Sushi By Bou Offers a More Affordable Omakase Sushi Experience in Cleveland

One chef slices tuna, salmon and eel, while another scoops nuggets of rice and drizzles sauces and oils. A sweep of a blowtorch sears some of the fish. Before long, a consistent flow of nigiri arrives, placed onto a small plate, course after course announced by the chefs. Sushi By Bou brings a new kind of dining experience to Downtown Cleveland’s Ritz-Carlton hotel.

Located in a small space across from the hotel’s longtime Turn Bar & Kitchen on the sixth floor, the dimly lit restaurant offers the elevated experience of “omakase,” translating to the phrase “I leave it up to you.” Here, customers don’t pick and choose from a sushi menu; instead, the chefs curate a multi-course experience for small groups of four to 12 diners who are seated in front of their workspace.

The concept is not new to Cleveland; Dante Boccuzzi’s Ginko restaurant in Tremont and Sushi Kuwahata in Ohio City (set to reopen in late April) both center on omakase in their restaurants. But unlike those two eateries, which typically run customers’ checks into triple-digit charges, Sushi By Bou aims to offer a more economically accessible omakase meal to diners. Its signature 12-course omakase costs $70 per customer. (Pricier options include the expanded 17-course Elevated Omakase at $125, and the 17-course Bou Reserve Omakase at $175, which includes a caviar bump and other delicacies.)

“While it is very refined, it's also very approachable, and that's what the strategy was with the pricing,” says Behdad Ghofrani, Ritz-Carlton Cleveland’s director of food and beverage. “I wanted to have it priced in a way that is approachable for everyone.”

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Bou’s 12-course signature omakase traverses a variety of fishy flavors and beyond. The ikura maki is filled with salty, bursting salmon roe, and the hotate nigiri features a scallop topped with matcha salt. A wagyu nigiri offers a bite-sized taste of the high-priced Japanese cattle, and the unagi gives a burst of barbecue eel flavor. Beyond the omakase menu, the restaurant’s bar offers cocktails, mocktails, beer, wine and sake selections. 

Sushi By Bou operates locations in New York, New Jersey, Florida, Tennessee and more. Its Cleveland location is the first to land in Ohio. Inside, the space prominently features a vibrant mural painted by acclaimed artist Halim Flowers, who also has work on view at Severance Hall’s Grand Foyer through May 24.

“My goal for Sushi By Bou is that it will become a destination here in the city,” says Ghofrani, “for us to attract not only our local crowd, but also our Ritz-Carlton guests.”

Sushi By Bou opened on Thursday, April 16. Find more details at sushibybou.com.

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