARCOAL·BLUEFIN, AGED TEN DAYS·SANTA BARBARA UNI·DASSAI 23 POUR·TOYOSU MORNING CATCH·HOKKAIDO UNI·AKAZU AGED RICE·BINCHOTAN CHARCOAL·BLUEFIN, AGED TEN DAYS·SANTA BARBARA UNI·DASSAI 23 POUR·
茜.
Philosophy
Akane is the red of a sky
the moment it burns.
A single color. The instant before night. We cook to that moment — the quick flame, the first clean bite, the one gesture that can't be taken back.
01
The Fish
We buy from three dealers, all in Toyosu, all before six AM. Anything that doesn't pass the counter is returned. No exceptions, no second-best.
02
The Rice
Koshihikari, one single-farm source, aged 18 months. Seasoned with akazu — red vinegar pressed from sake lees, 45 years old.
03
The Knife
Every cut by hand. Chef Kenji's yanagiba was made in Sakai in 1998 by Keijiro Doi. He has used no other knife for twenty years.
04
The Hour
Two seatings a night. 5:30 and 8:00. The counter is never rushed, never doubled. When you sit, the evening is yours.
いらっしゃいませ✦Welcome to AKANE✦本日の握り✦Tonight's Counter✦大トロ · 雲丹 · 和牛✦いらっしゃいませ✦Welcome to AKANE✦本日の握り✦Tonight's Counter✦大トロ · 雲丹 · 和牛✦
Signature Selections
Dishes that
define the room.
PLATE · 01鮪
Otoro Nigiri
大トロ 握り
$32
Ten-day aged bluefin belly, torched with koji salt over warm akazu rice. The dish that defines us.
No. 01 / 18Chef's Table
PLATE · 02牛
A5 Wagyu Robata
和牛 炉端
$68
Miyazaki tenderloin over binchotan, burnt miso glaze, wasabi leaf, pickled ramp.
No. 02 / 18
PLATE · 03雲
Uni Toast
雲丹 トースト
$28
Santa Barbara uni, brown butter brioche, cured yolk, chive oil. For two hands only.
No. 03 / 18Chef's Table
Visit
148 Franklin Street,
Tribeca.
Between Hudson and Varick. A black door, unmarked but for a single red lantern. Arrive a few minutes early — we begin the moment everyone is seated.
6 MIN · FRANKLIN ST [1]·VALET AFTER 6 PM
予
Reserve
The counter seats
eight. Book early.
We open the reservation book thirty days ahead, at ten AM Eastern. Counter seats are held for six days. After that, they move.