Umeno

A family-run Japanese counter from 1978 serving one fixed omakase to a lucky few, three nights a week.

Amsterdam has a dozen omakase counters that cost twice as much and deliver half the conviction. Umeno has been doing this since 1978, when it was one of the first Japanese restaurants in the country, and the room still looks the part: a wooden counter, paper lanterns, a noren curtain that has outlived most of the city's restaurant trends. The founder's nephew Atsu took over in 2008 and runs it with his family, ageing fish properly, switching between two sushi vinegars, and serving one fixed menu of about nine courses to a handful of guests. Parool critic Mara Grimm gave it a 9.5 and called it one of the best Japanese restaurants in the Netherlands, which promptly made the tiny room even harder to get into. It opens three evenings a week, asks a deposit up front, and answers only on WhatsApp. All of that starts to feel reasonable around the third nigiri.

Reservations run through WhatsApp only, with a full deposit that comes off the bill; the menu is fixed, so read it online before you commit. Sunday 18:00 is the easiest door in.

Photo: Japanese Foodie Guide